https://schedule.construction/blog/ Practical guides to construction scheduling. en-us https://schedule.construction/blog/superintendents-reading-cpm.html https://schedule.construction/blog/superintendents-reading-cpm.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Lookaheads & pull planning What the columns, bars, and float numbers on a CPM schedule mean in the field, and which parts a superintendent should check every week. https://schedule.construction/blog/activity-codes-and-layouts.html https://schedule.construction/blog/activity-codes-and-layouts.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule How to set up activity codes, filters, and saved layouts so superintendents, subs, and owners can each find their part of the schedule fast. https://schedule.construction/blog/forensic-schedule-analysis-methods.html https://schedule.construction/blog/forensic-schedule-analysis-methods.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Delays & claims A field guide to the main forensic delay analysis methods: what each one does, what records it needs, where it is weak, and how to pick one. https://schedule.construction/blog/baselines-and-rebaselining.html https://schedule.construction/blog/baselines-and-rebaselining.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control What a schedule baseline is for, when to set it, what counts as a valid reason to re-baseline, and how to do it without losing the record. https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-calendars-and-weather-days.html https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-calendars-and-weather-days.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule How to set up work calendars, holidays, and anticipated weather in a construction schedule so dates are realistic and weather delays are provable. https://schedule.construction/blog/pull-plan-to-cpm.html https://schedule.construction/blog/pull-plan-to-cpm.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Lookaheads & pull planning How to bring what a pull planning session learned back into the CPM schedule: durations, logic, milestones, and float, without running two schedules. https://schedule.construction/blog/delay-notices.html https://schedule.construction/blog/delay-notices.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Delays & claims A delay notice preserves your right to time. What to put in it, when to send it, how it differs from a claim, and a template you can adapt. https://schedule.construction/blog/documenting-weather-delays.html https://schedule.construction/blog/documenting-weather-delays.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Delays & claims Weather days get granted when the records show unusual weather that stopped critical work. What to plan for, what to log daily, and how to count. https://schedule.construction/blog/earned-value-for-construction-schedules.html https://schedule.construction/blog/earned-value-for-construction-schedules.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control Planned value, earned value, actual cost, SPI and CPI explained with a worked construction example, plus where earned value misleads schedulers. https://schedule.construction/blog/estimating-activity-durations.html https://schedule.construction/blog/estimating-activity-durations.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule How to set construction activity durations from quantities, crews, and the people doing the work, so the schedule holds up in the field. https://schedule.construction/blog/excel-construction-schedules.html https://schedule.construction/blog/excel-construction-schedules.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule An honest look at Excel for construction scheduling: where a spreadsheet works, where it quietly breaks, and the signs it's time to move to CPM. https://schedule.construction/blog/excusable-compensable-concurrent-delay.html https://schedule.construction/blog/excusable-compensable-concurrent-delay.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Delays & claims The three delay categories that decide who gets time, who gets money, and who gets neither, with examples and a worked concurrency case. https://schedule.construction/blog/relationship-types-fs-ss-ff-sf.html https://schedule.construction/blog/relationship-types-fs-ss-ff-sf.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals What finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, and start-to-finish relationships mean, when each fits construction work, and how they go wrong. https://schedule.construction/blog/forward-and-backward-pass.html https://schedule.construction/blog/forward-and-backward-pass.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals A step-by-step forward and backward pass on a nine-activity foundation-to-dry-in network, with early and late dates, total float, and free float. https://schedule.construction/blog/writing-a-fragnet.html https://schedule.construction/blog/writing-a-fragnet.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Delays & claims A fragnet is the small network that models a change or delay. How to scope it, tie it in, pick durations, and get it accepted without a fight. https://schedule.construction/blog/gantt-vs-network-vs-line-of-balance.html https://schedule.construction/blog/gantt-vs-network-vs-line-of-balance.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Files, specs & sharing Three ways to look at a construction schedule, what each shows and hides, and which one to use for logic review, field communication, or repetitive work. https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-level-of-detail.html https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-level-of-detail.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule There is no magic activity count. Here is how to pick the right level of detail for a construction schedule and keep it maintainable. https://schedule.construction/blog/three-week-lookahead.html https://schedule.construction/blog/three-week-lookahead.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Lookaheads & pull planning A practical method for cutting a three-week lookahead out of the master schedule, breaking it down for the field, and keeping the two in sync. https://schedule.construction/blog/work-breakdown-structure-construction.html https://schedule.construction/blog/work-breakdown-structure-construction.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule A practical way to structure a construction WBS so the schedule rolls up cleanly, matches how the job is built, and survives the first update. https://schedule.construction/blog/monthly-schedule-update-process.html https://schedule.construction/blog/monthly-schedule-update-process.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control A step-by-step process for the monthly CPM update: collecting progress, setting the data date, checking logic, and writing a narrative people read. https://schedule.construction/blog/how-to-run-pull-planning.html https://schedule.construction/blog/how-to-run-pull-planning.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Lookaheads & pull planning How to prepare, facilitate, and close out a pull planning session so the trades leave with a sequence they built and will actually work to. https://schedule.construction/blog/lags-and-leads.html https://schedule.construction/blog/lags-and-leads.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals What lags and leads do in a CPM schedule, why they hide work, how lag calendars change dates, and when to replace a lag with a real activity. https://schedule.construction/blog/make-ready-and-constraint-logs.html https://schedule.construction/blog/make-ready-and-constraint-logs.