Line-of–Balance (LOB) method is a project planning and control method which in projects with repetitive nature has proved to be more efficient than the network techniques like CPM and Petri-nets. Much of the reason for superiority of LOB to other planning methods is because it considers an additional dimension (unit of production) in the representation of the activities. Unfortunatly this method is not well introduced in the Project Management litrature. The following references are recommended for the readers:
Arditi, D., P. Sikangwan, et al. (2002). "Scheduling system for high rise building construction." Construction Management and Economics 20: 353-364.
Arditi, D., O. Tokdemir, et al. (2002). "Challenges in Line-of-Balance Scheduling." Journal of Construction and Engineering Management 128(6): 545-556.
Harris, R. B. and P. G. Ioannou (1998). Repetitive Scheduling Method. UMCEE Report No.98-35. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan.
Lumsden, P. (1968). The line-of-balance method. Oxford, Pergamon Press.
Mendes, R., L. Fernando, et al. (1998). Replanning Method for Multi-Story Building Construction using Line of Balance. International Group of Lean Construction Conference.
Currently I am writing a teaching case study which describes a real case where application of LOB has been proved to be beneficial. The case study is in review and will soon appear in ECCH case study collections. visit http://www.ecch.com/
Unfortunatly the most well known project management softwares like MS Project and Primavera do not provide any feature to develop LOB plans. The most well developted software for LOB in my appinion is Dynaproject from Graphisoft. Visit http://www.dss.fi/
8 comments:
Hi Kazem,
Has ecch published your case study yet?
Yes, The case is published as "Manchetser Skyscraper".
The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints. Typical constraints are scope, time, and budget. The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.
The documentation gathered should be just enough to enable the developers to code. It is important to keep in mind that for a agile methodology to work, the development team needs to have business representatives available throughout the development process to answer any questions that arise.
I have read about Line of balance method about project planning and management in many appointment scheduling software user manuals as well as I project scheduling softwares. This is the great method of approach
Hello Kazem Yaghootkar,
I am planning to carry out a comparative study in CCPM and LOB methods of scheduling techniques.Is this attempt feasible and relevant.
Please suggest. I will be waiting for you reply. An e mail from you will help me a lot for my dissertation.
Thanks in advance,
Warm Regards,
Bhushan R S
rsbhush@gmail.com
Hi Bhushan, I think such a study is interesting and relevant. I have not seen any research about the connection of these two concept which means your work will be a contribution to the field. Good luck
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