Step
Preconstruction baseline development
We develop the project baseline schedule during preconstruction by mapping the critical path from the current date through the project completion date, identifying every milestone that controls that path. For an Irving commercial project, the baseline schedule typically shows the permit submission date, the anticipated first comment date, the permit issuance date, the critical long-lead procurement dates, the foundation start, structural steel or tilt-wall erection, enclosure completion, MEP rough-in, Oncor permanent power delivery, and Certificate of Occupancy. Each of those milestones has a logic connection to the activities that precede and follow it, so that a delay in any one milestone propagates correctly through the schedule.
Step
Agency coordination and milestone validation
After the baseline schedule is drafted, we validate the key agency milestones by direct communication with the agencies involved. We contact the City of Irving building department to confirm the current permit review backlog and timeline. We contact Oncor's commercial project team to confirm the service delivery timeline for the project's load requirement. For TxDOT driveway permits, we contact the TxDOT district office to confirm the current driveway permit review timeline. Those validated timelines replace the schedule assumptions and produce a baseline that is more accurate than one built on generic assumptions.
Step
Phasing plan integration
For occupied-facility projects, school construction projects, and multi-phase development projects, the phasing plan is integrated into the master schedule as a set of zone-specific milestones and predecessor relationships. Irving ISD school projects include the mid-August turnover milestone as a non-negotiable project completion date, and all procurement and construction milestones are mapped backward from that date. Occupied Las Colinas office building renovation schedules include the after-hours work windows as calendar constraints that affect the duration of each construction activity.
Step
Three-week look-ahead scheduling
During active construction, the project superintendent prepares a three-week look-ahead schedule each week, updated from the master schedule baseline and reviewed with the project manager, the owner's representative, and the key subcontractors. The look-ahead identifies specific trade activities day by day for the next three weeks, shows the predecessor relationships between trades in that window, and flags any items — inspection holds, material deliveries, access restrictions — that could interrupt production. Subcontractors confirm their crew sizes and mobilization dates for each week in the look-ahead window.
Step
Monthly owner reporting and schedule management
Monthly schedule status reports compare actual progress against the baseline schedule, quantify any schedule variance in calendar days, identify the root cause of each variance, and describe the recovery action being taken or proposed. For Irving commercial and industrial projects where the completion date is tied to a lease commencement date or a tenant opening, the schedule status report is the document that keeps the owner informed about whether that date is achievable or whether a contingency decision needs to be made. We treat the schedule status report as a management communication, not a compliance document.
