CAC Construction Scheduling and Planning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the Critical Path Method (CPM) identify in a project schedule?
- The longest sequence of dependent activities that determines project duration (Correct answer)
- The most expensive sequence of activities in the project
- The sequence of activities with the most available float
- The activities that require the most labor resources
Correct answer: The longest sequence of dependent activities that determines project duration
The Critical Path Method identifies the longest sequence of dependent activities, which sets the minimum project completion time.
Question 2: In scheduling terminology, 'float' refers to:
- The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date (Correct answer)
- The cost reserve built into the project budget
- The overlap between two concurrent activities
- The lag time required between predecessor and successor activities
Correct answer: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date
Float (or slack) is the amount of time an activity can slip without impacting the overall project completion date.
Question 3: A Gantt chart is primarily used to:
- Display project activities against a time scale in bar chart format (Correct answer)
- Calculate the critical path of a project network
- Determine resource leveling requirements
- Estimate the total cost of a construction project
Correct answer: Display project activities against a time scale in bar chart format
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that shows activities plotted against time, making it easy to visualize schedule durations and overlaps.
Question 4: Which scheduling technique is best suited for highly repetitive construction work such as highway paving or high-rise floor cycles?
- Linear scheduling method (LSM) (Correct answer)
- Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
- Gantt chart scheduling
Correct answer: Linear scheduling method (LSM)
The Linear Scheduling Method (also called the line-of-balance technique) is specifically designed to schedule repetitive activities over distance or floors.
Question 5: A Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship between two activities means:
- The successor cannot start until the predecessor finishes (Correct answer)
- Both activities must finish at the same time
- The successor must start at the same time the predecessor starts
- The predecessor cannot start until the successor finishes
Correct answer: The successor cannot start until the predecessor finishes
A Finish-to-Start relationship is the most common dependency, requiring the predecessor to be complete before the successor can begin.
Question 6: What is 'resource leveling' in construction scheduling?
- Adjusting the schedule to smooth out peaks and valleys in resource demand (Correct answer)
- Allocating equal cost to each work activity
- Assigning the same crew to all critical path activities
- Leveling the grade of a construction site prior to building
Correct answer: Adjusting the schedule to smooth out peaks and valleys in resource demand
Resource leveling involves adjusting activity start and finish dates to balance resource usage and avoid overallocation or idle periods.
Question 7: A Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.85 indicates that a project is:
- Behind schedule, completing only 85% of planned work (Correct answer)
- Ahead of schedule by 15%
- On schedule with a 15% cost savings
- Experiencing a 15% increase in resource costs
Correct answer: Behind schedule, completing only 85% of planned work
An SPI below 1.0 means the project is behind schedule; SPI = 0.85 means only 85 cents of planned work is being accomplished for every dollar of scheduled work.
CAC Construction Scheduling and Planning 1
What does the Critical Path Method (CPM) identify in a project schedule?