What do construction scheduling services include?
Construction scheduling services produce a baseline critical path method schedule, a schedule of values, periodic updates and delay analysis. Each activity carries a duration, predecessors and successors, calendar and float, and each cost line ties to a measured quantity with a stated unit of measure and source.
What Our Construction Scheduling Services Cover
Construction scheduling services are the time-side counterpart to an estimate. We build a work breakdown structure down to the activity level, tie each activity to a CSI MasterFormat division and a measured quantity, assign a crew and a production rate, and link it all with predecessor and successor logic. The result is a critical path method schedule you can defend line by line, because every duration traces back to labor hours and a unit of measure.
The services in this group answer different questions. Building the CPM logic network and float values covers the logic itself, so you know which activities can slip without moving substantial completion. P6 file preparation for owners and agencies suits jobs that require P6 files and resource-loaded updates. Desktop MS Project baselines and monthly updates fit contractors who run the job from a single project file and need a clean baseline plus recurring updates.
Two further services sit outside the network itself. Construction schedule preparation for a bid starts from the drawings and a quantity takeoff, not from a prior schedule, and produces a milestone-level plan with crew days per trade. Fragnet and time impact work after work starts comes once the job is underway: fragnets, time impact analysis and a documented comparison against the baseline. Each ends in a different deliverable, so pick by what you are trying to prove.
Schedule update and progress reporting runs on a monthly cycle. We take percent complete by activity, recompute earned value against the schedule of values, and reissue the look-ahead schedule with weather days and long-lead items flagged. The audience breakdown for owners, GCs and trades shows how each group reads the same files differently.
Which Service Fits Your Project
Use the table to match the deliverable to your situation. If you are pricing a job and need cpm schedule development to support bid schedule quantities, start with the CPM service. If the job is already running and you need an as-built schedule or a fragnet, start with schedule delay and time impact analysis. One exact phrase, construction scheduling services, covers both ends, but the files you receive are not the same. Where durations depend on crew output, pair the schedule with our trade estimating services so labor hours and production rates come from the same measured quantities.
| Service | Use it when | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| [CPM scheduling services](/services/cpm-scheduling-services/) | You need a logic-driven baseline with total float and a defensible critical path | Activity network, float report, milestone list and a marked-up drawing set |
| [Primavera P6 scheduling services](/services/primavera-scheduling-services/) | The owner or agency specifies P6 files and resource-loaded updates | P6 XER and PDF layouts, baseline and monthly update copies |
| [MS Project scheduling services](/services/ms-project-scheduling-services/) | Your team runs the job from MS Project and needs a clean baseline plus updates | MPP file, baseline comparison and look-ahead views |
| [Schedule delay and time impact analysis](/services/delay-claim-analysis/) | Work has started and you need to measure the time effect of a change or delay | Fragnet, time impact analysis narrative and baseline comparison |
| [Quantity takeoff services](/services/quantity-takeoff-services/) | Durations need quantities behind them, not allowances | Line-item quantities by CSI division with unit of measure |
| [Bid estimating services](/services/bid-estimating-services/) | The schedule supports a bid and must match the estimate | Bid-level schedule tied to the estimate and schedule of values |
| [Construction estimating services](/services/construction-estimating-services/) | You want the cost and time sides built from one measured set of drawings | Estimate workbook, PDF summary and the supporting schedule |
Matching the Estimate to the Design Stage
A critical path method schedule is only as good as the detail behind it, and that detail grows with the design. At concept, you have a program area and a building type. We can produce a milestone schedule with major phases and an allowance for long-lead items, but activity durations are order-of-magnitude and the procurement schedule is speculative. This is AACE Class 5 territory, and the contingency calculator below returns a wide low-to-high band to match.
At schematic design, floor plans and a structural grid let us measure quantities by CSI division. Crew days become calculable from production rates, and the baseline schedule gains trade-level activities. At design development, equipment schedules and finish selections arrive, so the procurement schedule can name actual long-lead equipment and the submittal register can be sequenced against fabrication. The calculator below narrows the contingency band as the class moves up.
Construction documents support a full baseline schedule with resource loading, calendars in working days and weather days, and a schedule of values that matches the pay application. At bid, the schedule becomes a commitment document: milestones, liquidated damages dates and substantial completion. Any delay analysis later is measured against this file, which is why bid schedule quantities and durations must be reconciled before issuance.
Confirm code editions and inspection sequencing with the building department before you lock inspection activities into the network. For the cost side of the same stage, see construction cost estimating services. When the schedule is ready to start, send your plans and we will quote the fee after reviewing them.
