Resource Scheduling
If you’ve ever seen an episode of “Grand Designs” you’ll know what happens when someone who is ill-prepared for the job tries to manage a project. Budgets are blown, time periods escalate and people lose hair. Often, things would have gone to plan and may even have come in under budget if they had simply used a project manager from the start. Nevertheless, people remain adamant that the path they chose was the best one (an example of this?). Let’s have a look at some project management considerations. First off we’ll be looking at resource scheduling.
Resource Scheduling
Resources are limited. And demand for resources is not constant. It is desirable to efficiently utilise existing resources by evening out the demand for resources. This can be done by delaying non-critical activities (using slack). This in turn lowers peak demand, and increases resource utilisation. This process is known as resource levelling, or smoothing.
What is a resource?
1. People: Classified by the skills they bring to the project, eg. programmer, engineer.
2. Materials: Cover a large spectrum. Often the cause of the delay for many projects, eg. waiting on parts
3. Equipment: Things needed to get the job done, eg. tools, cranes, computers. Often overlooked as a constraint
4. Working Capital: If working capital is readily available, a project manager may work on many activites concurrently. If, however, it is in short supply, materials and labour usage may have to be restricted or delayed to conserve cash.
Constraints in Resource Scheduling
1. Technical or Logical Constraints: These are constraints related to the order in which things must be done. Eg. you can’t lay a foundation until you’ve poured the concrete.
2. Resource Constraints: An absence or shortage of resources can alter technical constraints
3. Physical Constraints: Constrain activities that would normally be performed in parallel eg. Contractual or environmental
The downside of levelling is a loss of flexibility that occurs from reducing slack. The risk of acitivites delaying the project also increases because slack reduction creates more critical or near-critical activities.
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