Schedules, dependencies and baselines

Advanced Scheduling adds stage dates, dependencies, milestones, baselines and delay analysis. Create the project’s stages first, then open its Schedule workspace. Check planned start and end dates, status and percentage for each stage. Saving a planned date is different from recording actual completion. You need the scheduling feature and the permission for the action you want to perform.

1. 01

   Open the project schedule

   Open the project, then Schedule. Review the existing stages and their planned dates before changing the timeline.

2. 02

   Add the timing relationship

   Choose the predecessor and successor stages and the supported dependency relationship. Check that the dependency describes the real construction sequence and does not create a cycle.

3. 03

   Save a baseline

   When the agreed programme is ready, save the baseline. Use a meaningful label so later comparisons identify the approved planning point.

4. 04

   Update and investigate movement

   Record actual progress and changed dates through the permitted stage controls. Compare against the baseline and follow up on delayed or blocked work.

Select a predecessor and successor from the same project, choose a supported relationship and enter lag days. Finish-to-start suits work that must wait for a preceding activity to finish. Positive lag adds waiting time; negative lag represents a planned overlap. The application rejects self-links, duplicate links and circular chains. If Foundation waits for Slab while Slab waits for Foundation, correct the link rather than adding dates to hide the problem.

After checking dates, create a named baseline such as “Client agreed programme — September” and choose the active reference for comparison. A baseline preserves an agreed plan; it does not replace current dates. To test a delay, select the stage and number of delay days, then inspect the downstream effect. For example, test three days of excavation delay before promising the original slab date. This is a scenario; review and save actual date changes separately.

Review overdue work and update its source record. Schedule milestones track dates or deliverables; agreement milestones also have a payment workflow. A change order records time impact, but approval does not automatically move stage dates. Reflect an agreed extension in the schedule. Background checks need current data and available features; they cannot know about an unrecorded delay.