Operations Management - Network Problems
Introduction of Critical Path Method (CPM)
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The critical path method (CPM) aims at the determination of the time to complete a project and the important activities on which a manager shall focus attention.
Introduction
The critical path method (CPM) aims at the determination of the time to complete a project and the important activities on which a manager shall focus attention.
In CPM, it is assumed that precise time estimate is available for each activity.
From the start event to the end event, the time required to complete all the activities of the project in the specified sequence is known as the project completion time.
A continuous sequence, consisting of nodes and activities alternatively, beginning with the start event and stopping at the end event of a network is called a path in the network.
Consider all the paths in a project, beginning with the start event and stopping at the end event. For each path, calculate the time of execution, by adding the time for the individual activities in that path.
The path with the largest time is called the critical path and the activities along this path are called the critical activities or bottleneck activities. The activities are called critical because they cannot be delayed. However, a non-critical activity may be delayed to a certain extent. Any delay in a critical activity will delay the completion of the whole project. However, a certain permissible delay in a non –critical activity will not delay the completion of the whole project. It shall be noted that delay in a non-critical activity beyond a limit would certainly delay the completion the whole project. Sometimes, there may be several critical paths for a project. A project manager shall pay special attention to critical activities.
The critical path method (CPM) aims at the determination of the time to complete a project and the important activities on which a manager shall focus attention.
Assumption For Cpm
In CPM, it is assumed that precise time estimate is available for each activity.
Project Completion Time
From the start event to the end event, the time required to complete all the activities of the project in the specified sequence is known as the project completion time.
Path In
A Project
A continuous sequence, consisting of nodes and activities alternatively, beginning with the start event and stopping at the end event of a network is called a path in the network.
Critical Path And Crtical Activities
Consider all the paths in a project, beginning with the start event and stopping at the end event. For each path, calculate the time of execution, by adding the time for the individual activities in that path.
The path with the largest time is called the critical path and the activities along this path are called the critical activities or bottleneck activities. The activities are called critical because they cannot be delayed. However, a non-critical activity may be delayed to a certain extent. Any delay in a critical activity will delay the completion of the whole project. However, a certain permissible delay in a non –critical activity will not delay the completion of the whole project. It shall be noted that delay in a non-critical activity beyond a limit would certainly delay the completion the whole project. Sometimes, there may be several critical paths for a project. A project manager shall pay special attention to critical activities.
Tags : Operations Management - Network Problems
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