Course Introduction
Location-based project scheduling is a planning and control methodology that organizes project activities according to physical work areas, locations, or production units. Unlike schedules that focus primarily on individual tasks and their durations, location-based scheduling makes the movement of work teams across floors, buildings, road sections, installation areas, or other defined locations visible. This course provides participants with practical knowledge of how to structure, develop, and manage location-based schedules to improve workflow, resource utilization, coordination, and project delivery reliability.
Construction and infrastructure projects frequently involve multiple activities progressing across several physical locations simultaneously. When these activities are planned without sufficient attention to location, trade movement, and resource continuity, project teams may encounter work congestion, unproductive waiting, resource conflicts, and inconsistent progress. Location-based scheduling addresses these challenges by integrating activity durations, production rates, spatial relationships, and work sequences into a coherent planning framework. Participants will explore how this approach supports more realistic schedules and clearer communication among project stakeholders.
A central element of location-based scheduling is the division of a project into clearly defined work areas and the identification of activities that must be performed within each area. Participants will learn how to establish location breakdown structures, estimate production quantities, calculate activity durations, and determine appropriate sequencing between locations. The course examines how planners can use production rates and resource information to coordinate work crews as they move through successive locations, helping to identify bottlenecks and potential interruptions before they affect the overall programme.
The course explores established location-based planning techniques, including linear scheduling, line-of-balance methods, flowline diagrams, and related production-oriented scheduling approaches. Participants will examine the strengths and limitations of these techniques and learn how they complement traditional critical path method scheduling. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding activity continuity, production rhythm, location-dependent logic, and the relationship between work quantities, crew productivity, and schedule duration. These concepts enable planners to select appropriate methods based on project complexity, repetition, spatial characteristics, and delivery requirements.
Successful implementation of location-based scheduling requires reliable project data, realistic productivity assumptions, coordinated resource planning, and regular schedule updates. Participants will learn how to identify resource clashes, detect interruptions in workflow, assess the effects of design changes, and evaluate alternative sequencing strategies. The course also addresses the practical integration of location-based schedules with procurement plans, lookahead schedules, progress measurement systems, project controls, and management reporting. Through structured examples and applied exercises, participants will develop the skills needed to convert scheduling information into actionable decisions for project teams.
By completing this course, participants will be better prepared to develop, analyse, communicate, and maintain location-based project schedules across a range of construction and infrastructure environments. They will understand how to coordinate work across multiple locations, improve the continuity of trade operations, monitor actual versus planned production, and identify emerging schedule risks. The programme emphasizes practical application, collaborative planning, and continuous improvement, enabling participants to strengthen schedule predictability, reduce avoidable delays, optimize resource deployment, and support more efficient project execution.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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Project managers responsible for coordinating activities across multiple work areas, buildings, facilities, or infrastructure locations.
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Planning engineers developing detailed construction programmes and integrated project schedules.
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Project controls professionals responsible for progress monitoring, schedule analysis, and completion forecasting.
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Construction managers coordinating subcontractors, labour, equipment, and material movements across project locations.
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Site managers and supervisors responsible for work sequencing, production continuity, and daily execution.
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Scheduling consultants advising clients and contractors on planning methodologies and programme optimization.
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Civil engineers involved in road construction, bridges, utilities, earthworks, and other location-dependent projects.
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Building services and MEP managers coordinating installations across floors, zones, and technical spaces.
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Lean construction professionals seeking to improve workflow reliability and production planning.
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Quantity surveyors and cost engineers evaluating the relationship between production rates, work quantities, and project duration.
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Resource planners responsible for labour allocation, equipment deployment, and crew utilization.
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Project directors and senior managers seeking better visibility into work progress, resource continuity, and delivery risks.
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Subcontractor managers coordinating trade activities across repetitive or geographically distributed work areas.
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Design and engineering coordinators managing information flow and technical dependencies across multiple locations.
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Construction consultants and project management professionals seeking advanced location-based scheduling skills.
Course Objectives
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Explain the principles of location-based project scheduling and distinguish its application from traditional activity-focused scheduling approaches.
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Develop a location breakdown structure that divides a project into practical work areas, zones, floors, sections, or production units suitable for detailed planning.
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Determine activity quantities, productivity rates, crew outputs, and realistic durations to establish reliable production assumptions for each location.
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Construct location-based schedules using flowline diagrams, linear scheduling, line-of-balance techniques, and related planning methods appropriate to project requirements.
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Coordinate trade sequences and crew movements across successive locations while identifying resource conflicts, work interruptions, and potential bottlenecks.
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Integrate location-based schedules with critical path programmes, procurement activities, resource plans, milestone requirements, and short-term execution schedules.
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Analyse workflow continuity, production rates, buffer requirements, and location-dependent constraints to improve the stability and efficiency of project operations.
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Monitor planned versus actual progress by location and use production data to identify deviations, forecast completion, and recommend corrective actions.
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Evaluate schedule risks associated with design changes, material shortages, variable productivity, access restrictions, and changing site conditions.
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Establish a practical implementation and continuous improvement framework that strengthens schedule reliability, resource utilization, stakeholder coordination, and project delivery performance.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Fundamentals of Location-Based Project Scheduling
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Understand the core principles of location-based scheduling and how physical work areas influence activity sequencing, production continuity, and resource deployment.
