Resource Smoothing - Homework

Activity Preceding Duration Staff

activity [weeks] Required

A none 2 2
B none 4 3
C A 3 2
D A 5 4
E A 1 3
F C 2 3
G D 5 3
H B, E 7 3
I H 2 2
J F, G, I 3 1
Resource Smoothing - Homework

0 2 2 5 5 7
1 A 2 6 C 3 6 F 2
1 3 8 11 11 13
0 0
0 St 0 2 7 7 12
0 0 1 D 5 1 G 5 13 16 16 16
3 8 8 13 0 J 3 0 En 0
13 16 16 16
2 3
1 E 1
3 4

0 4 4 11 11 13
0 B 4 0 H 7 0 I 2
0 4 4 11 11 13
 Resource Smoothing - Homework

 All activities start as early as possible:

Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Activity
A 2 2
B 3 3 3 3
C 2 2 2
D 4 4 4 4 4
E 3
F 3 3
G 3 3 3 3 3
H 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
I 2 2

J 1 1 1

Suma 5 5 12 9 9 10 10 6 6 6 6 5 2 1 1 1
 Resource Smoothing - Homework

 Non-critical activity C has been delayed and the following activities too:

Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Activity
A 2 2
B 3 3 3 3
C 2 2 2
D 4 4 4 4 4
E 3
F 3 3
G 3 3 3 3 3
H 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
I 2 2

J 1 1 1

Suma 5 5 10 9 9 9 10 9 6 6 6 5 2 1 1 1
 Resource Smoothing - Homework

 Non-critical activities C and D have been delayed and the following

activities too:
Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Activity
A 2 2
B 3 3 3 3
C 2 2 2
D 4 4 4 4 4
E 3
F 3 3
G 3 3 3 3 3
H 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
I 2 2

J 1 1 1

Suma 5 5 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 1 1 1
 Resource Smoothing - Homework

 Two possible scenarios of resource smoothing:

 Crashing Durations

Network Analysis Results

Is the project completion time provided by CPM
really the shortest possible?
 Based on the data provided there is no possibility to
make the project duration shorter.
BUT
 What about if more people are available?

 What if new machinery can be employed?

 What is a different technology is applicable?

 How much money do we have?

 Crashing Durations

Case Study – Earthquake in CA

In January 1994, the Northridge earthquake in
Southern California damaged ten bridges on the
Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles.
C.C. Myers, Inc. won the contract to replace the
bridges. The contract specified that the work had to
be completed in 140 days.
The closure of the freeway was estimated to cost the
economy of the area as much as $1M per day.
 Crashing Durations

Case Study – Earthquake in CA

The State of California, understanding the loss to the
LA economy that was caused by the freeway being
down, offered a $200,000 per day bonus for each day
prior to the 140 days deadline
C.C. Myers, Inc. Took the challenge:
 Greatly expanded workforce (e.g. 134 ironworkers instead of 15)
 Special lighting equipment allowed them to work 24 hours a day
 Special materials were used in order to avoid weather influence
 Generous incentive scheme was introduced for teams of workers
 The work was scheduled as an „assembly line“ etc.
 Crashing Durations

Case Study – Earthquake in CA

With the cooperation and extra effort from Caltrans,
the City of Los Angeles, the workers, and even the
citizens of LA, the company completed the job in
66 days, a full 74 days ahead of schedule.
The $14.8M bonus is the largest early completion
bonus paid by Caltrans.

It is evident that by adding more resources we can

(sometimes) further shorten the project duration!
 Crashing Durations

Case Study – SureFlight

 SureFlight Ground Services PLC has been providing a wide range of
services at airports and to airline companies. Recently it has
expanded its operations into the field of aircraft maintenance.
 The Civil Aviation authorities require that all aircraft are subjected to
rigorous maintenance inspection at stipulated regular intervals. The
expansion is part of the long term strategy of SureFlight in
accordance with its mission to be "... the leading provider of a
complete range of high quality civil aircraft services... '.
 The timing of the decision to proceed coincides with an opportunity
to tender for a five year contract to provide the maintenance for the
Airbus fleet of a major international passenger airline.
 Crashing Durations

