Applicability of critical chain scheduling in construction projects: an investigation in the Middle East

Many industries, including construction, have been using CPM scheduling for a very long time. However, due to the increasingly competitive business environment, tighter time constraints are becoming the norm of the industry. And as a result, more projects are slipping behind schedule. This led some to call for more efficient means to plan and schedule projects. Following to the introduction of the theory of constraints (TOC) by Eli Goldratt, a new and innovative project scheduling paradigm emerged; that is Critical Chain (CC). This technique is evolving year after another, with documented success stories in some of the biggest multinational companies in the world. However, it seems to be almost unknown within the construction industry, at least in the Middle East where the study was carried out. To better understand the potential of applying CC in construction, this study aimed to: (1) measure the readiness of construction professionals in two Middle East countries to adopt CC, (2) determine suitable project type(s) for its pilot application, (3) identify any technical obstacles to applying it, and (4) investigate means to overcome such obstacles. To this end, CC introductory seminars were organized in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Questionnaire surveys were disseminated after these seminars to solicit feedback on these issues. One of the survey's findings is that linear projects, e.g., pipeline construction projects, were pointed out as potentially suitable for CC pilot application. An obstacle identified by construction professionals to hinder CC real life application is estimating the aggressive but achievable duration (ABAD). This term refers to fundamental parameter upon which the CC calculations are based. The paper briefly discusses how the intelligent capabilities of case-based reasoning are utilized to help facilitate the estimation of ABAD.