Contingency range by estimate class
- Low contingency
- $150,000 (10%)
- High contingency
- $300,000 (20%)
- Budget range
- $1,650,000 – $1,800,000
Typical planning ranges that follow the AACE estimate-class idea: less design, more contingency. Set the final figure from a risk review of your own project.
How We Deliver Construction Scheduling Services
Every scheduling request runs through the same five steps, whether the deliverable is a baseline schedule for construction, a progress update, or a time impact analysis. What changes across our construction scheduling services is the input: a full drawing set for a new CPM schedule, a contractor's update for a schedule review, or a fragnet for a delay claim. The process below keeps every duration, logic tie, and calendar traceable to a source document.
Intake and scope check
We start with the plans, specifications, and any owner milestone dates. For a schedule of values, we ask for the bid breakdown and the pay application format. We confirm the calendar (working days vs. calendar days), the project work breakdown structure, and the level of detail expected. A written scope note lists what is included and what is excluded before any work begins.
Takeoff
Quantities come from the drawings using the CSI MasterFormat division structure, with each line carrying its unit of measure. For scheduling, the takeoff also produces labor hours and crew days from published production rates. Those quantities become the activity durations in the baseline schedule. Long-lead equipment and materials are flagged for the procurement schedule at this stage.
Pricing
We price the quantities with national average unit costs, then adjust labor with BLS wage data and material with producer price indexes. For scheduling work, the priced quantities feed the schedule of values and earned value tracking. Each rate carries its source and adjustment so the client can audit the math. The fee for construction scheduling services is quoted per project after we review the plans.
Review
An estimator checks the logic, the calendars, and the arithmetic. For a schedule review, we test the critical path, float, and predecessor-successor ties. For delay work, we build a fragnet and run a time impact analysis. The review catches open-ended activities, negative float, and durations that do not match the production rates.
Delivery
You receive an Excel workbook and a PDF summary, with marked-up drawing pages where quantities were taken. The workbook includes the activity list, logic ties, calendars, and the schedule of values. A look-ahead schedule can be filtered from the same file. We note any assumptions and the public data sources used for pricing.
Cost Data Behind Our Pricing
Scheduling fees are quoted per project, but the cost data behind the quantities we schedule follows public sources. Labor rates come from BLS wage data, and material prices come from producer price indexes. The chart below shows the PPI series for lumber, ready-mix concrete, steel mill products, and copper wire and cable, rebased to 100. Those indexes move independently, so a schedule of values construction breakdown that carries separate material lines will show different escalation by trade.
We tie each activity to a measurable quantity and a production rate before assigning a duration. A crew-day figure for, say, 4,200 square feet of 8-inch CMU wall at a stated block count per mason-day is arithmetic you can check, not a judgment call. Labor hours come from the same BLS wage series that drives our cost estimates, and the crew composition behind each rate is written into the activity notes. That is also why we publish the same unit-of-measure conventions used in professional estimating by project type, so a duration in the schedule reconciles to the takeoff line it came from.
Material escalation enters the schedule through long-lead items and the procurement schedule. When the steel mill products index moves sharply, the structural steel package needs an earlier submittal date and a float allowance for mill rolling, not a compressed fabrication window. Lumber and copper wire and cable behave differently, so we keep those lines separate in the schedule of values rather than blending them into one materials percentage. Ready-mix concrete escalation affects pour sequencing only through pricing, but it still belongs on its own line so progress payments track actual exposure.
Every activity carries a CSI MasterFormat division code, a quantity, a unit of measure, and a production rate assumption. When an update shows a variance, the estimator can trace it back to the quantity or the rate rather than to an opinion. That traceability is what makes a schedule update defensible in a pay application review or a delay discussion.
Material price movement, Oct 2023 to Sep 2026
Trade Wages We Start From
The wage table below shows BLS national hourly wages at the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile for the trades in this scope. Base wage is the hourly rate; a loaded rate adds payroll taxes, insurance, and fringe, which we apply as a percentage and state on the estimate. For scheduling, these wages convert labor hours into cost per activity duration. That lets the schedule show earned value by milestone rather than percent complete alone. A construction schedule review can then compare planned cost to actual at each milestone.
| Trade | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers | $17.50 | $22.66 | $28.00 |
| Carpenters | $22.00 | $29.12 | $37.00 |
| Electricians | $23.00 | $30.38 | $38.50 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | $23.50 | $30.67 | $38.00 |
| Cement masons and concrete finishers | $21.00 | $27.41 | $34.00 |
| First-line supervisors, construction trades | $29.00 | $38.42 | $48.00 |
| Cost estimators | $28.50 | $37.86 | $47.00 |
| Occupation | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers | $18.57 | $22.66 | $28.72 |
| Carpenters | $23.32 | $29.12 | $36.94 |
| Electricians | $23.76 | $30.38 | $40.36 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters | $24.13 | $30.67 | $40.92 |
| Cement masons and concrete finishers | $22.60 | $27.41 | $32.15 |
| First-line supervisors, construction trades | $30.48 | $38.42 | $48.78 |
| Cost estimators | $29.40 | $37.86 | $48.97 |
Base wages before payroll taxes, insurance and benefits. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national, all industries.
