CRC Project Planning & Scheduling 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which contract type places the greatest financial risk on the contractor if costs exceed estimates?
- Cost-plus-fixed-fee
- Time and materials
- Lump sum (fixed price) (Correct answer)
- Guaranteed maximum price
Correct answer: Lump sum (fixed price)
Under a lump sum contract the contractor bears all cost overrun risk since the price is fixed regardless of actual costs.
Question 2: What is the purpose of a pre-construction meeting with subcontractors?
- To negotiate final contract prices
- To align all parties on schedule, site rules, and communication procedures (Correct answer)
- To satisfy the building department inspection checklist
- To issue the notice to proceed
Correct answer: To align all parties on schedule, site rules, and communication procedures
Pre-construction meetings establish expectations for schedule, safety, coordination, and communication before work begins.
Question 3: Which scheduling constraint requires a successor activity to start no earlier than a specified date, regardless of predecessor completion?
- Start-no-earlier-than (SNET) (Correct answer)
- Finish-no-later-than (FNLT)
- As-late-as-possible (ALAP)
- Mandatory finish
Correct answer: Start-no-earlier-than (SNET)
A Start-No-Earlier-Than constraint forces the activity to wait until a defined calendar date before it can begin.
Question 4: When scheduling inspections, a contractor should order them so that:
- All inspections are clustered at project end
- Each inspection is scheduled only after the preceding required inspection is passed (Correct answer)
- Inspections are performed simultaneously to save time
- The final inspection occurs before rough-in inspections
Correct answer: Each inspection is scheduled only after the preceding required inspection is passed
Building codes require inspections in sequence; work cannot be covered until the relevant inspection is approved.
Question 5: A 'look-ahead schedule' in residential construction typically covers what time horizon?
- The full project duration
- Two to six weeks (Correct answer)
- One full calendar year
- Only the current day's work
Correct answer: Two to six weeks
Look-ahead schedules (typically 2–6 weeks) provide short-term planning detail to coordinate crews and materials in the near term.
Question 6: Which WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) level directly relates to cost account tracking in residential construction?
- Level 1 — project
- Level 2 — phase
- Level 3 — work package (Correct answer)
- Level 4 — activity
Correct answer: Level 3 — work package
Work packages at Level 3 of the WBS are the lowest level where cost and schedule are assigned and tracked.
Question 7: A subcontractor's work depends on the general contractor supplying temporary power. This is best documented as:
- A punch list item
- A constraint or assumption in the schedule (Correct answer)
- A submittal log entry
- A warranty claim
Correct answer: A constraint or assumption in the schedule
Owner- or GC-furnished items that a subcontractor depends on must be documented as constraints or assumptions so accountability is clear.
CRC Project Planning & Scheduling 3
Which contract type places the greatest financial risk on the contractor if costs exceed estimates?