Steamfitter Project Planning and Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the acronym WBS stand for in project management?
- Work Breakdown Structure (Correct answer)
- Weld Build Specification
- Weekly Budget Summary
- Welding Before Service
Correct answer: Work Breakdown Structure
WBS stands for Work Breakdown Structure, a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team.
Question 2: A steamfitting crew is behind schedule due to late material delivery. The project manager uses overtime to recover the lost time. This technique is called:
- Fast-tracking
- Crashing (Correct answer)
- Schedule compression
- Resource leveling
Correct answer: Crashing
Crashing adds resources (such as overtime or additional workers) to shorten the schedule duration, typically at an increased cost.
Question 3: Which type of estimate is typically prepared from detailed drawings and specifications and is the most accurate?
- Rough order of magnitude estimate
- Analogous estimate
- Definitive (detailed) estimate (Correct answer)
- Parametric estimate
Correct answer: Definitive (detailed) estimate
A definitive estimate is prepared from complete drawings and specs and typically has an accuracy range of -5% to +10%.
Question 4: In project management, what is a milestone?
- A measurement unit for pipe length
- A significant point or event in a project, typically with zero duration (Correct answer)
- A type of contract payment schedule
- A safety inspection checkpoint
Correct answer: A significant point or event in a project, typically with zero duration
A milestone marks a significant event or decision point in a project, such as completing a system rough-in, and has no duration.
Question 5: A steamfitter project manager notices that the project is spending money faster than work is being completed. Which earned value metric indicates this?
- SPI (Schedule Performance Index) greater than 1
- CPI (Cost Performance Index) less than 1 (Correct answer)
- SPI less than 1 and CPI greater than 1
- Both CPI and SPI greater than 1
Correct answer: CPI (Cost Performance Index) less than 1
A CPI less than 1 means you are getting less value for each dollar spent than planned — you are over budget for the work completed.
Question 6: Which document describes the scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, and communication plan for a project in one comprehensive document?
- Project scope statement
- Project management plan (Correct answer)
- Statement of work
- Bid document
Correct answer: Project management plan
The project management plan integrates all subsidiary plans (scope, schedule, cost, quality, etc.) into one comprehensive guide for executing, monitoring, and controlling the project.
Question 7: When sequencing activities in a steamfitting project, which dependency type means Activity B cannot start until Activity A is complete?
- Start-to-Start (SS)
- Finish-to-Finish (FF)
- Finish-to-Start (FS) (Correct answer)
- Start-to-Finish (SF)
Correct answer: Finish-to-Start (FS)
A Finish-to-Start dependency means the successor activity cannot begin until the predecessor activity has finished.
Steamfitter Project Planning and Management 3
What does the acronym WBS stand for in project management?