Essay on Critical Path

Critical path refers to the activities sequence which determines the project duration. The time taken for a project to get to completion is determined by the longest tasks sequence of the activities. Thus, activities that lie on the critical path are the most important ones and need to be given more attention if the project is to be completed in the shortest time possible. A delay, however small, in an activity on the critical path leads to a delay in the overall project completion (Meyringer, 2006).

According to the activities breakdown above, the critical path is identified as: engineer inspection succeed by inspector approval and occupancy permit. That is to imply that engineer inspection and that of inspector approval and occupancy permit are two things which should be given the highest priority because a delay in any or both will delay overall project completion. The two activities take a total of 155 days, that is, 152 days for engineer inspection plus three days for inspector approval and occupancy.

Custom Spreadsheet

ID

Task

Duration (days)

Predecessor

Lag (days)

Start

Finish

1.11

Land acquisition contract signing

2

-

15/01/2018

17/01/2018

1.1.2

Project Plan review

1

1

18/01/2018

18/01/2018

1.1.3

Appoint Architect, incl. inspections

152

1

15/01/2018

16/06/2018

1.1.4

Apply for building permits

2

3

17/01/2018

19/01/2018

1.1.4

Site plan approval

3

3

17/01/2018

20/01/2018

1.1.5

Funding approval and release

1

2

18/01/2018

18/01/2018

1.1.4

Building permit approvals

1

4

19/01/2018

19/01/2018

1.3.1

Demolition of existing building

16

7

19/01/2018

4/2/2018

1.3.2

Excavate land

10

7

19/01/2018

29/01/2018

1.3.3

Lay foundations

14

9

29/01/2018

12/2/2018

1.3.4

Lay concrete

5

9

19/01/2018

24/01/2018

1.3.5

Install steel framework

21

11

2

26/01/2018

16/02/2018

1.3.6

Roof trusses installed

7

11

24/01/2018

31/01/2018

1.3.7

Plumbing installed

19

12

16/02/2018

7/3/2018

1.3.8

Brickwork laid

20

14

7/3/2018

27/03/2018

1.4.4

Surveyor inspection

1

-

17/05/2018

17/05/2018

1.4.1

Install interiors carpet, tiling

28

15

27/03/2018

24/04/2018

1.4.4

Engineer inspection

152

-

15/01/2018

16/06/2018

1.4.4

Director inspection

152

-

15/01/2018

16/06/2018

1.4.1

Finishes including lock up

25

17

24/04/2018

19/05/018

1.5.4

Inspector approval and occupancy permit

3

19

16/05/2018

19/05/2018

1.3.9

New building gazetted and commissioned

6

21

1

20/05/2018

25/05/2018

The Network Diagram

Reference

Meyringer, M. (2006). U.S. Patent No. 7,050,056. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office