ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the concept of planning, and in particular operational planning. A systematic approach to planning will be discussed first, followed by a brief review of different types of planning activities such as strategic, operational and coordinative. A range of planning tools and techniques will then be examined, followed by a discussion on important issues relevant to planning of construction projects. In particular, the distinction will be made between time and resource scheduling. In the next section, an overview of specific planning tasks employed in individual stages of the project lifecycle will be given. Finally, examples of plans, programmes and schedules used in the construction industry will be illustrated.
