A Schedule Delay Does Not Always Mean a Late Project
A contractor’s baseline CPM schedule shows the project completing on time. Three months into construction, the actual progress is two weeks behind the schedule for roofing work - a critical path activity. Does the project finish late? Not necessarily. The contractor has options for recovering the schedule, and the architect has a role in reviewing those options, documenting the situation, and advising the owner. Schedule recovery is a real construction administration challenge, and the ARE PjM tests whether candidates understand both the contractor’s recovery options and the architect’s responsibilities when the schedule is in trouble.
Common Schedule Recovery Strategies
Acceleration means increasing the rate of work to complete activities in less time than originally planned. Acceleration typically requires adding labor, working overtime, adding shifts, or using more equipment. It costs money - overtime labor typically runs 25–50% more than straight-time labor, and efficiency decreases as crews become fatigued or overcrowded on the site. Owner-directed acceleration (where the owner wants the schedule recovered faster than the contractor would choose to) may entitle the contractor to additional compensation for acceleration costs.
Crashing the critical path is a structured form of acceleration that focuses additional resources only on critical path activities (those that directly affect the completion date). Non-critical activities with float are left unchanged; adding resources to them would not improve the finish date. Crashing analysis calculates the cost per day of schedule recovery for each critical path activity and adds resources to the cheapest options first.
Fast-tracking activities means overlapping activities that were originally planned sequentially. If interior rough-in was planned to start after the building was dried-in, fast-tracking might start rough-in in lower floors while upper floors are still being framed. Fast-tracking increases schedule risk because earlier activities are committed before later information (which might require changes) is available.
Resource reallocation means moving crew or equipment from non-critical activities to critical path activities without adding total resources or cost. This is the lowest-cost recovery option and should always be evaluated first.
The Architect’s Role in Schedule Recovery
The architect does not direct the contractor’s means and methods, and this applies to schedule recovery as well. The architect cannot order the contractor to add workers or work overtime. What the architect does: review the contractor’s updated schedule when submitted; document schedule status in field observation reports; advise the owner on the schedule situation and its implications; and process change orders related to owner-directed acceleration if the owner decides to require faster recovery than the contractor would choose. The architect should also review whether the delay was caused by owner-directed changes or differing site conditions that would entitle the contractor to a time extension.
Key ARE PjM Exam Points
- Acceleration (adding resources) and crashing (adding resources specifically to critical path activities) both increase cost.
- Fast-tracking overlaps sequentially planned activities, which saves time but increases change order risk.
- Resource reallocation from non-critical to critical activities is the lowest-cost recovery option.
- The architect reviews schedules but does not direct the contractor’s means and methods for recovery.
- Owner-directed acceleration may entitle the contractor to additional compensation for increased labor and overhead costs.
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