Case Study – SureFlight

 The requirements spelled out in the tender documents cover full
maintenance of the aircraft engines, its airframe and fuel tanks and
all landing gear.
 After the aircraft has been checked in and all the relevant data
recorded it will be moved to a maintenance hangar and positioned
ready for work to begin. The first activities are concerned with
conducting a detailed inspection of all the three areas of concern by
suitably qualified inspection engineers.
 From this a complete list of required rectifications is produced for
the relevant fitters to perform. Once the rectifications have been
done thorough checking is carried out before the aircraft is signed off
and moved from the hangar ready to resume service.
 Crashing Durations

Case Study – SureFlight

 Clearly it is desirable to minimize the loss of income incurred by the
airline by completing the maintenance as quickly as possible.
 However safety should never be compromised for the sake of shorter
turnaround.
 As a first step in the planning process the Project Manager developed
a first level Work Breakdown Structure before proceeding to gather
detailed data.
 As the lower levels of the structure were produced and the work
packages were broken down into activities vital data was recorded for
later analysis. A summary of the activity data is given in Table 1
 Crashing Durations

Case Study – SureFlight

 A summary of the activity data is given in Table 1:

Activity Description Preceding Duration Inspection Fitters

activity (days) Engineers
A Position &jack up aircraft. Clean - 2 - 4
undercarriage & remove wheels
B Inspect engines A 2 1 3
C Inspect airframe A 4 2 1
D Inspect undercarriage A 2 1 3
E Rectify airframe C 4 - 3
F Rectify engines B 3 - 2
G Rectify undercarriage & refit wheels D 4 - 1
H Check rectification & sign off E, F, G 2 3 1
 Crashing Durations

Case Study – SureFlight

 It is now possible to do some cost estimating based on the activity
data using appropriate charge out rates for the engineers and fitters;
in this case it was decided after consultation with the Accounts that
$250 and $200 per day respectively should be used.
 In addition some estimate of the costs of materials and spare parts
that are likely to be used also needed including - the estimates are
shown in Table 2 below.

Activity A B D E G

Other Costs 100 60 120 900 800

 Crashing Durations

Case Study – SureFlight

 The estimated total costs for each activity including labor, materials
and/or replacement parts is shown in Table 3.
Activity Description Preceding Duration Estimated
activity (days) Cost
A Position &jack up aircraft. - 2 1700
Clean undercarriage & remove wheels
B Inspect engines A 2 1760
C Inspect airframe A 4 2800
D Inspect undercarriage A 2 1820
E Rectify airframe C 4 3300
F Rectify engines B 3 1200
G Rectify undercarriage & refit wheels D 4 1600
H Check rectification & sign off E, F, G 2 1900
 Crashing Durations

CPM Application:

2 4 4 7 Act Dur Cost

3 B 2 3 F 3 A 2 1700
5 7 7 10 B 2 1760
C 4 2800
D 2 1820
0 2 2 6 6 10 10 12 E 4 3300
0 A 2 0 C 4 0 E 4 0 H 2 F 3 1200
0 2 2 6 6 10 10 12 G 4 1600
H 2 1900
Total 12 16080
2 4 4 8
2 D 2 2 G 4 Normal scenario:
4 6 6 10
CP: A-C-E-H
Time: 12, Cost: 16080
 Crashing Durations

2 4 4 7

Case Study – SureFlight 3

5
B 2
7
3
7
F 3
10
Exercise:
 What is the total project time? 0 2 2 6 6 10 10 12
0 A 2 0 C 4 0 E 4 0 H 2
0 2 2 6 6 10 10 12
 What is the critical path?
2 4 4 8
 Consider each of the following and discuss their 2 D 2 2 G 4
4 6 6 10
individual effects on the total project time:
a) extra work is required on the undercarriage (G) which will take one
day longer than expected
b) inspection and rectification of airframe (C & E) takes only 6 days
c) due to an emergency on an operational aircraft the engine inspection
(B) is delayed and does not start until the beginning of the 7th day
 Crashing Durations

SureFlight – Improving our plan

 Each of the activities involved was examined in turn and alternative
"crash" durations, together with the necessary resources and costs
were estimated. These are shown below:
Activity Crash Inspection Fitters Estimated
Duration Engineers Cost ($)
A 1 - 9 1900
C 2 2 6 3000
E 3 - 6 4500
F 2 - 4 1600
G 2 - 3 2000

 What are the possibilities to improve our plan?

