Construction Management for the FE Exam
Construction management topics on the FE Civil exam cover project scheduling, cost estimation, resource management, and safety. These questions test your ability to plan and manage construction projects using standard engineering management tools and techniques.
Critical Path Method (CPM)
CPM is the most important scheduling tool tested on the FE exam. It identifies the longest path through a project network, which determines the minimum project duration.
Building a CPM Network
- Activities: Individual tasks with defined durations, predecessors, and successors.
- Network diagram: A graphical representation showing activity sequences and dependencies.
- Forward pass: Calculate earliest start (ES) and earliest finish (EF) for each activity, working from start to finish. EF = ES + Duration.
- Backward pass: Calculate latest finish (LF) and latest start (LS) for each activity, working from finish to start. LS = LF - Duration.
- Float (slack): Float = LS - ES = LF - EF. Activities with zero float are on the critical path.
Identifying the Critical Path
The critical path is the sequence of activities with zero total float. It represents the longest path through the network and determines the minimum project completion time. Any delay in a critical path activity delays the entire project.
Types of Float
- Total float: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project completion.
- Free float: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the start of any successor activity.
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
PERT extends CPM by incorporating uncertainty in activity durations using three time estimates:
- Optimistic (a): The shortest possible duration.
- Most likely (m): The most probable duration.
- Pessimistic (b): The longest possible duration.
Expected duration: t_e = (a + 4m + b) / 6
Variance: sigma^2 = [(b - a) / 6]^2
PERT uses these estimates to calculate the probability of completing the project by a specific date, assuming activity durations follow a beta distribution and the project duration follows a normal distribution.
Cost Estimation
Construction cost estimation involves several levels of detail:
- Order-of-magnitude estimate: Based on similar past projects. Accuracy range: -30% to +50%.
- Preliminary estimate: Based on schematic design. Accuracy range: -15% to +30%.
- Detailed estimate: Based on complete drawings and specifications. Accuracy range: -5% to +15%.
Earned Value Management
Earned value management (EVM) tracks project performance against the planned schedule and budget:
- Planned Value (PV): The budgeted cost of work scheduled to be completed by a given date.
- Earned Value (EV): The budgeted cost of work actually completed by that date.
- Actual Cost (AC): The actual cost incurred for work completed by that date.
- Schedule Variance (SV): SV = EV - PV. Positive is ahead of schedule.
- Cost Variance (CV): CV = EV - AC. Positive is under budget.
- Schedule Performance Index (SPI): SPI = EV / PV. Greater than 1.0 is ahead of schedule.
- Cost Performance Index (CPI): CPI = EV / AC. Greater than 1.0 is under budget.
Resource Management
- Resource leveling: Adjusting activity start times (within float) to smooth out resource demand peaks.
- Resource allocation: Assigning available resources to activities based on priority and availability.
- Equipment productivity: Calculating equipment output based on capacity, efficiency factors, and operating conditions.
Construction Safety
Safety concepts tested on the FE exam include:
- OSHA regulations: Basic knowledge of Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards for construction.
- Incident rate: Number of recordable incidents per 200,000 work hours.
- Hazard identification: Recognizing common construction hazards (falls, struck-by, caught-in/between, electrocution).
- Safety planning: Job hazard analysis, safety meetings, personal protective equipment requirements.
Contract Delivery Methods
- Design-Bid-Build: Traditional method where design is completed before bidding and construction. Owner holds separate contracts with designer and contractor.
- Design-Build: Single entity responsible for both design and construction. Faster delivery, single point of responsibility.
- Construction Manager at Risk (CM at Risk): CM provides a guaranteed maximum price and manages construction while the designer works for the owner.
Construction management questions on the FE exam are very accessible if you know the CPM procedure, earned value formulas, and basic scheduling concepts. Practice working through network diagrams and calculating float until the process is automatic.