Create Master Schedule

This article explains creating a master schedule from scratch directly on the Linarc scheduler.

To create the master schedule from scratch

• Open the management console for the project
• Click the app launcher  , then select 'Schedule'
• The scheduler opens on the grid view by default. To return to the grid view from any other screen:
  • Click 'Planner' on the top and select 'Grid' on the left.

The scheduler grid opens with default columns:

You can add or remove columns as required. This is optional.

Column Selection

• Right-click on the table header

The left pane shows all available columns.

• Select the rows to be shown on the grid

The available columns are:

Item type indicator - Shows whether the line item is a critical task, milestone, checkpoint, or inspection event.

Outline - The serial number of the line item in the outline numbering system, as per the WBS hierarchy.

WBS - The WBS code number of the task/schedule item. Applies only to the schedule created with custom WBS numbering system.

Task Name - The label of the task/schedule item.

Task Code - The cost code of the item. Auto-populates if the item is added from the estimate. You can also manually enter the code.

Tip: The task name gets auto-populated if you enter the task code. You can edit the task name manually.

Planned Days - The number of days estimated to complete the task. You can enter the values in days. Alternatively, the Planned Days auto-populates if you enter the planned start/end dates manually.

Planned Hours - The effort hours required to complete the task. Autopopulates if the task is added from the estimate. You can change the value manually as required.

Predecessors - The dependency of the task item with its predecessor. You can manually set the dependency.

Plan Start - The scheduled commencement date of the task. The planned start date auto-populates for dependent tasks based on the relationship with the predecessor task.

Plan End - The completion date of the task. Auto-calculated from the Plan Start date and the Planned Days. You can also manually enter the planned end date so that the planned days gets auto-populated.

Delays - The number of days that the task is behind or in advance of the schedule. This is calculated from the planned end and the predicted end. If the task is behind schedule, the number of days delayed is denoted in red. If the task is estimated to be completed in advance, the number of days is denoted in green.

Progress- The current completion percentage of the task.

• Field level tasks - Fetched from the reports from the foreman. The project managers can also manually update the progress.
• Parent-level tasks - Auto-calculated from the progress of the children.
• Assigned Tasks - The subcontractor shares the tasks' progress with the general contractor.

Planned Quantity - The total amount of work done/deliverables planned for the task.

Actual Quantity - The amount of work done/deliverables realized with the current progress state. Fetched from the progress reports of the last-level child tasks.

Unit of Work - The unit by which the work quantity/deliverable is measured.

Contractor - The contractor company to whom the task item is allotted.

Assignee - The team member responsible for tracking the task from the contractor company. You can select the member from the drop-down.

Actual Start - The real commencement date of the task on the field.  Fetched from the actual start date of the first last-tier item of the task branch in the WBS hierarchical tree structure.

Actual End - Auto-populates once the task reaches 100% completion. The real completion date of the parent level task is fetched from the date of the completion of the final last-tier item of the task branch in the WBS hierarchical tree structure.

Actual Effort - Total man-hours expended for that task.

Predicted End - Auto calculated from the planned start date and the current progress.

The following values are auto-calculated from the task dependencies, their relationships, and the critical path. These apply only to non-critical tasks.

Early Start - The earliest date at which the task can be started.

Early Finish- The earliest date at which the task can be completed.

Late Start- The latest date at which the task can be commenced.

Late Finish- The latest date at which the task can be completed.

Slack- The permissible number of days the task can be started after the planned start date without affecting the overall schedule.

Days to finish - The number of days required to complete the task. The remaining days are entered by the foreman while updating the completion percentage of each leaf-level task every time. The days required for the parent-level tasks are aggregated from their children.   

Location - The spot on the site where the task is executed. This is optional and can be entered manually.

Task Status - The current state of the task, whether it is in 'Draft' (unpublished), 'In progress', 'Scheduled', or 'Completed' state.

The right pane shows the selected columns.

• After enabling the required columns, arrange the columns in the right pane by dragging and dropping them to establish the desired order for their appearance in the table. 
• Click 'Apply' for your selection to take effect

Add schedule line items

• Click 'Add New Row' at the bottom to add your first phase-level WBS element. 
• Click inside the 'Task Name' field and enter a name for the item. 
• Click 'Add New Row' and continue the process to add the highest-level task items, for example, the phases, one by one. 
• Right-click on an item and choose 'Add Subtask' to add rows for the new sub-task items, such as deliverables. 
  • Click the 'Add Subtask' to add a row at the next level
  • Enter the name for each subtask 
• Repeat the process to add task items of successive levels. 
• Alternatively, add tasks and subtasks from the project estimate, for the items self-assigned to you. See Add tasks from estimates for more guidance.
• For the lowest level items, for example, the lowest level deliverables/work packages, specify the dependencies, the number of days, labor, or manhours, the planned quantity of work, and the planned start date.
  • Start dates for dependent tasks are auto-filled once you specify the predecessors and the dependency relationships. You can also change the date as required.
  • The end date is auto-calculated.
  • You can also set tasks' start and end dates in the Gantt view. Just drag and drop the bar representing an item near the required date range and drag the left and right edges of the bar to particular dates as required.
• The duration, manhours, and start/end dates are auto-calculated for the parent-level tasks from their children.
• You can also select an item and use the indent buttons at the top to set the hierarchy levels and define parent-child relationships for the items.
• See Add WBS elements and task items for more details.
• The scheduler dynamically calculates the critical path as you keep on adding items and specify dependencies.

See the following sections to know more:

• Add WBS elements and task items
• Apply Formatting to Rows and Cells
• Apply Gantt Chart Color
• Clone Rows and WBS branches
• Add subtasks
• Add tasks from estimates
• Add a checkpoint
• Add an inspection event
• Add a milestone
• Add dependencies
• Add planned quantities of work
• Assign subcontractors
• Add a change order
• View task details
• Remove a task
• Publish a task
• Update task progress