Two Marks Questions and Answers

TWO MARKS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

 

1. Define Construction planning.

Construction planning is a primary and demanding activity in the construction management and execution of construction projects. It involves the selection of technology, the definition of work tasks, the estimation of the required resources and durations for individual tasks, and the identification of any relations among the different work tasks.

2. What is the necessity for construction planning?

Planning is essential to ensure proper utilization of human and material resources to achieve the objectives of the project. Construction project planning includes the estimate, budget, time schedule, sequences of completion of each activity of the project, resource and manpower planning.

3. Classify the different types of construction projects.

Depending on the nature of the construction facility, major construction projects are classified as follows:

❖ Building Projects

❖ Infrastructure Projects

❖Industrial Projects.

❖ Special-Purpose Projects

4. What are the steps involved in the construction planning?

The following are the steps to be followed in a construction planning:

❖ Project initiation

❖ Creating the project plan

❖ Executing the plan

❖ Tracking the project progress

❖ Evaluation of the project

5. What are the objectives of construction planning?

The main objective of planning is to execute the project most economically within the time schedule. Effective planning includes the following factors:

❖ Each element of the project should be properly designed.

❖ Selecting proper equipment and machinery accordingly to the nature of the project.

❖ Arranging proper maintenance facility for equipment and machinery near the project site to avoid hindrance due to breakdown.

❖ Procuring materials well in advance and stocking at the site to avoid delay due to insufficient storage.

6. State the Principles of construction Planning.

The following are the principles of construction planning:

❖ The plan should present the information in an easily understandable manner, irrespective of the complex situation in the project.

❖ The plan should be realistic, flexible and comprehensive.

❖ The plan should provide a source for project monitoring and control process.

7. List the types of construction project planning.

The following are some of the most common types of construction project planning processes:

❖ Strategic planning

❖ Operational planning

❖ Business planning

❖ Resource planning

8. Define resource planning.

Resource planning ensures that each project a company is currently working has sufficient staff, materials and resources necessary to be completed successfully and on time. To keep everything organized, project managers often create milestone dates and deadlines, as well as a list of where they plan to allocate necessary resources. This can be beneficial if multiple projects are in progress at the same time.

9. What are the stages of Construction planning?

The various stages in the planning process are:

❖ Preplanning

❖ Detailed Planning

❖ Monitoring and Control

10. List the advantages of Construction planning.

The following are the advantages of construction planning:

❖ The contractor can get a clear scenario about the sequence of work, since the construction plan is detailed through sketches, bar charts etc.

❖ It helps to maintain the financial cash flow of the contractor through proper resource management.

❖ Labour requirement can also be managed properly through appropriate planning for each activity.

❖ Various sub activities of the project can also be identified and actual work can be measured easily by the contractor.

❖ The client will know exactly how long it will take to complete the project.

11. List the disadvantages of construction Planning.

The following are the disadvantages of construction planning:

❖ The effectiveness of the plan depends upon the correctness of assumptions.

❖ In certain big projects planning is expensive and might delays action.

❖ Planning encourages a false sense of security.

12. Define Construction Scheduling.

Construction scheduling can be defined as the process of listing all the activities to be carried out with the planned start and completion dates. It is an entire blueprint which shows how the project will be executed and the sequential relationship among the various activities or operations in a project so that work roid can be carried out in an orderly and effective manner.

13. What are the steps involved in construction planning?

The steps involved in construction scheduling are:

❖ The project is divided into number of operations and the sequences of these operations can be derived after knowing their relationship properly.

❖ The quantity of work involved in each operation has to be calculated.

❖ The time required for completion of the project and different activities are to be calculated.

