3.

26:
The Maser is a new custom-designed sports car. An analysis of the task of building
the Maser reveals the following list of relevant activities, their immediate
predecessors, and their duration.

Job Description Immediate Normal Time

Letter Predecessor(s) (days)
A Start -- 0
B Design A 8
C Order special accessories B 0.1
D Build frame B 1
E Build doors B 1
F Attach axles, wheels, gas tank D 1
G Build body shell B 2
H Build transmission and drivetrain B 3
I Fit doors to body shell G, E 1
J Build engine B 4
K Bench-test engine J 2
L Assemble chassis F, H, K 1
M Road-test chassis L 0.5
N Paint body I 2
O Install wiring N 1
P Install interior N 1.5
Q Accept delivery of special accessories C 5
R Mount body and accessories on chassis M, O, P, Q 1
S Road test car R 0.5
T Attach exterior trim S 1
U Finish T 0
 a) Draw a network diagram for the project.

b) Mark the critical path and state its length.

Normal
Immediate
Job Letter Time ES EF LS LF Slack
Predecessor(s)
(days)
A (Start) -- 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0
B A 8,0 0,0 8,0 0,0 8,0 0,0
C B 0.1 8,0 8,1 10,4 10,5 2,4
D B 1,0 8,0 9,0 12,0 13,0 4,0
E B 1,0 8,0 9,0 10,0 11,0 2,0
F D 1,0 9,0 10,0 13,0 14,0 4,0
G B 2,0 8,0 10,0 9,0 11,0 1,0
H B 3,0 8,0 11,0 11,0 14,0 3,0
I G, E 1,0 10,0 11,0 11,0 12,0 1,0
J B 4,0 8,0 12,0 8,0 12,0 0,0
K J 2,0 12,0 14,0 12,0 14,0 0,0
L F, H, K 1,0 14,0 15,0 14,0 15,0 0,0
M L 0.5 15,0 15,5 15,0 15,5 0,0
N I 2,0 11,0 13,0 12,0 14,0 1,0
O N 1,0 13,0 14,0 14,5 15,5 1,5
P N 1.5 13,0 14,5 14,0 15,5 1,0
Q C 5,0 8,1 13,1 10,5 15,5 2,4
R M, O, P, Q 1,0 15,5 16,5 15,5 16,5 0,0
 S R 0.5 16,5 17,0 16,5 17,0 0,0
T S 1,0 17,0 18,0 17,0 18,0 0,0
U (Finish) T 0,0 18,0 18,0 18,0 18,0 0,0

Critical Path is A-B-J-K-L-M-R-S-T-U for 18 days.

c) If the Maser had to be completed 2 days earlier, would it help to

i) Buy preassembled transmissions and drivetrains? No, because
transmissions and drivetrains are not on the critical path
ii) Install robots to halve engine-building time? No, It doesn’t work on
Critical Path
iii) Speed delivery of special accessories by 3 days? No, it is not on the
Critical Path

d) How might resources be borrowed from activities on the non-critical path

to speed activities on the critical path?
By reallocationg workers not involved with critical path activities to activities
along the critical path will reduce the critical path length.
CASE STUDIES
Southwestern University: (A)

Southwestern University (SWU), a large state college in Stephenville, Texas,

30 miles southwest of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, enrolls close to 20,000
students. In a typical town–gown relationship, the school is a dominant force in the
small city, with more students during fall and spring than permanent residents.

A longtime football powerhouse, SWU is a member of the Big Eleven

conference and is usually in the top 20 in college football rankings. To bolster its
chances of reaching the elusive and long-desired number-one ranking, in 2009, SWU
hired the legendary Phil Flamm as its head coach One of Flamm’s demands on joining
SWU had been a new stadium. With attendance increasing, SWU administrators
began to face the issue head-on. After 6 months of study, much political arm
wrestling, and some serious financial analysis, Dr. Joel Wisner, president of
Southwestern University, had reached a decision to expand the capacity at its on-
campus stadium.

Adding thousands of seats, including dozens of luxury skyboxes, would not

please everyone. The influential Flamm had argued the need for a first-class stadium,
one with built-in dormitory rooms for his players and a palatial office appropriate for
the coach of a future NCAA champion team. But the decision was made, and
everyone, including the coach, would learn to live with it.

