Scheduling Pro Tip #2: Managing Key Milestones in Construction Schedules

Your goal for each construction project is to bring that project in on time and under budget. You wouldn’t want to simply outline the tasks that need to be completed within a project schedule and hope for the best. You would want to highlight key points throughout the project that mark progress achieved and keep you focused on the task at hand. The use of integral management devices such as schedule milestones allow for you to keep a close measure on the progress of your project and ensure that you are on the path to successful completion.

Schedule milestones act as checkpoints in your construction project, serving as the green light to give you the go-ahead for progressing forward. Milestones are characterized as having a fixed date, but a zero-day duration, and represent key occurrences like deadlines, due dates, budget reviews, or inspections. Additionally, schedule milestones can serve as representations of the start/end of a significant phase of the project at hand, providing further visibility for your project team regarding project status and completion.

Some things to take into consideration when deciding what events will serve as milestones in your construction schedules include –

Consider if the event better qualifies as a milestone or a task. Does it address work that needs a resource assigned and time allocated for completion? Or does it measure the meeting of a project goal rather than the completion of particular works?
Assess the impact that the event may have on project progress. Would this decision or activity impede the forward movement of the project if not completed on time? How significant would the impact be if delayed or rescheduled?
Determine the need for team awareness regarding the status of this event. Which resources need visibility regarding the completion of this activity? Will the client or investor need to be notified of the outcome?

Because schedule milestones are such an important part of successful project planning and overall construction management, most construction project scheduling platforms account for their presence, particularly in Gantt Chart project schedules where Critical Path methodologies are applied. In ConstructionOnline, schedule milestones are clearly denoted with unique diamond icons throughout the project schedule and can serve as predecessors for subsequent tasks, allowing for the scheduling software to automatically support the interconnectedness of schedule milestones to successful project completion.