Where Estimates in This Group Go Wrong
The most common failure is a baseline schedule built from durations that were never tied to quantities. A superintendent plans a 4,000-square-foot slab on grade at two crew days, but the takeoff shows 260 cubic yards of concrete and the production rate supports three and a half crew days. The check is arithmetic: divide the quantity by the crew's daily output, multiply by the unit of measure conversion, and compare the result to the activity duration in the file. When the two disagree, the schedule is a wish list, not a plan.
A second failure is a logic network with dangling activities. An activity with no predecessor or no successor floats free of the sequence, so the critical path method calculation reports float that does not exist. We trace every open end back to a milestone or a contract date, and we confirm that procurement and submittal activities sit between design release and installation. That is also where schedule update and progress reporting breaks down: if monthly updates never re-tie percent complete to installed quantities, earned value drifts and the progress payment request stops matching the field.
A third failure is calendar confusion. A 90-calendar-day window is about 64 working days at five days a week, and mixing the two in one file shifts every finish date. We state the calendar on each activity and test weather days against the project's location and season. For disputes, our fragnet-based delay and time impact studies isolate the delay before anyone argues about entitlement.
Request Construction Scheduling Services
Send the drawings and specifications, the bid form or schedule of values template, the contract milestones with their calendar basis, and any owner-mandated dates. If a schedule already exists, include it in native format so we can review logic, calendars and float rather than rebuild from scratch. A short note on the delivery method and the trades you self-perform keeps the work breakdown structure aligned with how you buy the job.
We review the package, confirm the calendar basis in working days or calendar days, and quote the fee per project. The deliverable is an Excel workbook and PDF summary with marked-up drawing pages, so each activity duration traces to a quantity takeoff and a production rate. From there the file supports a look-ahead schedule construction teams can use weekly and a pay application that ties percent complete to installed work. To begin, submit drawings for a scheduling quote along with the milestone dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are construction scheduling services at KNR?
We build and review the schedule itself: a work breakdown structure, activity list with durations, predecessor and successor logic, calendars in working days, and a baseline schedule for construction. Deliverables are an Excel workbook and PDF summary with marked-up drawing pages. Construction scheduling services here also cover schedule updates, look-ahead schedules, schedule of values support and delay analysis.
How do you build a CPM schedule from my drawings?
We start from the drawings and specifications, break the scope into a work breakdown structure by CSI MasterFormat division, then assign each activity a unit of measure, quantity and production rate. Crew days and labor hours come from those quantities, not from a percentage. Logic ties, float and total float are calculated, and long-lead equipment is placed on a procurement schedule with a submittal register.
What is the difference between a baseline schedule and a schedule update?
The baseline schedule is the approved plan: activities, durations, logic, calendars and milestones, including substantial completion. A schedule update records actual start and finish dates, remaining durations and percent complete, then recalculates the critical path and float. Updates feed earned value and the progress payment cycle behind each pay application.
How does a schedule of values relate to the schedule?
The schedule of values allocates the contract sum across line items, and each line should tie to scheduled activities so percent complete drives the pay application. We reconcile quantities and units of measure between the two documents, because a schedule of values that does not match the takeoff produces overbilling or underbilling on progress payments.
What does a delay analysis or time impact analysis include?
We build a fragnet for the delaying event, insert it into the accepted baseline, and measure the change in total float and the completion milestone. The output separates owner-caused, contractor-caused and weather days, with calendar days and working days stated for each. Each conclusion cites the schedule update it was measured against.
How is your fee for scheduling work set?
The fee is quoted per project after we review the plans, because it depends on activity count, number of updates, calendar and shift structure, and whether delay analysis is included. We confirm the scope and fee in writing before work starts. Send the drawings and any existing schedule for a quote.
Can you work from my existing schedule or template?
Send the existing schedule file and template with the plans, and we confirm whether the deliverable can be produced in it. We can follow your activity coding, calendar conventions and reporting format. Where the existing logic or durations conflict with the drawings, we flag the difference rather than overwrite it silently.
Do you sign NDAs before receiving drawings?
Clients can request an NDA before sending drawings, and the terms are agreed before plan review begins. Send the request with your project details and we will settle the document first. Drawings and schedules are then handled only for the purpose of preparing the deliverable.