Fondahl, JW
Stanford University /Dept of Civil Eng
1962 2nd Edition, TECH REPT NO 9, 131 PP, TAB, 66 REF, 8 APP
SUBFILE: HRIS
THE CRITICAL PATH METHOD FOR PLANNING, SCHEDULING, AND CONTROL OF
PROJECT OPERATIONS IS A NEW AND USEFUL TOOL NOW BECOMING AVAILABLE TO THE
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS HAVE ALREADY PROVEN ITS
VALUE. TO DATE, EXCEPT FOR THE SIMPLEST OF CASES, THE USE OF THIS TECHNIQUE
HAS BEEN LARGELY DEPENDENT ON PROGRAMMED SOLUTIONS BY ELECTRONIC COMPUTERS.
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE MECHANICS OF NONCOMPUTER METHODS FOR APPLYING THE
CRITICAL PATH METHOD. THESE EMPLOY THE SAME INPUT DATA AND FURNISH THE SAME
OUTPUT INFORMATION AS THE COMPUTER METHODS. IN ADDITION, ALTERNATE
APPROACHES TO SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM ARE PRESENTED WHICH PERMIT THE
IMPORTANT SCHEDULING VARIATION PHASE TO BEGIN WITH A NORMAL ESTIMATE RATHER
THAN A SET OF DATA FOR AN ARTIFICIAL CONDITION. THERE ARE THREE GOALS
TOWARD WHICH THIS REPORT IS AIMED. THE FIRST IS TO PRESENT A NONCOMPUTER
METHOD FOR OBTAINING THE BENEFITS OF CRITICAL PATH SCHEDULING THAT IS
PRACTICAL TO APPLY TO MANY OF THE PROJECTS ENCOUNTERED BY THE CONSTRUCTIOON
CONTRACTOR. THE SECOND IS TO DEVELOP THE POSSIBILITIES INHERENT IN A
STEP-BY-STEP, MANUAL SOLUTION TO OVERCOME SOME OF THE SHORTCOMINGS OF
COMPUTER PROGRAMMED SOLUTIONS. THE THIRD IS TO OFFER THE READER AN
OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE DETAILS OF THE METHOD AND THE ASSUMPTIONS
UPON WHICH IT IS BASED, BY DISCUSSING THEM AND PRESENTING A COMPLETE
SOLUTION TO AN ILLUSTRATIVE PROBLEM. THE SOLUTIONS OF A COMPLEX PROBLEM BY
COMPUTER METHODS, ELIMINATING TEDIOUS CALCULATIONS AND POSSIBLE ERRORS, IS
A VALUABLE STEP FORWARD. THIS REPORT IS NOT INTENDED TO OPPOSE SUCH
METHODS, BUT, RATHER, TO OFFER A STEPPING STONE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL
PROCEDURES AND THESE MORE SOPHISTICATED PRACTICES. THE NEED FOR SUCH A
STEPPING STONE IS JUSTIFIED ON TWO BASES. FIRST, MANY POTENTIAL USERS FIND
IT INCONVENIENT TO USE ELECTRONIC COMPUTERS OR ARE NOT YET "COMPUTER
CONSCIOUS." SECOND, THE COMPUTER APPROACHES ARE NOT COMPLETELY SATISFACTORY
IN ALL RESPECTS. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT A BROADER ACQUAINTANCE WITH, AND
USE OF, THE CRITICAL PATH METHOD, MADE POSSIBLE BY NONCOMPUTER METHODS,
WILL LEAD EVENTUALLY TO AN EVEN WIDER EMPLOYMENT OF COMPUTER TECHNIQUES AS
WELL AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THEM. /AUTHOR/
215263 DA
METHODS FOR EXTENDING THE RANGE OF NON-COMPUTER CRITICAL PATH APPLICATIONS
Fondahl, JW
Stanford University /Dept of Civil Eng
Tech Rept 47, 180 PP, 45 FIG
SUBFILE: HRIS
A CONTINUATION IS DESCRIBED OF THE RESEARCH IN AN EARLIER REPORT ENTITLED
"A NON-COMPUTER APPROACH TO THE CRITICAL PATH METHOD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY." ITS PURPOSE IS TO PRESENT IMPROVEMENTS TO SEVERAL OF THE
