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{"id":633,"date":"2011-05-13T11:05:09","date_gmt":"2011-05-13T16:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projectprofessionals.org\/?p=633"},"modified":"2011-05-13T11:05:09","modified_gmt":"2011-05-13T16:05:09","slug":"schedule-validations-and-audits-need-and-benefit-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/projectprofessionals.org\/2011\/05\/13\/schedule-validations-and-audits-need-and-benefit-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"SCHEDULE VALIDATIONS AND AUDITS – Need and Benefit (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Construction projects<\/strong> represent investments at risk for Owners and Contractors, who invest massive amounts of money and resources.<\/p>\n

Although some investors resort to evaluations (e.g., appraisals by mortgage investors), to gain a level of confidence in the outcome, validation processes are not a common practice in construction.<\/p>\n

There are many advantages in engaging Owners and Contractors in performing a realistic, rational, and feasible independent Validation<\/span><\/strong> of the work plan and planned schedule, as well as periodic Audits<\/span><\/strong> of the performance achieved.<\/p>\n

Planning and scheduling practices have become more complex as they have matured and can now produce a greater degree of management and control. However they are also vulnerable to incorrect procedures, illogical logic, abuse, misuse, and outright manipulation.<\/p>\n

Schedule Validation and Audit<\/strong> can be used to minimize the impact of conflicts by detecting issues and anticipating problems. Reasons for implementing Schedule Validation and Audits, benefits, methodology, deliverables, and steps towards a standard practice and procedure are presented herein.<\/p>\n

WHY ARE SCHEDULE VALIDATION AND AUDITING NEEDED?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is undeniable that construction projects represent substantial investments-at-risk both for Owners and Contractors. The Owners, a category which includes but is not limited to private companies, government agencies, real estate developers and funding agents, invest massive amounts of money to get a final product of acceptable quality, whereas the Contractors invest huge amounts of resources in their efforts to deliver a profitable product. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s construction operations rely on each contributor performing to the agreed upon Work Plan and Schedule. And the Work Plan and Schedule must be valid, reasonable, rational, and achievable if the Project is to be successfully and profitably completed.<\/p>\n

In construction projects, scheduling has become progressively more common in the past 20+ years as more and more tools have been put at the reach of planners and schedulers. More affordable hardware and software, broader access to information and better understanding of principles have made scheduling a highly rewarded engineering specialty. In this evolution over the last two decades or so, old practices have been replaced by sophisticated and complex practices and techniques. Nowadays it is not uncommon to find schedules with thousands of activities which generate a wide range of reports and graphs.<\/p>\n

All these factors contribute to create today\u2019s delicate situation in which construction schedule<\/strong> practices contain many misuses, or omissions of basic principles, processes, and tools. For instance:<\/p>\n