(1) Explain your problem, don't simply post "This isn't working". What were you doing when you faced the problem? What have you tried to resolve - did you look for a solution using "Search" ? Has it happened just once or several times?
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Hello,
The project I am working on has been bogged down during preconstruction and the Owner has directed us to add resubmittal activities for each submittal that had a revision. Unfortunately, that is more or less all of them, and the previous schedulers were not adding these activities.
Below are some challenges I am considering, and I appreciate any comments or opinions:
1) Activity Type
The Owner has requested that I add a milestone for each resubmit and a milestone for each returned submittal.
In the past I have used a task dependent activity with a duration, not a milestone. For each resubmittal iteration, I added an activity for revise & resubmit, and an activity for review & approve, until the submittal was finally approved. This created a FS fragnet without gaps.
Is it common practice or are there any benefits to using milestones instead of a fragnet of task dependent activities that have durations?
2) Re-naming the activities
The Owner has requested that I add the submittal number and response status into the submittal activity name (ie. 0105.00 Returned Not Approved).
This would create some very long activity names, especially for activities where multilpe submittal numbers constitute a single activity.
My suggestion was to include the UDFs "Submittals" and "Submittal Status" that I already include in the schedule.
Is there a reason that changing the name of an activity to include this information is preferable to using UDFs?
3) Single Submittal Package for Multilple Submittal Activities
When the Baseline was developed, individual submittal activities were added for several locations on the project. These locations each have their own WBS. However, oftentimes all of these locations are included in a single submittal package.
For example, submittal #113 might contain all shop drawings for the identical components in north, east, south, and west areas, but the schedule has individual activities and WBSs for each of these areas.
Generally, would each WBS (north, east, south, west) need a series of activities for the #113 resubmittal process, even though they have identical dates? Or, is it generally acceptable to have a single #113 series in a parent WBS and tie it to "submittal approved" milestones added to each sub-WBS area?
A single submittal package often includes up to 8 individual areas, so resolving this question is going to have a big impact on the amount of time it takes to enter all these submittal sequences. Copying and pasting works, but it is tedious to go in and change activity names to reflect the individiual location. With that many submittals, there is a lot of opportunity for error.
As always, any and all thoughts are appreciated!
GP
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glad I could help
Unfortunately, those examples might be too hard to view.
If that is the case, thank you for your initial comments. They have helped me to reassess my own approach and I think I can offer a solution while also being open to the original requests from the Owner.
Much appreciated.
GP
Thank you for the response.
Below is what I'd prepared for talking points when we meet to discuss how these activities should be added. In this example, there are four submittal packages that need to be approved prior to procurement:
A) Baseline Sequence
B) Owner's requested method
Note that without an task dependent activity between the current review milestone, there isn't an anticipated review period prior to procurement.
3) My proposed method
Note that there is a task dependent review period between submittal and procurement.
After looking at this, though, I can see how tracking multiple submittals in the submittal status column can be just as cumbersome as insterting them into the Activity Name.
4) Using milestones in conjunction with task dependent activities
This covers all bases, but will also be cumbersome to create for each submittal sequence I will be adding into the schedule (approx 70).
Looking at these, I think I am going to request we use task dependent activities, as shown in Method 3, but with activity names as shown in Method 2.
I am trying to check my ego and not go with my own idea simply because it is my own. So any further consideration is greatly appreciated!
Thanks again,
GP
1) using a miles has its benefits when multiple resubmissions are required. This is because the milestone is tied as a FS to the procurrement activity or to the release of something or frees up some work to do.
If you use a milestone you can just add the resubmission process as a successor to the rejected submittal and then tie the resubmission process into the same milestone. Then you can manage by by milestone. So you would have 2 activities as predcessors to the milestone whoch would be the rejected approval and the 2nd approval.
2) That requests not unreasonable and I suggest that you abbreviate the description once the approval is rejected just as RAR for Revised and Resbmit or RNA for Returned Not Approved.
3) I think that depneds on if the submittal could be rejected by and area. If it is a universal, project type submittal I would level it as one. Something line 1/2" rigid conduit wil be used over the entire project so I dont need multiple submittals.
The approval of the submittal can be a predcessor to a procurement activity that SHOULD be by area or however you have it broken out.
Email: PPadmin@planningplanet.com
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