Construction Management • Engineering
Why is Planning in Construction Management Important?
To be effective as a Project Manager, a Construction Manager, or a Planning Engineer,
you must be an expert at construction project planning. But what is planning in
construction management, and what entails a successful planning process?
Construction management requires proper planning and scheduling. Engineers can
complete projects on time and within budget by planning and scheduling construction
activities. The term “construction” refers not only to physical activities involving
laborers, materials, machinery, and the entire variety of activities involved in a
construction project, from conception to completion. As a result, effective planning and
scheduling of each activity are required when managing resources such as laborers,
materials, and machinery.
Table of Contents
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What is planning in Construction Management?
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The following are the general goals of a construction project plan:
Types of planning in construction management
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1.Strategic Planning
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2.Operational Planning
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3.Scheduling
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What is the purpose of project planning in construction management?
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How is a Construction Project Plan created?
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Guide to Create Construction Plan
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Components of a Construction Project Plan
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Scheduling in Construction Planning
What is planning in Construction Management?
Planning in Construction Management is the process of selecting a specific technique
and work order for a project from among all the possible methods and sequences. It
mainly addresses the questions of “What to do” and “How to do it.”
Construction planning is the first stage of construction management, which is the
discipline of taking a construction project from conception to completion.
However, construction planning and management includes several other
components that succeed in planning:
Scheduling is the process of determining when to start, execute, and complete each
task.
Organizing is the process of placing all of the moving parts in place so that each task
can be completed on time.
Staffing is the process of assigning people to tasks related to a project.
Monitoring ensures that you meet the requirements and performance benchmarks set
during the planning stage.
Directing ensures that you complete tasks as planned.
If you do not meet these requirements, you will have to devote a significant amount of
time to the controlling stage. This involves managing the budget and meeting contract
requirements.
The act of creating a development plan for a construction project is known as
construction project planning.
The following are the general goals of a construction project plan:

Define the work activity of each entity involved in the project.

Illustrate the relationship between different work activities and the individual
entities that are performing those activities.

Make decisions regarding which technologies will be used to ensure that the
project is completed successfully.

Provide a comprehensive assessment of the resources needed to finish the
project.

Use the plan to arrive on schedule and budget for the project.
The majority of people who are not in the construction industry underestimate the
difficulty of construction project planning. Construction project planning is the process
of determining the most efficient and cost-effective way to complete a satisfactory final
project.
Because the construction project plan is also used as a baseline to create a project
cost estimate and project completion schedule, it must be as detailed as possible. As a
result, a project planner must not only assess all of the materials and labor required to
complete a construction project, but must also schedule those activities in a way that
optimizes the overall efficiency of the project.
Types of planning in construction management
1.Strategic Planning
Strategic planning entails a high-level selection of project objectives. It is often then
carried out by the project owner’s corporate planners. The project teams then decide
what project to build and the completion deadline to fulfill the owner’s project goals.
This is done to establish the master construction execution plan that adheres to the
guidelines established in the strategic and contracting plans.
2.Operational Planning
Operational planning entails extensive planning by the construction teams in order to
satisfy the project’s strategic objectives. Before the project teams can specify the
construction schedule, they must first answer the following questions to prepare the
construction master plan:

Will the operational plan meet the strategic planning target finish date be met by
the operational plan?

Are there enough construction resources and services available within the
organization to meet the project’s objectives?

What is the impact of the new project on the existing workload?

Where will we get the resources to handle any overload?

What company policies may prevent the plan from meeting the target date?

Are usually long delivery equipment or materials involved?

Are the project concepts and design firmly established and ready to start the
construction?

Is the original contracting plan still valid?

Will it be more economical to use a fast-track scheduling approach?
3.Scheduling
Scheduling entails a detailed operational plan with a time frame based on the strategic
objectives.
What is the purpose of project planning in construction management?
You may be wondering what the purpose of a project plan in construction is. A
construction plan’s ultimate purpose is to create a durable document that will guide a
project from concept to completion.
A strategic plan developed at the beginning of a project will allow project stakeholders
to verify that the project is adhering to the stated goals during its progression by
serving as a guidepost and reference point.
It is important to realize that construction projects are naturally fluid; thus, it’s not
uncommon for the strategic plan to change as the project’s circumstances change.
However, having a high-level overview to look back on allows the construction
manager and other stakeholders to refer to their original plan to ensure that the project
progresses as planned.
Construction project planning is required on a functional level to determine an accurate
assessment of a project’s costs, as well as a completion schedule. No one likes to
know that a project they thought would cost a certain amount of money will end up
costing a lot more.
While project costs can increase over time, it is best for all parties involved to have the
most accurate picture of a project budget at the beginning.
Many projects have timeline constraints in addition to budgetary constraints.
Developing a strategic plan enables the project manager to create a more accurate
project completion date based on a realistic picture that includes all of the work
required to complete the project.
Finally, a proper strategic plan can describe exactly what work has to be done and in
what order, on an operational level.
This can be referred to at any point during the project to determine which component
should be completed next. In other words, a construction project plan can be used as a
guide for planned work tasks and can be used to delegate operation and maintenance
tasks.
How is a Construction Project Plan created?
Creating a plan for a construction project can be a challenging task, especially if it is a
large project.
For smaller projects, it is possible that the contractor working on the project will not
write down the plan. They may be able to properly define the steps required to
complete that project and proceed with it. However, as projects grow in size, more
people, more resources, and more steps are required to complete them.
Once a project reaches a certain size, it is almost inevitable to develop the project plan
to avoid negative outcomes that are frequently associated with construction projects,
such as delays or cost overruns.
To create a comprehensive plan for a construction project, project managers look at
the project’s stated goal and then determine what it will take to get there.
Construction project planning requires the involvement of design and engineering
teams, general contractors, subcontractors, and vendor and equipment supplier
coordination. Planning must focus on all trades of construction works like Structural
Construction works, Finishes Construction Works and MEP construction works, etc.
A construction project plan must specify the tasks that each of these entities must
complete and organize them in the most efficient order.
Construction projects are temporary and linear. When you consider that each of the
various entities working on a project may or may not have worked on other projects
together, the temporary aspect comes into play.
Their communication styles may differ, as may their expectations and the ways in
which they perform their tasks. This can complicate coordination between various
entities.
When dealing with a group of contractors, subcontractors, and different teams that
temporarily come together to complete a project having a strategic plan in place that
defines how and when something must be completed, becomes increasingly important.
The process of developing a construction plan is far more complex than most people
realize. All required tasks must be assessed in order to determine the resources
needed to complete them, and those resources must be staged based on when they
will be needed.
Guide to Create Construction Plan
Here’s an example of how a construction project manager might go about creating a
construction project management plan.

