LOOK-AHEAD SCHEDULING FOR ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS

Productivity in the construction industry has lagged and continues to lag other industries. Construction subcontractors and, in particular, electrical contractors, are at high risk of subpar productivity performance and schedule delay due to many unique challenges in the field. More often than not, this subpar performance is a planning issue. Published short term planning methods, such as Workface Planning, Enhanced Work Packaging, and Last Planner, which have demonstrated success in other fields of construction, can be used to improve productivity in electrical contracting. This study designed a best practice tailored to electrical contracting by combining elements of these and other project management methods into an effective field-friendly best practice. The method was designed on the basis of literature review and survey of and interviews with electrical contractors. The best practice is based on proven methods but remains untested in actual practice. Field studies are necessary to validate the method.