Spe 3 - ARCH. 542: Project Crashing

SPE 3 – ARCH.
542
PROJECT CRASHING
Arch. Angelo Abril P. de Castro, uap
20-Apr-18 1
Project Crashing and
Time-Cost Trade-Off Overview
■ Project duration can be reduced by assigning

more resources to project activities.
■ However, doing this increases project cost.
■ Decision is based on analysis of trade-off
between time and cost.
■ Project crashing is a method for shortening
project duration by reducing one or more critical
activities to a time less than normal activity time.
20-Apr-18 2
The Project Network
House Building Project Data
Number Activity Predecessor Duration
1 Design house and obtain -- 12 months
financing
2 Lay foundation 1 8 months
3 Order and receive 1 4 months

materials
4 Build house 2,3 12 months
5 Select paint 2, 3 4 months

6 Select carper 5 4 months
7
20-Apr-18 Finish work 4, 6 4 months 3
Project Crashing and Time-Cost Trade-Off
Example Problem
The project network for building a house

Example Problem
Normal activity and crash data for the network

Example Problem
Total Crash Cost $2000
  $400 / week
Total Crash Time 5 weeks
Crash cost & crash time
have a linear
relationship
20-Apr-18 6
Time-cost relationship for crashing activity 1
Example Problem
Network with normal activity times and weekly crashing costs

Example Problem
As activities are crashed, the critical path may
change and several paths may become critical.
Revised network with

activity 1 crashed
QM for Windows Output
QM for Windows
General Relationship of Time and Cost
■ Project crashing costs and indirect costs have an

inverse relationship.
■ Crashing costs are highest when the project is
shortened.
■ Indirect costs increase as the project duration
increases.
■ The optimal project time is at the minimum point on
the total cost curve.
20-Apr-18 11
General Relationship of Time and Cost
20-Apr-18 12
The time-cost trade-off
Example
Sharon Lowe, Vice President for Marketing for the
Electronic Toys Company, is about to begin a
project to design an advertising campaign for a new
line of toys. She wants the project completed within
47 days in time to launch the advertising campaign
at the beginning of the Christmas season.
Sharon has identified the six activities (labeled A,
B, …, F) needed to execute this project.
Considering the order in which these activities need
to occur, she also has constructed the following
project network.
20-Apr-18 13
Example (Contd.)
A C E F
START F IN IS H
B D
20-Apr-18 14
Example (Contd.)
To meet the deadline of 47 days, Sharon has decided to
crash the project, using the CPM method of time-cost trade-
offs to determine how to do this in the most economical way.
She has gathered the data needed to apply this method, as
given below.
Time (days) Cost Maximum Crash
Activity Reduction in Cost per
Normal Crash Normal Crash Time day saved
A 12 9 $210,000 $270,000 3 $20,000

B 23 18 $410,000 $460,000 5 $10,000
C 15 12 $290,000 $320,000 3 $10,000
D 27 21 $440,000 $500,000 6 $10,000
E 18 14 $350,000 $410,000 4 $15,000
F 6 4 $160,000 $210,000 2 $25,000
20-Apr-18 15
Example - Solution
The upper path is A-C-E-F with a path length of 51 days.
Of the activities on the path, activity C has the smallest crash cost per
day saved ($10,000) and activity E is next ($15,000). Activity C can
only be reduced by 3 days, so activity E also will need to be crashed
somewhat. Therefore, we find that the most economical way of
reducing the length of this path to 47 days is to shorten activity C by 3
days and activity E by 1 day with an additional total cost of $45,000.
Activity to crash Crash Cost Length of Path

A-C-E-F
51
C $10,000 50
C $10,000 49
C $10,000 48
E $15,000 47
20-Apr-18 16
Example - Solution
The lower path is B-D with a path length of 50 days.
From the time-cost trade-off data, both activities B and D have a crash
cost per day saved of $10,000, and both can be reduced by more than 3
days. Therefore, using marginal cost analysis, we find that the most
economical way of reducing the length of this path to 47 days is to
shorten either activity (it doesn’t matter which one) by 3 days with an
additional total cost of $30,000.
Activity to crash Crash Cost Length of Path
B-D
50
B or D $10,000 49
B or D $10,000 48
B or D $10,000 47
20-Apr-18 17
Example - Solution
Combining both the results, the total

crashing cost for the optimal way of
meeting the deadline of 47 days is
$30,000 + $45,000 = $75,000.
20-Apr-18 18

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SPE 3 – ARCH.

Arch. Angelo Abril P. de Castro, uap

■ Project duration can be reduced by assigning

3 Order and receive 1 4 months

5 Select paint 2, 3 4 months

The project network for building a house

Normal activity and crash data for the network

Network with normal activity times and weekly crashing costs

Revised network with

■ Project crashing costs and indirect costs have an

A 12 9 $210,000 $270,000 3 $20,000

Activity to crash Crash Cost Length of Path

Combining both the results, the total

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