14. List the various types of construction schedule.

The various types of construction schedules can be listed as follows:

❖ Construction Material Schedule

❖ Labor Schedule

❖ Equipment Schedule

❖ Financial Schedule

❖ Control Schedule

❖ Organization Schedule

❖ Summary Schedule

15. List the methods of construction scheduling.

Construction scheduling can be done depending on the nature of the project. The various methods of scheduling are discussed as follows:

❖ Gantt chart

❖ Q Scheduling

❖ Last Planner System

❖ Line of Balance

❖ Work breakdown structure

❖ Critical Path Method (CPM)

❖ Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

16. Write about Gantt chart.

Henry Gantt (1861-1919), an American mechanical engineer, designed the Gantt chart. Gantt chart is a common construction scheduling method which utilizes the bar charts to depict the plan and the progress of the project. The unique aspect of this scheduling technique is that it highlights the dependency of one task or activity on the other to be completed efficiently in the given time. These are also known as bar charts. A Gantt chart helps in scheduling, managing, and monitoring specific tasks and resources in a project.

17. What do you mean by Quantitative scheduling?

Quantitative scheduling, also known as Q scheduling, uses bar charts to visualize resource quantities and the locations in which the resources will be used. It is a different type of construction scheduling method. It focuses on scheduling the materials and equipment used in the project. It provides a clear description of the materials used and required in the project through a bar chart.

18. How can you explain LOB?

Line of balance (LOB) is a scheduling method which is usually implied in projects that include repetitive activity. The balance scheduling method measures the cost, time, and project completion plan and ensures nothing falls behind the schedule. These type of schedules are very uncommon but are sometimes used when a construction project consists of highly repeatable and similar tasks. These are most commonly used for roadways, pipes, and other horizontal construction projects.

19. What are the procedures to be followed in LOB?

For preparing a line of balance schedule, the following procedures should be adopted:

❖ Prepare a logic diagram.

❖ Estimate the man-hours required to complete each operation.

❖ Choose buffer times which will guard against the risk of interface between operations.

❖ Calculate the required output target in order to meet a given project completion date.

❖ Complete the LOB schedule.

❖ Examine the schedule and assess possible alternatives to bring about a more 'balanced' schedule.

20. Write short notes on WBS.

The Work breakdown structure (WBS) is the tool that is used to record and communicate the project deliverables and sub-deliverables as well as the accomplishments and sub-accomplishments. WBS is a visual, hierarchical and deliverable-oriented deconstruction of a project. It is a helpful diagram for project managers because it allows them to break down their project scope and visualize all the tasks required to complete their projects.

21. List the advantages of deliverable WBS.

The advantages of a deliverable-oriented WBS are: do It simplifies the process of cost estimating.

❖ It allows us to see the total work scope.

❖ It clarifies the relationships among elements.

❖ It can be used during all project phases.

❖ It's easier to modify as the project changes.

❖ It supports earned value management.

22. What do you mean by CPM?

The critical path method is one of the most common construction scheduling methods, and it is also called a critical path analysis. This type of schedule is developed by creating a network diagram highlighting the sequence of tasks and projects following the specific path. The CPM creates a schedule based on critical activities, which must be completed before another activity can begin. Once critical activities are identified, they are scheduled in sequence to determine the least amount of time a construction project can be completed.

23. Write short notes on PERT.

The program evaluation and review technique (PERT) is one of the most critical construction scheduling methods. This is because it pays more attention to analyze all the individual project activities. In other words, PERT evaluates and reviews the project's activities in progress and evaluates the time duration in which they will be completed.

24. What is a critical activity?

The activities with zero total float are known as critical activities. In other words an activity is said to be critical if a delay in its start will cause a further delay in the completion date of the entire project.

25. Write about optimistic and pessimistic time.

❖ Optimistic Time (t_o): It is the shortest possible time in which the activity can be finished. It assumes that everything goes very well. This is denoted by to.

❖ Pessimistic Time (t): It represents the longest time the activity could take if everything goes wrong. As in optimistic estimate, this value may be such that only one in hundred or one in twenty will take time longer than this value. This is denoted by tp.

26. How will you calculate expected time?

Expected time is the average time an activity will take if it were to be repeated on large number of times and is based on the assumption that the activity time follows Beta distribution, this is given by

t_e = (t_o +4 t_m + t_p)/6