 Improving our plan

Case Study – SureFlight

 We need to update our table with data first:

Activity Description Preceding Duration Estimated Crash New

activity (days) Cost Duration Cost

A Position &jack up aircraft. - 2 1700 1 1900

B Inspect engines A 2 1760 -- --
C Inspect airframe A 4 2800 2 3000
D Inspect undercarriage A 2 1820 -- --
E Rectify airframe C 4 3300 3 4500
F Rectify engines B 3 1200 2 1600
Rectify undercarriage
G
&refit wheels
D 4 1600 2 2000
H Check rectification & sign off E, F, G 2 1900 -- --
 Improving our plan

 We have to calculate the cost of the time that could be saved.

 We are interested in cost per day being saved

Cost per day saved = additional cost/number of days saved

Activity Duration Estimated Crash New Days Additional Cost per

(days) Cost Duration Cost Saved Cost „Day Saved“
A 2 1700 1 1900 1 200 200/1=200
B 2 1760 -- -- -- -- ---
C 4 2800 2 3000 2 200 200/2=100
D 2 1820 -- -- -- -- ---
E 4 3300 3 4500 1 1200 1200/1=1200
F 3 1200 2 1600 1 400 400/1=400
G 4 1600 2 2000 2 400 400/2=200
H 2 1900 -- -- -- -- ---
 Improving our plan

 In order to improve the plan it is necessary to select an activity on

critical path that could be done in shorter time
 Our critical path is A-C-E-H (three options)
 If there are more choices available, choose the cheapest solution

Activity Duration Estimated Crash New Days Additional Cost per

(days) Cost Duration Cost Saved Cost „Day Saved“
A 2 1700 1 1900 1 200 200
B 2 1760 -- -- -- -- --
C 4 2800 2 3000 2 200 100
D 2 1820 -- -- -- -- --
E 4 3300 3 4500 1 1200 1200
F 3 1200 2 1600 1 400 400
G 4 1600 2 2000 2 400 200
H 2 1900 -- -- -- -- --
 Improving our plan

CPM Application:
 The scenario created by our decision to crash C:

2 4 4 7 Act Dur Cost Crashed

1 B 2 1 F 3 A 2 1700
3 5 5 8 B 2 1760 N/A
C 2 3000 yes
D 2 1820 N/A

0 2 2 4 4 8 8 10 E 4 3300
0 A 2 0 C 2 0 E 4 0 H 2 F 3 1200
0 2 2 4 4 8 8 10 G 4 1600
H 2 1900 N/A
Total 10 16280
2 4 4 8
0 D 2 0 G 4
2 4 4 8
Scenario “crash C”:
CP: A-C-E-H & A-D-G-H
Time: 10, Cost: 16280
 Improving our plan

 Select an activity on critical path that could be done in shorter

time and if there are more choices available, choose the cheapest
solution by means of cost per day saved
 Critical pathes: A-C-E-H & A-D-G-H

Activity Duration Estimated Crash New Days Additional Cost per

(days) Cost Duration Cost Saved Cost „Day Saved“
A 2 1700 1 1900 1 200 200
B 2 1760 -- -- -- -- --
C 4 2800 2 3000 2 200 100
D 2 1820 -- -- -- -- --
E 4 3300 3 4500 1 1200 1200
F 3 1200 2 1600 1 400 400
G 4 1600 2 2000 2 400 200
H 2 1900 -- -- -- -- --
 Improving our plan

CPM Application:
 The scenario created by our decision to crash C and then A:

