3.0 Project Schedule

Learn about the functionality of the Project Schedule tool.

Summary

• It allows the user to create and manage Milestones which are the steps in the sequence
• Click the three dots on the card to open the manger functionality
• A list of the milestones is available from Project Schedule from the three dots on the card

Create Milestones

There are three ways to create milestones:

1. Click the plus button (+) next to the milestone manager - Enter a name and date and press enter (or click off) to confirm and create the milestone
2. From the table view, click the three dots on an existing milestone. Then, Add milestone and add before or after the existing milestone
3. Import a schedule file for automatic creation of milestones - from Project Setup or Imported Schedule (three dots) shown above

Manage Milestones

• To navigate through the milestones - click on a milestone card (1) and scroll timeline by dragging the horizontal scroll below the milestones or use the key shortcut of Shift + mouse scroll wheel along the milestone manager. Using the key shortcut Ctrl + L/R arrow keys let you skip to the first or last milestone.
• To edit an existing milestone - double-click the card (1), and then click the name or date to adjust them respectively
  • Or, Select Edit name and date from the three dots drop-down (2)
• To change the view displayed milestone increment from the default of weeks - Click the three dots and hover over View (3)
  • Select from Weekly, Monthly, or Index
  • Index appears as 'Ms #'
• Select Current Milestone to select the milestone right before "today's" date

Manager Table View

• To access the milestone list view from the milestone manager, click the three dots, then choose Project Schedule
  • Double-click on the name or date,
  • Right-click anywhere on the milestone,
  • Or, click the three dots on the right

• Add before, to create a new milestone preceding the selected milestone
• Add after, to create a new milestone after following the selected milestone

• The current milestone is indicated by the blue dot after the milestone name.
• Select Go to milestone to navigate the viewer the particular milestone, either by hovering over the milestone to the left of the name, or from the three dots on the milestone
• To create new milestones, go to the adjacent milestone where it is to be placed, click the three dots and hover the cursor over + Add milestone

Tips & FAQ

What should I consider when adding milestones to cmBuilder?

Milestones in cmBuilder represent points in time that you wish to communicate the state of work being done. This usually involves the end-date of major activities on site, and usually ends up being one milestone per week or month (though in some cases can have milestones closer together, for example if you are communicating the first iteration of a specific sequence that is repeated).

I want to create milestones for each task I have to sequence

Sequencing in cmBuilder is not task based but mainly focusing on key construction dates. It does not use each task the way some other products work.

You usually don't need this many milestones to represent the overall construction phasing. For sequencing, this means that you would group all objects that start or end around the same time, to a single milestone instead.

We also find that with repeated tasks within a presentation, it tends to make the presentation too long and repetitive to keep it engaging for the audience (which is what happens when sequencing by task).

Example of a milestone layout in cmBuilder

It is often best to start with the major phases, and then break them down as you find the need for more detail. There is no limit to the number of Milestones in a Scenario, but the recommended maximum is 200 Milestones.

• For sequencing around a building, you would generally want these milestones:
  • Existing Conditions: 1 milestone
  • Mobilization Phase: 0-2 milestones, depending on complexity or duration
  • Demolition Phase: 0-3 depending on complexity (though demo/reno projects could be 20+ here)
  • Excavation Phase: between 1-10 to cover grade, piles, bulk excavation, detailed excavation, and foundation, depending on what your project entails
  • Erection Phase: about 1 per floor-cycle
    • Usually follow concrete/steel/wood-frame at first, and shift to follow exterior if it is out-of-sync
    • For tall towers, once the pattern is established, you can start to group multiple floors per milestone
  • Interior Phase: Depending on the project, may follow each floor, or can be completely ignored
  • Finish: Usually 1-5 milestones to show surrounding clean-up and the completed building
  • 0-3 slides through for other conditions, such as relocating a crane or office
  • Possibly up to 6 slides if you need to slow down and show a specific sequence or operation at one point in the project
• If you are creating an image deliverable, you don't need to display all of this, though you may still want to for planning purposes
• If you are creating a coordination file to communicate to the site team or trades, you may want to go into more detail than this, as people may glance over the overview, and drill into a specific area. This is similar to how some experts use PowerPoint presentations - they have 8 slides, and an appendix of 80 slides to answer questions as they arise.

note that for scenarios that are not single-tower buildings, the above does not directly apply. However, it can still be used for general guidelines on how to prioritize your milestones.

How to leverage schedule import?

When going through the schedule, it is best to start with bringing in just a few milestones from your file, and then add more as you see them needed. If you bring in too many tasks in your first-pass, it might be hard to get it to align to your visualization plan.

It is mainly advised to use the end dates of key activities for your milestones, because that is when the work is done that you will want to display. However, there are some key activities that you may want to grab the start date of, such as excavation and concrete pouring, where you have to bring heavy machinery onto site.