Project Schedule Integration

I hear the term Integrated Project Schedule more and more often on complex projects, and we’ve been wondering whether there is a common understanding of what it means to have an integrated project schedule. Does it mean that the schedules of many parties have been logically tied together? The schedule reflects all project resources? All parties have bought in to the execution plan? The schedule is integrated with cost management systems? Does it mean all of this?

To start, I focused on whether the project schedule truly integrates the schedules of all project stakeholders. If so, it may include separate schedules developed by parties responsible for various aspects of engineering, procurement, construction, and operations.
 

If these schedules have been developed without a well defined and consistent structure, integrating them into one logically linked plan can be a challenge. If the schedules have been prepared in differing levels of detail and in different software packages, the resultant integrated schedule may create more problems than it solves.
Considering that, there may be an underappreciation for integration of the plan to execute the project scope. If there is not an integrated plan, there cannot be an integrated schedule that will drive cash flow, resource analysis, or other deliverables that are touted as among the benefits of an integrated schedule. How do we restore the focus on development of an integrated execution plan?
First, the project team needs to determine the best approach to schedule integration. Options include the following:

• Schedules are submitted in a standard coding structure with full integration at the top-tier
• Higher contract tiers simplify and integrate schedules submitted by lower tiers
• Standard schedule submittals with top-tier integration through a milestone schedule
• Top-tier is a separate (e.g., Level 2 project schedule), and lower tier schedules are “coordinated” with that schedule
• Full access to single database with collaborative development
• Access to a single database with control over some features (such as logic changes) at higher contract tiers

In determining what approach to use on a recent project for the expansion of a scrubber WWT plant, I considered the fact that all contracts were already in place without detailed scheduling requirements. The two major contracts that required coordination were EPC contracts with one contractor preparing schedules using Primavera Contractor and the other using Microsoft Project. Both had well-developed schedules and little experience with the other contractor’s chosen software package.

Considering these conditions and the extremely tight schedule for the overall project, it made little sense to impose a rigid scheduling regime on either contractor. Why would I want either contractor to develop and maintain a schedule to model their plan in software with which they had little experience and no desire to use? In addition, the owner had a separate contract in place for the main power supply to the new WWT plant and ongoing operations to coordinate with the project. Coordinating all of this in an integrated CPM schedule simply did not appear to be the most effective approach.

Instead, all contractor schedules were incorporated into an Integration Analysis Schedule that was used to identify coordination issues, identify the overall critical path of the project, and determine key turnover dates from one party to another.

Release dates for each project area were coordinated, and all contractors bought-in to the turnover targets. Over the course of the project, the contractors maintained their independent schedules, which were reintegrated on a periodic basis for analysis. In the interim, the schedules were reviewed independently for variances and identification of any issues that could impact a turnover date. As the project transitioned from construction to commissioning, a separate effort was undertaken to coordinate the commissioning process.

Ultimately, the selected approach was found to effectively coordinate the efforts of all parties, while allowing them to plan and manage their work in the way that they felt most comfortable. The experience demonstrated that there is more than one effective approach to schedule integration, and that determination of an approach can rely on contractual and project execution conditions that may be unique to a particular project.