1 3 3 6 Act Dur Cost Crashed

1 B 2 1 F 3 A 1 1900 yes

2 4 4 7 B 2 1760 N/A
C 2 3000 yes
D 2 1820 N/A

0 1 1 3 3 7 7 9 E 4 3300
0 A 1 0 C 2 0 E 4 0 H 2 F 3 1200
0 1 1 3 3 7 7 9 G 4 1600
H 2 1900 N/A
Total 9 16480
1 3 3 7
0 D 2 0 G 4
1 3 3 7
Scenario “crash C&A”:
CP: A-C-E-H & A-D-G-H
Time: 9, Cost: 16480
 Improving our plan

 Select an activity on critical path that could be done in shorter

time and ff there are more choices available, choose the cheapest
solution by means of cost per day saved
 Critical pathes: A-C-E-H & A-D-G-H

Activity Duration Estimated Crash New Days Additional Cost per

(days) Cost Duration Cost Saved Cost „Day Saved“
A 2 1700 1 1900 1 200 200
B 2 1760 -- -- -- -- --
C 4 2800 2 3000 2 200 100
D 2 1820 -- -- -- -- --
E 4 3300 3 4500 1 1200 1200
F 3 1200 2 1600 1 400 400
G 4 1600 2 2000 2 400 200
H 2 1900 -- -- -- -- --
 Improving our plan

CPM Application:
 The scenario created by our decision to crash A, C, E, and G:

1 3 3 6 Act Dur Cost Crashed

0 B 2 0 F 3 A 1 1900 yes

1 3 3 6 B 2 1760 N/A
C 2 3000 yes
D 2 1820 N/A

0 1 1 3 3 6 6 8 E 3 4500 yes

0 A 1 0 C 2 0 E 3 0 H 2 F 3 1200
0 1 1 3 3 6 6 8 G 2 2000 yes
H 2 1900 N/A
Total 8 18080
1 3 3 5
1 D 2 1 G 2
2 4 4 6
Scenario “crash C,A+E&G”:
CP: A-B-F-H & A-C-E-H
Time: 8, Cost: 18080
 Improving our plan

 There is only one possibility for crashing remaining (F) but it will
shorten just one of two critical paths and total time will stay the same
(8 days, but the cost will rise by another 400 )
 There is no further improvement possible

Activity Duration Estimated Crash New Days Additional Cost per

(days) Cost Duration Cost Saved Cost „Day Saved“
A 2 1700 1 1900 1 200 200
B 2 1760 -- -- -- -- --
C 4 2800 2 3000 2 200 100
D 2 1820 -- -- -- -- --
E 4 3300 3 4500 1 1200 1200
F 3 1200 2 1600 1 400 400
G 4 1600 2 2000 2 400 200
H 2 1900 -- -- -- -- --
 Improving our plan

 Was our effort worthwhile? What is the result?

Normal scenario: Scenario “crash C”:

CP: A-C-E-H CP: A-C-E-H & A-D-G-H
Time: 12, Cost: 16 080 Time: 10, Cost: 16 280

Scenario “crash C&A”: Scenario “crash C,A+E&G”:

CP: A-C-E-H & A-D-G-H CP: A-B-F-H & A-C-E-H
Time: 9, Cost: 16 480 Time: 8, Cost: 18 080
 Crashing Durations

Important notes:
 There are limits as to how much speed can be gained by adding staff.
Doubling the size of the workforce will not necessarily reduce
completion time by half – issues of training, communication within
larger team, problem of co-ordination etc.
 These problems could be solved by scheduling overtime (no
additional costs of coordination and communication) but it has many
disadvantages too.
 It is not true that over an extended period of time, a person
productivity remains constant. There are natural limits to what is
possible and extended overtime may actually lead to an overall
decline in productivity.
 Homework

A project is described by the activities A to F in the table below. Also given

are the predecessor activities, times required and costs for a normal and a
crash program for each activity.
Activity Predecessors Normal Cost Crash Cost
Duration $ Duration $
A - 8 100 6 200
B - 4 150 2 350
C A 2 50 1 90
D A 10 100 5 400
E B 5 100 1 200
F C, E 3 80 1 100
a) Draw the network diagram and carry out the analysis using the normal times
and costs.
b) Find the time-cost trade-off points that are possible. What is the minimum time
in which the program can be completed and what is the cost of this program.