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Compare location-based scheduling with critical path method scheduling, bar charts, network diagrams, and other conventional project planning techniques.
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Examine the relationship between work quantities, production rates, activity durations, crew movement, and the overall delivery strategy.
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Identify project types suited to location-based scheduling, including buildings, roads, railways, utilities, industrial facilities, and repetitive construction programmes.
Module 2: Location Breakdown Structures and Project Decomposition
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Develop a location breakdown structure that organizes the project into buildings, floors, zones, sections, rooms, chainages, or other clearly identifiable work areas.
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Establish suitable location boundaries by considering construction methods, physical access, work quantities, trade interfaces, logistics, and reporting requirements.
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Link the location breakdown structure to the work breakdown structure so that scope, activities, quantities, responsibilities, and deliverables remain traceable.
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Evaluate alternative location divisions to improve schedule clarity, support meaningful progress measurement, and reduce conflicts between overlapping work teams.
Module 3: Work Quantities, Productivity, and Duration Estimation
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Extract relevant work quantities from drawings, bills of quantities, specifications, and project documents to establish production requirements for individual locations.
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Calculate activity durations using realistic productivity rates, crew capacity, available working hours, equipment output, and location-specific conditions.
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Evaluate productivity differences between locations caused by access restrictions, changing work volumes, installation complexity, or variations in site conditions.
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Develop documented planning assumptions and duration estimates that support consistent scheduling, resource allocation, and progress forecasting.
Module 4: Linear Scheduling, Flowlines, and Line-of-Balance Techniques
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Understand how linear scheduling represents activities progressing along a physical route or through successive locations over a defined period.
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Develop flowline diagrams that illustrate production rates, activity continuity, crew movement, and the timing of work across multiple locations.
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Apply line-of-balance principles to repetitive construction activities by coordinating production cycles, quantities, and resource requirements across repeated units.
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Interpret graphical schedule conflicts, including intersecting activity lines, inconsistent production rates, and insufficient separation between successive trades.
Module 5: Activity Sequencing and Workflow Continuity
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Establish logical trade sequences that account for technical dependencies, work-area readiness, inspection requirements, access conditions, and completion criteria.
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Coordinate work crews across successive locations to reduce idle time, unnecessary mobilization, congestion, and interruptions between related activities.
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Identify workflow gaps, crew clashes, and production bottlenecks by examining activity movement, location-specific logic, and differences in work duration.
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Determine where buffers, handover periods, or alternative work sequences are required to protect production continuity and accommodate operational variability.
Module 6: Resource Planning and Schedule Integration
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Allocate labour, equipment, supervision, and specialist crews across locations while balancing resource availability with production requirements and schedule commitments.
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Integrate location-based schedules with master programmes, critical path activities, procurement plans, design deliverables, and contractual milestones.
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Coordinate material deliveries, equipment access, temporary facilities, and site logistics to ensure that resources reach each location when required.
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Align detailed location schedules with lookahead planning and weekly work plans so that planned activities are supported by available resources and cleared constraints.
Module 7: Schedule Development, Software, and Visual Management
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Establish the data structure, activity coding, location identifiers, production assumptions, and schedule relationships required for a maintainable location-based programme.
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Explore how suitable scheduling and project management software can represent location-based activities, production rates, resource assignments, and progress information.
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Develop flowline diagrams, location status reports, and visual schedule representations that help site teams understand planned work movement and upcoming handovers.
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Establish procedures for schedule baselining, revision control, data validation, reporting consistency, and communication of approved changes to project stakeholders.
Module 8: Progress Measurement and Performance Monitoring
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Establish location-specific progress measurement rules that define completed quantities, activity status, handover readiness, and the evidence required for reliable reporting.
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Compare planned and actual production rates across locations to identify delays, changes in crew performance, and deviations from expected workflow.
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Analyse indicators such as location completion, crew continuity, productivity variance, schedule adherence, and the frequency of interrupted activities.
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Develop progress dashboards and reporting routines that convert field information into timely decisions about resource deployment, sequencing, and schedule recovery.
Module 9: Risk Analysis, Delay Management, and Schedule Recovery
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Identify location-related risks arising from design changes, access limitations, material shortages, adverse weather, inspection delays, and conflicting work activities.
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Assess the impact of production interruptions on downstream locations, milestone commitments, resource availability, and overall project completion.
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Develop recovery strategies involving resequencing, revised crew allocation, alternative work areas, adjusted production rates, and carefully evaluated schedule changes.
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Apply root-cause analysis to recurring workflow problems and incorporate corrective actions into updated schedules, resource plans, and risk management procedures.
Module 10: Practical Location-Based Scheduling Workshop and Implementation
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Develop a location breakdown structure and a production-based schedule for a representative construction project using work quantities, activity durations, and crew productivity data.
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Create and interpret a flowline or location-based schedule to identify sequencing conflicts, resource clashes, workflow gaps, and opportunities for improved production continuity.
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Evaluate a simulated progress update by comparing actual performance with the baseline and recommending appropriate corrective actions for delayed locations.
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Prepare an implementation roadmap covering team responsibilities, schedule governance, data collection, progress reviews, performance indicators, and continuous improvement practices.
Training Approach
This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.
Tailor-Made Course
This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808
Training Venue
The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.
Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant
Certification
Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.
Airport Pickup and Accommodation
Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808
Terms of Payment:
Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.
