Construction Management
Domain overview
This section tests planning and control of construction: work breakdown, network scheduling, float, resources, cost and contract administration. The exam expects quantitative network reasoning and an understanding of how delays and changes affect the programme.
Core rules
- CPM uses deterministic durations; PERT uses three-point estimates for expected duration and uncertainty.
- Critical path has zero total float; total float is the time an activity can slip without delaying project completion, while free float is slip without affecting the next activity.
- Resource levelling shifts non-critical work within float; resource smoothing may extend duration if float is insufficient.
- Earned value uses PV, EV and AC; CV=EV−AC, SV=EV−PV, and indices CPI=EV/AC, SPI=EV/PV.
Worked example
Activities: A(3 days) precedes B(4) and C(5); B and C precede D(2). Paths are A-B-D = 3+4+2 = 9 days and A-C-D = 3+5+2 = 10 days. The critical path is A-C-D, project duration is 10 days, and B has total float 10−9 = 1 day. If B is delayed by 2 days, the project is delayed by 1 day because B consumes its float and then extends the longer path. Update the network before claiming a delay.
Traps
Reporting free float as total float, ignoring lag or multiple critical paths, treating resource levelling as free, and accepting a delay claim without a time-impact analysis.