2. Project Planning
Resources Management
By Phaik San Liew

3. Today Learning Outcomes
Understand how duration are estimated / calculated
Understand the factors that can effect durations
Calculating simple examples
Considering the amount of resources required.
Calculating an example using different resource levels.

4. Calculating Labour Resources
Each and every task on a contract programme will involve an element of labour
Labour must be programmed to the requirements of the contract programme and ensure that adequate resource and allocated to each task.
The required level of resources needs to be calculated for each task. If this is not done you could either have too many people to work in an area or have not enough and fall behind programme as the task will take longer than originally planned.
When calculating the resources required you need to consider the following:
Standard rates and output for the task
Physical constraints
Resources available
any specific issues that make the task more of less difficult.

5. Constructing a Wall
Bricklayers start at each end of a wall and build up the corners, they then fill in the courses in between. When considering how many brick laying gangs you can use you need to think which section of the wall they will be working on.

6. Calculating Labour Resources
Output These are standard rates for activities which are used to calculate the duration of an activity. The wall below is made up of approximately 1200 bricks. The standard rate for bricklayer is 400 per day so one person would take 3 days to construct the wall

7. Calculating Labour Resources
Difficulty of the task Both example A and B below are 215mm thick brick wall, 2m high and 10m in length. They will have the same number of bricks in them, however, example B would take substantially longer to build due to its complexity.
Example A
Example B

8. Providing Continuity for Resources
Knowing the resources needed for each task, you then need to consider the task and how they all interrelate. It is likely you will need the same trades on the project doing more than one task at the same time. So you may need a number of teams or gangs to work across the site at one time.
By providing continuity across the project you can keep the resources or number of teams at a similar level. This should lead to having a consistent work force throughout the project.
The will be certain times in the project where there are fewer people on site due to the type of work and there will be busier time. However, in general you are aiming for a flow of the similar level of resources throughout the project.
This will also mean you can have the same level of supervision and management through out the project.

9. Providing Continuity for Resources
When building 6 separate houses you could have 6 teams of bricklayers working on all the houses concurrently.

10. Providing Continuity for Resources
However you would have nothing for them to do each time they wait for the next lift of the scaffolding to be erected.
If they were directly employed labour you would be paying them to do nothing on these days.

11. Providing Continuity for Resources
The other extreme is to have 1 team working on each property one after another and going back as the scaffold is erected.
This will leave plots untouched for days on end and the project will be very slow and not cost effective.

12. Providing Continuity for Resources
Another option would be to have 3 teams of bricklayers working between 2 plots each. This gives time for scaffold to be erected on one plot while the bricklayers carrying on working on the other one.
This method give the bricklayers continuity and ensures you are working on a number of plots at once.

13. Finding Standard Outputs

14. Calculating Duration Output for Facing bricks
Facework one side, half brick thick, stretcher bond: 1.08 hours per m2.
How many days would it take one brick layer using the standard rate?
10 m 2m
Height x width = Area Area x hourly output = total time in hours Total time in hours divided by hours worked per day = Number of days.

15. Calculating Duration Output for Facing bricks
Facework one side, half brick thick; stretcher bond: 1.08 hrs/m2
How many days would it take 2 brick layers using the standard rate?
7.5 m
2.4m 5m

16. Calculating Duration Output for bricks and blocks
10 m
2.4m 5m
Output for bricks and blocks
Bricks - facework one side, half brick thick; stretcher bond; 1.08 hr/m2
Blocks - medium dense flush pointing one side 100mm thick: 0.56 hr/m2
How many days would it take to construct this cavity wall with 4 brick layers using the standard rates?

17. Calculating Duration Output for bricks and blocks
10 m
2.4m 5m
Output for bricks and blocks
Bricks & Block work same as previous example.
Door size 2.1m x 1m
Windows 1.2m x 0.6m
How many days would it take to construct this cavity wall with 4 brick layers using the standard rates?