Identifying and analysing the root causes of quality non-conformance in construction project baseline schedules
By: Purushothaman, Srinath
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Contributor(s): Varghese, Koshy.
Publisher: USA Springer 2023Edition: Vol.104(2), Jun.Description: 397-416p.Subject(s): Humanities and Applied SciencesOnline resources: Click here
In:
Journal of the institution of engineers (India): Series ASummary: Project schedules play a critical role in managing a project’s time performance. Network-based techniques such as the Critical Path Method (CPM) and its extension, the Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) are widely used for project scheduling. Planning engineers have reported several cases where intricate schedule networks are developed to plan a project, however, these are not useful for managing the project as the details of the project are not accurately represented in the network. Schedules that cannot be used effectively for managing projects are termed to be of poor quality. As projects get more complex and demanding, the need for objectively assessing schedule quality has become important. To address this need, assessment guides/standards have been developed by client agencies such as United States Government Accountability Office as well as professional organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) and Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) International. These standards specify qualitative and quantitative guidelines to conform to the standard, and schedules that do not meet the guidelines are non-conformant schedules. Further, specific areas of non-conformances can be assessed, and changes can be made to conform to the guidelines. While assessing schedules against a standard guideline enables identifying areas of non-conformances for a specific schedule, there has been no systematic study to evaluate the patterns of non-conformance across baseline schedules. Further, there has been no work that has identified the causes of these non-conformances. Identifying the causes can enable preventive action to be taken rather than corrective action. This study addresses these gaps by first assessing the conformance of baseline schedules of thirty sample projects using standard guidelines and quantifying the categories of non-conformance across projects. As the assessment guidelines are both quantitative and qualitative, three types of assessment mechanisms are utilized to identify the non-conformances. Next, causes for non-conformances are identified using document review followed by semi-structured interviews with twenty-three experts. The root causes underlying the immediate causes for schedule non-conformances were derived using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methodology and the impact of the root causes on the non-conformances was assessed. The root causes and their impact were verified through a modified Delphi study involving a second set of experts and strategies to address the root causes are discussed.
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
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Articles Abstract Database
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School of Engineering & Technology Archieval Section | Not for loan | 2023-1743 |
Project schedules play a critical role in managing a project’s time performance. Network-based techniques such as the Critical Path Method (CPM) and its extension, the Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) are widely used for project scheduling. Planning engineers have reported several cases where intricate schedule networks are developed to plan a project, however, these are not useful for managing the project as the details of the project are not accurately represented in the network. Schedules that cannot be used effectively for managing projects are termed to be of poor quality. As projects get more complex and demanding, the need for objectively assessing schedule quality has become important. To address this need, assessment guides/standards have been developed by client agencies such as United States Government Accountability Office as well as professional organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) and Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) International. These standards specify qualitative and quantitative guidelines to conform to the standard, and schedules that do not meet the guidelines are non-conformant schedules. Further, specific areas of non-conformances can be assessed, and changes can be made to conform to the guidelines. While assessing schedules against a standard guideline enables identifying areas of non-conformances for a specific schedule, there has been no systematic study to evaluate the patterns of non-conformance across baseline schedules. Further, there has been no work that has identified the causes of these non-conformances. Identifying the causes can enable preventive action to be taken rather than corrective action. This study addresses these gaps by first assessing the conformance of baseline schedules of thirty sample projects using standard guidelines and quantifying the categories of non-conformance across projects. As the assessment guidelines are both quantitative and qualitative, three types of assessment mechanisms are utilized to identify the non-conformances. Next, causes for non-conformances are identified using document review followed by semi-structured interviews with twenty-three experts. The root causes underlying the immediate causes for schedule non-conformances were derived using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methodology and the impact of the root causes on the non-conformances was assessed. The root causes and their impact were verified through a modified Delphi study involving a second set of experts and strategies to address the root causes are discussed.
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