PROCEDURES PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED AND TO OFFER ADDITIONAL METHODS THAT WILL
EXTEND THE RANGE OF THE NON-COMPUTER APPROACH. CHAPTER I DISCUSSES THESE
OBJECTIVES AND CERTAIN NOMENCLATURE CHANGES. THE DECISION TO RETAIN THE
DIAGRAMMING SYSTEM PRESENTED IN THE EARLIER REPORT, WHICH IS CONSIDERED BY
SOME TO BE "NON-STANDARD," IS DISCUSSED AT LENGTH IN CHAPTER II. THIS IS A
BASIC MATTER SINCE THE DETAIL OF THE PROCEDURES TO BE PRESENTED IS
DEPENDENT ON THE TYPE OF NETWORK DIAGRAM ADOPTED. THE DECIDING FACTOR IS
THAT OF SIMPLICITY. IN CHAPTER III, THE BASIC NETWORK ELEMENTS AND THE
MECHANICS BY WHICH CHANGES ARE TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE NETWORK ARE
EXAMINED. THREE APPROACHES ARE PROPOSED FOR INCREASING THE SIZE OF NETWORK
WHICH CAN FEASIBLY BE UPDATED BY NON-COMPUTER PROCEDURES. THIS ABILITY TO
UPDATE DATA IS NOT ONLY IMPORTANT AS A FUNCTION BY ITSELF, BUT IT IS A KEY
STEP IN SEVERAL OTHER TECHNIQUES, SUCH AS TIME-COST TRADE-OFFS AND RESOURCE
ALLOCATION. THEREFORE, THESE APPROACHES ARE SIGNIFICANT IN ACCOMPLISHING
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT. THEY ARE: (1) GREATER SELECTIVITY IN DATA
REQUIREMENT; (2) EFFICIENT METHODS FOR UPDATING ONLY THAT DATA AFFECTED BY
A CHANGE RATHER THAN RECOMPUTING ALL DATA; AND (3) NETWORK BREAKDOWN THAT
PERMITS LARGE NETWORKS TO BE REDUCED TO SMALLER SUBNETS WITHOUT SACRIFICING
ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES OF THE OVERALL DIAGRAM. CHAPTER IV CONSIDERS IN DETAIL
GREATER SELECTIVITY IN DATA REQUIREMENTS AND ANALYZES THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS
OF DATA THAT CAN BE PROVIDED AS WELL AS THE VARIOUS APPLICATIONS OF THIS
DATA. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MADE FOR (1) CONSIDERABLY REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF
DATA THAT IS TO BE MAINTAINED IN AN UP-TO-DATE CONDITION AFTER EACH CHANGE
OCCURS, AND (2) UPDATING THE REMAINDER AT MUCH LESS FREQUENT INTERVALS.
CHAPTER V DEVELOPS PROCEDURES FOR UPDATING THAT DATA THAT IS AFFECTED BY A
CHANGE WITHOUT RECOMPUTING THE COMPLETE SET OF DATA. IT IS BASED ON A
STRICTLY MANUAL METHOD. CHAPTER VI DESCRIBES AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF
UPDATING BASED ON THE USE OF AN ELECTRICAL NETWORK ANALYZER THAT HAS BEEN
DEVELOPED UNDER THIS PROJECT TO FACILITATE THIS WORK. CHAPTER VII DISCUSSED
THREE METHODS OF NETWORK BREAKDOWN WHICH MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO REDUCE A LARGE
NETWORK TO A SIZE THAT IS FEASIBLE TO HANDLE NON-COMPUTER PROCEDURES. ONE
OF THEM, A NEW METHOD BASED ON DATELINE CUTOFFS, IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL
SINCE IT PERMITS UPDATING, ANALYSIS, AND EXPANSION OF DETAIL, IF DESIRED,
FOR THAT PORTION OF THE PROJECT THAT IS TO BE PERFORMED IN THE IMMEDIATE
FUTURE, BUT DOES NOT REQUIRE COMPLETE UPDATING OR A SIMILAR DEGREE OF
DETAIL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NETWORK. /AUTHOR/