In project planning, how you structure your schedule can be the difference between a realistic, reliable program and a chaotic, misleading timeline. One common mistake planning engineers make is representing a single Bill of Quantities (BOQ) item as one activity in some cases. While this may seem efficient, it often results in inaccurate progress tracking, misleading forecasts, and unnecessary out-of-sequence work.
There are three critical scenarios where splitting a BOQ item into multiple activities is essential. Let’s explore these cases in detail and see why applying this best practice can significantly improve your project schedule’s reliability.
1. Different Locations: The “One Size Fits All” Mistake
One of the most common errors is combining work across different locations into a single activity. For example, in an apartment schedule, planners often combine all tiling work that includes the bedroom and the bathroom into one activity.
Why is this a problem? Each area has different dependencies and logic flows. For instance:
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The bedroom tiles can be completed after installing the bedroom ceiling work.
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The bathroom tiles can be completed after installing the bathroom false ceiling.
Moreover, the successors of the tile work in each area are entirely different. If the bathroom tiling is delayed, marking the “tiles” activity as in-progress will give the wrong impression that all tiling work is incomplete. This can cause delays in unrelated activities, such as wardrobe installation in the bedroom, or sanitaryware in the bathroom resulting in misleading forecasts and out-of-sequence work.
Solution: Split Activities by Location
Instead of having one tiling activity for the entire apartment, split it into “Bedroom Tiles” and “Bathroom Tiles” as separate activities. This allows the schedule to reflect the unique dependencies and progress of each area. It reduces out-of-sequence work and improves the accuracy of your forecasts.
Bottom Line: If you have multiple locations with different logic dependencies, split them into separate activities from the start to keep your schedule accurate and realistic.
2. Execution Spans Over Time: The Hidden Delays in Staged Work
Another mistake is failing to account for staged execution when a single activity is spread over a long period. For example, painting a building involves multiple stages:
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Primer & stucco
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First coat
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Second coat
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Final coat
Some planners create a single “Paint” activity with a 14-day duration, representing the combined “net” effort of all stages. However, the actual execution span might take 3 months due to other intermediate activities and dependencies between coats.
Why This Approach Fails
By treating painting as one activity, the schedule doesn’t reflect intermediate progress. If the primer stage is complete, the schedule will still show “Paint” in progress, making it unclear what stage the work is at. Additionally, this creates unnecessary delays and misleading float calculations because the activity has been “in progress” for 3 months while the original duration is only 14 days.
Solution: Split Activities by Stages
Instead of a single painting activity, create separate activities for each stage. This approach provides better visibility into progress, avoids unnecessary delays, and enables more accurate forecasting.
Bottom Line: If an activity spans multiple stages with other activities in between, split it into separate activities to better reflect reality.
3. Different Materials: Tracking Procurement and Dependencies
A single BOQ item can involve different core materials with different procurement timelines. For example, a cladding installation activity might require:
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Metal framing
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Insulation panels
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Exterior cladding sheets
If you combine all these materials under one activity, the schedule won’t capture delays in the procurement or installation of each material. As a result, your project may face unforeseen out-of-sequence work and misleading delay forecasts.
Solution: Split Activities by Material
Break the cladding work into separate activities, such as:
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Metal Frame Installation
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Insulation Installation
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Cladding Installation
This breakdown allows you to track the procurement and installation of each material independently. If one material is delayed, you can adjust the schedule accordingly without impacting unrelated activities.
Bottom Line: If an activity involves different core materials, split it into separate activities to improve procurement tracking and minimize misleading delays.
Conclusion: The Power of a Well-Structured Schedule
You don’t have to split activities for each minor scope item because you don’t want to have 200,000 instead of 5,000 activities into your schedule. You need to keep the same level of details but add few more activities and only as necessary. As a planner, your job is to create a schedule that reflects reality. Misrepresenting BOQ items as single activities can lead to inaccurate progress tracking, out-of-sequence work, and misleading forecasts. By splitting activities in cases of different locations, execution spanning over time, or different materials, you can avoid these pitfalls and ensure your project schedule remains a reliable forecasting tool.
Remember: A detailed, structured schedule may take more time to build, but it saves you time and headaches in the long run by providing accurate, actionable insights.
Regards,
Osama Saad, MBA, PMP, PSP, CCP, PMI-SP
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