AIC AIC Construction Scheduling & Time Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is a key input when developing a project master schedule?
- Final punch list
- Scope of work and contract milestones (Correct answer)
- Subcontractor warranty documents
- Certificate of occupancy
Correct answer: Scope of work and contract milestones
The scope of work and contract milestones define what must be accomplished and by when, forming the backbone of any master schedule.
Question 2: A construction project's Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is 0.85. This means the project is:
- 15% over budget
- Completing only 85 cents of planned work for every dollar of budget spent
- Progressing at 85% of the planned rate (Correct answer)
- Ahead of schedule by 15%
Correct answer: Progressing at 85% of the planned rate
SPI = EV/PV; an SPI of 0.85 means the project is accomplishing only 85% of the planned work progress rate.
Question 3: Resource leveling in project scheduling is used to:
- Accelerate the critical path by adding resources
- Smooth resource demand by shifting non-critical activities within their float (Correct answer)
- Remove activities from the project scope to reduce cost
- Identify the most expensive resources on a project
Correct answer: Smooth resource demand by shifting non-critical activities within their float
Resource leveling shifts non-critical activities within available float to smooth peaks and valleys in resource demand.
Question 4: What is 'crashing' in the context of construction schedule compression?
- Allowing the schedule to slip past the deadline
- Adding resources to critical path activities to shorten their duration (Correct answer)
- Removing scope items to save time
- Overlapping design and construction phases
Correct answer: Adding resources to critical path activities to shorten their duration
Schedule crashing involves adding resources (workers, equipment, shifts) to critical path tasks to reduce their durations at added cost.
Question 5: Fast-tracking a construction schedule means:
- Using faster equipment to complete tasks sooner
- Performing activities in parallel that would normally be done sequentially (Correct answer)
- Hiring additional subcontractors for all trades
- Eliminating quality control checkpoints to save time
Correct answer: Performing activities in parallel that would normally be done sequentially
Fast-tracking overlaps phases or activities that are normally sequential, compressing the schedule without necessarily adding cost.
Question 6: Which type of activity relationship specifies that Activity B cannot start until Activity A has been completed?
- Start-to-Start (SS)
- Finish-to-Finish (FF)
- Finish-to-Start (FS) (Correct answer)
- Start-to-Finish (SF)
Correct answer: Finish-to-Start (FS)
Finish-to-Start is the most common dependency type, requiring the predecessor activity to finish before the successor can begin.
AIC AIC Construction Scheduling & Time Management 2
Which of the following is a key input when developing a project master schedule?