CVL 245

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
 Introduce Floats
0 3 3 9 6 8
A 3 B 6 D 2
0 0 3 3 0 9 7 1 9
9 9
0 0 3 6 Finish
Start E 3 9 0 9
0 0 0 4 1 7

6 8
0 4
C 2
F 4
7 1 9
3 3 7
 The critical path
0 3 3 9 6 8
A 3 B 6 D 2
0 0 3 3 0 9 7 1 9
9 9
0 0 3 6 Finish
Start E 3 9 0 9
0 0 0 4 1 7

6 8
0 4
C 2
F 4
7 1 9
3 3 7
Floats
• Free Float (FF)
• Total Float (TF)
• Interfering Float (INTF)
• Independent Float (INDF)
Total Float
• Total float represents the amount of time an activity can be
delayed without delaying the overall project duration and is also
called “float” or “slack”.
• TFi = LSj – ESi
What are A,B and C’s Total Float?
5 7
B 2
7 9

2 4
TFA = 5-2 = 3
A 2
TFB = 7-5 = 2
5 7
TFC = 9-6 = 3

6 12

C 6
9 15
 Free Float?
• Free
Float is the amount of time an activity can delay
without delaying the start of any following activity

• FFi = Min ESj – EFi ,  j

What is A’s Free Float?
5 7
B 2
7 9

2 4
FFA = Min [(5-4), (6-4)]
A 2
5 7
FFA = 1

6 12

C 6
9 15
 Interfering Float
• Interfering float is the time available to delay an activity without delaying the
project’s estimated completion time, but delaying an activity into interfering
float will delay the start of one or more following non-critical.

• Interfering float=Total float - free float

• The portion of total float which affects other activities but not the project
finish date.
• INTFi = TFi – FFi
What is A’s interfering float?
5 7
B 2
7 9

2 4
TFA = 3
A 2
FFA = 1
5 7
INTFA = 3-1 = 2

6 12

C 6
9 15
 Independent Float

• Independent float is that portion of the total float

within which an activity can be delayed for start
without affecting the float of the preceding or the
following activity.
• INDFj = Min ESk ( k) – Max LFi ( i) - Tj
What is C’s independent float?
20 22
A 2 D 2
14

C 2

22 28

B 6 E 6
16
C’s Independent Float
A
INDC = 20–16–2=2
B

C
D

14 16 18 20 22 Time
 Find TF, FF, INDF and INTF for all
activities
B 8 E 7

0 0
Start A 4 C 3 G 1 Finish
0 0

D 2 F 5
 Critical Path Calculations
4 12 12 19
B 8 E 7
4 0 12 12 0 19

0 0 0 4 4 7 19 20 20 20

Start A 4 C 3 G 1 Finish
0 0 0 0 0 4 9 5 12 19 0 20 20 0 20

4 6 7 12

D 2 F 5
10 6 12 14 7 19
Floats
Activity ES EF LS LF TF FF INTF INDF
A 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 0
B 4 12 4 12 0 0 0 0
C 4 7 9 12 5 0 5 0
D 4 6 10 12 6 1 5 1
E 12 19 12 19 0 0 0 0
F 7 12 14 19 7 7 0 2
G 19 20 19 20 0 0 0 0
So What’s the big deal about
Float?
• The CPM can give the project duration
• The Critical Path has the longest duration

• The planner gets some insights on the schedule

• Can understand how much buffer each activity has
• Can allocate scarce resources better
• Also allows rescheduling activities while retaining
dependencies
Float Analysis
• Average Float = Average of total floats
• Is too much float a good thing?
• Too much float indicates construction sequence is not
efficient
• What if there is too little float?
• Too little or no float is a risk. Can indicate a schedule drawn
with “claims” in mind
• Floats are very useful when analyzing claims
• Independent floats belong solely to each activity
• Total float belongs to the entire path
• Free float belongs to an activity and its precedents
• Interfering float belongs to downstream activities
PDM with more complex relationships
1 day

A 3 C 2
3 days

Start D 2 H 6 K 2 Finish

B 4 E 4

2 days
F 6 G 3
Modified Forward Pass Algorithm
• To find ES
• Start with all the arrows that enter the activity from the left
• For FS arrows use the EF of the preceding activity
• For SS arrows, use the ES
• Add or subtract lags from these arrows (add negative lag,
subtract positive lags)
• The maximum of these is the ES

• To find EF
• Start with all the arrows that enter the activity from the right
• For FF arrows use the EF of the preceding activity
• For SF arrows, use the ES
• Add or subtract lags from these arrows
• The maximum of these and the (ES + Duration) value is the EF
Modified Backward Pass
Algorithm
• To find LF
• Start with all the arrows that exit the activity from the right
• For FS arrows use the LS of the succeding activity
• For FF arrows, use the LF
• Add or subtract lags from these arrows
• The minimum of these is the LF

• To find LS
• Start with all the arrows that exit the activity from the left
• For SS arrows use the LS of the succeding activity
• For SF arrows, use the LF
• Add or subtract lags from these arrows
• The minimum of these and the (LS - Duration) value is the LS
 Forward Pass
1 day

0 3 4 6
A 3 C 2
3 days

0 0 4 9 9 15 15 17 17 17

Start D 2 H 6 K 2 Finish

0 4 4 8
B 4 E 4

2 days 6 12 12 15

F 6 G 3
 Backward Pass
1 day

0 3 4 6
A 3 C 2
3 days
0 3 4 6
0 0 4 9 9 15 15 17 17 17

Start D 2 H 6 K 2 Finish
9 15 15 17 17 17
0 0 7 9

0 4 4 8
B 4 E 4
1 5 5 9

2 days 6 12 12 15

F 6 G 3
8 14 14 17
 Introduce Floats
1 day

0 3 4 6
A 3 C 2
3 days
0 0 3 4 0 6
0 0 4 9 9 15 15 17 17 17

Start D 2 H 6 K 2 Finish
9 0 15 15 0 17 17 0 17
0 0 0 7 ? 9

0 4 4 8
B 4 E 4
1 1 5 5 1 9

2 days 6 12 12 15

F 6 G 3
8 2 14 14 2 17
 Critical Path
1 day

0 3 4 6
A 3 C 2
3 days
0 0 3 4 0 6
0 0 4 9 9 15 15 17 17 17

Start D 2 H 6 K 2 Finish
9 0 15 15 0 17 17 0 17
0 0 0 7 ? 9

0 4 4 8
B 4 E 4
1 1 5 5 1 9

2 days 6 12 12 15

F 6 G 3
8 2 14 14 2 17
Start Float and Finish Float

• SFi = LSi – ESi

• FNFi = LFi – EFi

• Is there any difference between SF, FNF and Total Float?

 A short summary on CPM
• Complex Network based procedure
• Can tell us a great deal about the project
• Total duration
• When to start each activity
• Permissible delays
• Effect of delays on the entire network
• Reorganization and rescheduling strategies
• Helpful in claims analysis

• Relationships are complicated so represent them

carefully when drawing