The job now was to get construction going immediately after the 2015 season
ended. This would allow exactly 270 days until the 2016 season opening game. The
contractor, Hill Construction (Bob Hill being an alumnus, of course), signed his
contract. Bob Hill looked at the tasks his engineers had outlined and looked President
Wisner in the eye. “I guarantee the team will be able to take the field on schedule next
year,” he said with a sense of confidence. “I sure hope so,” replied Wisner. “The
contract penalty of $10,000 per day for running late is nothing compared to what
Coach Flamm will do to you if our opening game with Penn State is delayed or
canceled.” Hill, sweating slightly, did not need to respond. In football-crazy Texas,
Hill Construction would be mud if the 270-day target was missed.

Back in his office, Hill again reviewed the data (see Table 3.6 ) and noted that
optimistic time estimates can be used as crash times. He then gathered his foremen.
“Folks, if we’re not 75% sure we’ll finish this stadium in less than 270 days, I want
this project crashed! Give me the cost figures for a target date of 250 days—also for
240 days. I want to be early, not just on time!”
 Table 3.6 Southwestern University Project
      TIME ESTIMATES (DAYS)
ACTI MOST PESSIMISTI CRASH
DESCRIPTION PREDECESSOR(S) OPTIMISTIC
VITY LIKELY C COST/DAY
Bonding, insurance, tax $
A — 20 30 40
structuring 1.500,00
Foundation, concrete footings $
B A 20 65 80
for boxes 3.500,00
Upgrading skybox stadium $
C A 50 60 100
seating 4.000,00
Upgrading walkways, stairwells, $
D C 30 50 100
elevators 1.900,00
$
E Interior wiring, lathes B 25 30 35
9.500,00
$
F Inspection approvals E 0,1 0,1 0,1
-
$
G Plumbing D, F 25 30 35
2.500,00
$
H Painting G 10 20 30
2.000,00
$
I Hardware/AC/metal workings H 20 25 60
2.000,00
$
J Tile/carpet/windows H 8 10 12
6.000,00
$
K Inspection J 0,1 0,1 0,1
-
$
L Final detail work/cleanup I, K 20 25 60
4.500,00

Discussion Questions

1. Develop a network drawing for Hill Construction and determine the critical
path. How long is the project expected to take?
 Critical Path : A – C – D – G – H – I – L (260 days for Expected days)

MOST PESSIMISTI EXPECTED

OPTIMISTIC VARIANCE
ACTIVITY PREDECESSOR(S) LIKELY C TIME
a m b t = (a+4m+b)/6 [(b-a)/6]^2
A — 20 30 40 30 11,11
B A 20 65 80 60 100,00
C A 50 60 100 65 69,44
D C 30 50 100 55 136,11
E B 25 30 35 30 2,78
F E 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,00
G D, F 25 30 35 30 2,78
H G 10 20 30 20 11,11
I H 20 25 60 30 44,44
J H 8 10 12 10 0,44
K J 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,00
L I, K 20 25 60 30 44,44

Project Variance of Critical Path : 11.11+69.44+136.11+2.78+11.11+44.44+44.44 =

319.44 Days

Project Standard Deviation of Critical Path = 17.87 days

2. What is the probability of finishing in 270 days?

Completion < 270 days = P(t<270)
Z = (Due Date – Expected Date of Completion)/Std Deviation of Critical Path
Z = (270-260)/17.87
Z = 0.56
Where Z is the number of Standard Deviation the due date or target date lies from the
mean or expected date.
Referring to the Normal Table, we find a Z-Value of 0.56 to the right of the mean
indicates probability of 0.71226. So there is a 71.23% chance to finishing the project.
3. If it is necessary to crash to 250 or 240 days, how would Hill do so, and at what costs?
As noted in the case, assume that optimistic time estimates can be used as crash times.
Normal Time Crash Time Crash
ACTIVITY PREDECESSOR(S)
(days) (days) Cost/day
A — 30 20 $ 1.500,00
B A 60 20 $ 3.500,00
C A 65 50 $ 4.000,00
D C 55 30 $ 1.900,00
E B 30 25 $ 9.500,00
F E 0 0 $ -
G D, F 30 25 $ 2.500,00
H G 20 10 $ 2.000,00
I H 30 20 $ 2.000,00
J H 10 8 $ 6.000,00
K J 0 0 $ -
L I, K 30 20 $ 4.500,00
*Expected Time = Normal Time
*Optimistic Time = Crash Time

Take the smallest value of the crash cost/day on the Critical Path ($1500 & $1900)
- To crash to 250 days from 260 days,
Choose activity A and then $1500 x 10 days = $15.000
- To crash to 250 days from 250 days,
Choose activity D and then $1900 x 10 days = $19000

 Total cost to crash to 240 Days = $34000 (additional)