Optimum Scheduling: How Does it Work?
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Speaker : SALEH MUBARAK
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When : Wednesday, May 06, 2026
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Time : 03 : 00 PM EST
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Saleh Mubarak, Ph.D.
- Construction project management professional, professor, consultant, author, public speaker, and trainer.
- Ph.D. in civil engineering from Clemson University, USA, specialized in Construction Project Management.
- Experience: 30+ years, diversified:
o Industrial: private and public sectors, in the U.S. and international. Positions occupied include project engineer / manager, cost estimator, planner / scheduler, project controls manager, cost manager, training manager.
o Academic: faculty member / professor, head of department. - Extensive experience in continuing education and professional training around the world.
- Author of:
o Construction Project Scheduling and Control, 4th edition
o How to Estimate with Means Data: Basic Skills for Building Construction, 5th edition.
o Many articles, technical and other - Many presentations in professional conferences such as PMI, AACE International. Public speaker in many local, regional, and international events.
- An authority on project planning, scheduling, and project control.
An advocate of holistic healthy living.
In almost all cases of construction projects, the owner specifies the project start date according to personal and business considerations, regardless of the impact of the time of the year on work production rates. If the contractor studies the impact of moving the project start date and/or accelerating work during the favorable time of the year, he may find that lots of money can be saved. Owners may agree with such optimization to save money, although the flexibility of owners with the finish date can vary. Keep in mind that a 3-month delay in the start of the project may result in only 1- or 2-months delay in its finish even with no acceleration occurring. This is because when we move the project into the favorable time of the year, productivity will be higher, so activities duration and cost will go down. The savings on time and cost depend on the location and its climate.
Areas Covered
- Introduction to project scheduling and calculating duration
- The impact of productivity fluctuation on time and cost
- The concept of optimum scheduling
- Productivity and cost indexes
- How the optimum scheduling method works
- Conclusion and recommendations
Who Should Attend
This seminar is important for general contractors, owners, and the entire project management team, particularly project managers, planners and schedulers, project controls managers, and cost estimators.
Why Should You Attend
Attending this seminar is an eye-opener for contractors and owners. In almost all cases of construction projects, the owner specifies the project start date according to personal and business considerations, regardless of the impact of the time of the year on work production rates. If the contractor studies the impact of moving the project start date and/or accelerating work during the favorable time of the year, he may find that lots of money can be saved. Owners may agree with such optimization to save money, although the flexibility of owners with the finish date can vary. Keep in mind that a 3-month delay in the start of the project may result in only 1- or 2-months delay in its finish even with no acceleration occurring. This is because when we move the project into the favorable time of the year, productivity will be higher, so activities duration and cost will go down. The savings in time and cost depend on the location and its climate.
Topic Background
Many construction projects start at a time when conditions are not the best for work productivity. If the start date is postponed until the favorable season or time starts, productivity will be higher and other conditions will be better, which means shorter durations and less cost. We use a computer program and user-defined productivity and cost indexes to calculate both the optimum start date as well as the optimum crew compositions. The objective is to minimize the cost in one of these two conditions:
- The minimum cost with a strict project finish date, or
- The absolutely minimum cost with a flexible project finish date.
The program tries to get the bulk of the work, especially outdoor activities, performed during the favorable season. This will result in shortening the total project duration and reducing the cost. It takes several iterations until reaching the optimum schedule as every shift (in the project’s start date or an activity’s start/finish date) will trigger shifts in the dates of other activities, which may result in different productivity and durations.
Optimum scheduling concept works best in areas of extreme seasonal weather.
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$160.00
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