Time is money in any industry, but when it comes to construction, it is especially important to manage time wisely. One small setback can hinder an entire project.  While some setbacks may be out of your hands, knowing the breakdown of a project can help you prepare for and even avoid any problems.

The Critical Path Method (CPM) diagrams a project based on the estimated time it should take to complete various tasks. Not only does this give you a visual of timing for a project, but it predicts how long the project will take and identifies which tasks are critical in maintaining your schedule and which are not. The “critical path” will be the series of tasks that will take the longest, meaning they are most crucial to finishing on time. This diagram, taken from Mycoted, shows a very simple example:

The steps are fairly short and simple.

1. Identify each task for the project.
2. Determine the order of those tasks.
3. Draw the Critical Path Method diagram.
4. Estimate the completion time for each task.
5. Identify the critical path.
6. Update the diagram as necessary.

Another method is known as Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM).  It is similar to CPM, but with some important differences. 

Rather than plan a project from start to finish, Critical Chain Project Management plans backward from a completion date with each task taking as long as possible.  Furthermore, each task is assigned two lengths of time. One will be a “best guess,” which has a 50% chance of being correct. The other is a “safe guess,” which has a 95% chance of being correct.

Once each task is calculated, resources are taken into consideration. Based on the assumption that half of the resources will be on time and the other half late, each is calculated to take 50% of the estimated time.

Finally, “buffers” are added at various points in the plan. The difference between the “best” and “safe” durations is added to the ends of each task as well as at each end of the project. This is all done based on Parkinson’s Law, which says everything is going to take longer than planned.

While Critical Chain Project Management is significantly more complicated that the Critical Path Method, it is often said that CCPM is more reliable because it takes every possible setback into consideration. Either way, these methods can help you manage your time much more effectively.