Work Activities – Define all work activities. Break those activities into subactivities, continuing as needed to have a granular view of all work required to
complete the project. This includes the work for all teams on the project, from
design and engineering team members to the general contractor and
subcontractors.

Sequence – Determine the sequence or order of each activity that must be
completed. Although this may seem mundane, it can result in project delays
and wasted hours of labor if done incorrectly.

Duration – The project manager must estimate the duration that each activity
will take to complete. This is important for determining a budget after the
strategic plan is in place and ensuring that all work activities’ sequencing makes
sense. Keep in mind that while some activities may be allowed to overlap, other
activities must be completed sequentially. An accurate duration assessment will
result in more efficiency overall.

Required Resources – For each activity required to complete the project, the
project manager will want to create a comprehensive breakdown of all
resources required. Accurately assessing the resources required for an activity
will result in a more accurate budget and ensure that the right amount of each
resource is ordered and other considerations, such as storage of that resource
until it is ready to be used, have been accounted for.
Components of a Construction Project Plan
Baselines (performance measures): These are the approved starting points for the
construction project (cost baselines, scope, baseline schedule) used to determine if the
project is on track.
Baseline management plan: Baseline management plans include documentation on
how baselines vary and how to handle them when projects deviate from course.
Management will determine the team’s actions when deviations from the baseline
occur with additional planning.
Documentation: Documents and drawings are helpful during the construction project
planning stage because they represent what will be constructed. Blueprint drawings
and specifications, submittals and approvals, scope documentation, permits, fees, and
licenses are all examples of construction planning documents.
Business plan: Typically, a business plan is developed at the start of a construction
project. Project descriptions in business plans define the project’s outline and execution
plan, as well as outline what the project is. They also assign team members
responsibilities.
The business plan, most importantly, incorporates construction bidding, also known as
Bid and Contract. This process is essential in the planning process because it
determines the success (or failure) of a project. Finally, business benefits are
determinants of a project’s return on investment (ROI); they allow stakeholders to
assess a project’s success or failure.
Resource planning: Construction companies are always looking for the next project. A
construction company can run into financial problems if it does not have enough
projects on the go. When you have multiple projects that overlap, sometimes firms take
on work and don’t have enough resources to complete them. It is essential in this case
to incorporate regular resource planning into your operations.
Thus, resource planning ensures that each project has all of the necessary resources,
such as employees, materials, and equipment. The importance of construction project
planning and scheduling stems from resource planning. Without it, projects will be
delayed, and cost overruns will occur. Project Managers create a timeline and a list of
what they require. Companies that do not use resource planning frequently cause
project delays.
Scheduling in Construction Planning
Time management is essential in construction projects. Proper scheduling paves the
way for optimizing resources. It also allows you to track and control the cost and
duration of the project. Furthermore, accurate scheduling is critical for analyzing and
defending claims of delays or overruns.
Detailed scheduling forces managers to think through projects in advance, and from
that, they can identify some problems before they arise. Scheduling also allows you to
ensure that fabricated items with long lead times will arrive when you need them.
Scheduling allows cash flow to be forecasted by evaluating resource requirements. A
schedule is also the most efficient way to communicate a work plan.
There are several types of schedules that construction planners use. Construction
scheduling software can make it easier to create these schedules.
The CPM output helps in the creation of a project schedule that can be detailed on
different levels.
The baseline schedule is created directly from the CPM output. The baseline
schedule, also known as the initial schedule, is the original schedule that version
contractors follow by default.
A schedule update satisfies one of two things: it either adds each activity’s start and
end dates to a baseline schedule or modifies the baseline schedule’s job logic to reflect
the actual progression of activities. (A logic change is another term for changing the
work logic.) A schedule update simply documents the progression of a project.
Another project scheduling system employs five schedule levels:
A level 1 schedule, also known as a management level schedule, is typically one page
long and depicts major project milestones in a Gantt chart.
A level 2 schedule, also known as a project summary schedule, depicts high-level
integrated tasks that are used for management reporting.
A level 3 schedule, also known as a control level schedule, is also included, but it
displays all major milestones and tasks. This level can be used for project control.
A level 4 schedule, also known as a detailed network schedule, details all project
tasks in great detail.
Finally, a level 5 schedule, also known as a detailed report schedule, includes all
tasks and work steps. Use this level for documentation, enumeration of deliverables,
and procurement of items.