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Lookaheads & pull planning How to screen lookahead work for constraints, run a constraint log people keep up, and clear the way before a crew shows up to a task it can't start. https://schedule.construction/blog/milestones-that-mean-something.html https://schedule.construction/blog/milestones-that-mean-something.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule How to choose, define, and link construction schedule milestones so they mark real events and tell you something when they move. https://schedule.construction/blog/converting-schedules-between-tools.html https://schedule.construction/blog/converting-schedules-between-tools.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Files, specs & sharing Which file formats to use when moving a schedule between tools, what survives the trip, what breaks, and how to verify the result before anyone relies on it. https://schedule.construction/blog/near-critical-paths.html https://schedule.construction/blog/near-critical-paths.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals Paths with a little float are often a bigger risk than the critical path. How to define near-critical, track float erosion, and spot paths about to take over. https://schedule.construction/blog/open-ends-and-dangling-logic.html https://schedule.construction/blog/open-ends-and-dangling-logic.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals Open ends and dangling activities make float lie and hide delays. How to find missing predecessors and successors, SS/FF danglers, and how to fix them. https://schedule.construction/blog/out-of-sequence-progress.html https://schedule.construction/blog/out-of-sequence-progress.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control Why out-of-sequence progress happens, how to find it in an update, and the four ways to fix the logic so the critical path stays honest. https://schedule.construction/blog/p6-xer-files-explained.html https://schedule.construction/blog/p6-xer-files-explained.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Files, specs & sharing What's inside a Primavera P6 .xer file, how its tables fit together, and what to check when you receive one or export one. https://schedule.construction/blog/percent-plan-complete-ppc.html https://schedule.construction/blog/percent-plan-complete-ppc.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Lookaheads & pull planning How to calculate PPC, how to record reasons for variance that lead somewhere, and why a high PPC doesn't mean the job is on schedule. https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-variance-analysis.html https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-variance-analysis.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control How to trace a milestone slip back through the driving path, separate late starts from long durations, and explain variance in plain terms. https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-specification-013216.html https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-specification-013216.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Files, specs & sharing What Section 01 32 16 usually requires, the clauses that cause trouble later, and a checklist for reading one at bid time or kickoff. https://schedule.construction/blog/resource-and-cost-loading.html https://schedule.construction/blog/resource-and-cost-loading.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule What resource and cost loading add to a construction schedule, what they cost to maintain, and how to tell whether your job needs either one. https://schedule.construction/blog/retained-logic-vs-progress-override.html https://schedule.construction/blog/retained-logic-vs-progress-override.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control What retained logic and progress override actually do to out-of-sequence work, with a worked example showing how each changes the finish date. https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-driven-weekly-meetings.html https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-driven-weekly-meetings.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control How to run a weekly subcontractor or OAC meeting from the CPM schedule and lookahead, with an agenda, prep checklist, and what to record. https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-constraints.html https://schedule.construction/blog/schedule-constraints.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals The types of date constraints in P6 and MS Project, which ones override logic, how they create negative float, and when a constraint is the right tool. https://schedule.construction/blog/commercial-building-schedule-sequence.html https://schedule.construction/blog/commercial-building-schedule-sequence.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Building a schedule The typical sequence of a commercial building schedule, from permits to turnover, with the handoffs and long-lead items that usually drive it. https://schedule.construction/blog/sharing-schedules-with-owners-and-subs.html https://schedule.construction/blog/sharing-schedules-with-owners-and-subs.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Files, specs & sharing Who needs which view of the schedule, in what format, how often, and how to keep everyone looking at the same version. https://schedule.construction/blog/dcma-14-point-assessment.html https://schedule.construction/blog/dcma-14-point-assessment.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control Each of the DCMA 14 schedule checks, what it measures, the usual threshold, and how to read the results on a construction schedule. https://schedule.construction/blog/data-date-explained.html https://schedule.construction/blog/data-date-explained.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Updates & control What the data date is, how it splits actuals from forecast, the rules every update must follow, and the mistakes reviewers catch first. https://schedule.construction/blog/last-planner-system-overview.html https://schedule.construction/blog/last-planner-system-overview.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Lookaheads & pull planning What the Last Planner System is, how its five planning levels fit together, and where it meets the CPM schedule a scheduler already maintains. https://schedule.construction/blog/time-impact-analysis.html https://schedule.construction/blog/time-impact-analysis.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Delays & claims How to run a time impact analysis: pick the right update, build the fragnet, insert it, recalculate, and explain the result so it survives review. https://schedule.construction/blog/total-float-vs-free-float.html https://schedule.construction/blog/total-float-vs-free-float.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals Total float protects the finish date. Free float protects the next activity. How each is calculated, why float is shared, and how to use both on site. https://schedule.construction/blog/critical-path-method-explained.html https://schedule.construction/blog/critical-path-method-explained.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 CPM fundamentals What CPM is, how the critical path is found, what float means, and how to read a CPM schedule on a real building job without getting lost. https://schedule.construction/blog/reviewing-a-baseline-submittal.html https://schedule.construction/blog/reviewing-a-baseline-submittal.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Files, specs & sharing A practical review checklist for owners and owners' reps: contract compliance, logic quality, the critical path, durations, and how to respond. https://schedule.construction/blog/who-owns-float.html https://schedule.construction/blog/who-owns-float.html Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Delays & claims Float ownership decides who benefits when a delay lands on a non-critical path. The common contract positions, how each plays out, and a worked example.