Getting Started with Scheduling

A construction schedule is the backbone of a project; it tells everyone what happens next, who's responsible, and what each task is waiting on. When that schedule lives in someone's head, on a static spreadsheet, or across a collection of sticky notes on a jobsite bulletin board, a single mistake can create costly ripple effects across the project. 

OnPlan Scheduling for ConstructionOnline™ gives you a live, visual project timeline built around the way construction actually sequences work. Lay out groups, tasks, and milestones on an interactive Gantt Chart, connect them with predecessors so work flows in the right order, assign the resources responsible, and automatically see scheduled work in your project calendars. Because construction schedules rarely stay fixed, predecessor relationships help to keep dependent tasks aligned when dates shift, reducing the need for manual schedule adjustments and eliminating potential points of miscommunication across the team.

The Guide to Getting Started with OnPlan Scheduling in ConstructionOnline walks through the main pieces you'll work with: the Schedule Gantt View, tasks, predecessors, and how scheduled tasks appear in your calendars, so that you can get your first schedule up and running with confidence. 

The Schedule Gantt View

The Schedule Gantt View is your primary workspace for building and managing project schedules in ConstructionOnline. Here, you can create tasks, organize work into groups, establish predecessor relationships, and visualize your entire project timeline on an interactive Gantt Chart.

From the Schedule Gantt View, you can:

• Build Your Timeline: Add groups, tasks, and milestones, then edit details like task names, start and end dates, task durations, and predecessors directly within the schedule.
• Switch Schedule Views: Toggle between Gantt View for the visual timeline of your project and List View for a streamlined, spreadsheet-style layout of schedule details. 
• Work Faster with the Scheduling Toolbar: Use tools like Add Milestone, Shift Start Date, Compress Schedule, Mark All Tasks ASAP, Show Critical Path, and more to build, adjust, and analyze your schedule efficiently.
• Manage Tasks with the Action Menu: Right-click a task or group to access common actions, including editing, indenting/outdenting, moving up/down, marking work complete, assigning task colors, creating linked To Dos, and copying, pasting, or deleting schedule items. 

Schedule Tasks

Tasks are the building blocks of every schedule. Each task defines when work should begin and end, who is responsible for completing it, and the additional information needed to track progress from start to finish.

• Task Information: Beyond flexible task names and descriptions, define key task details like start and end dates, duration, priority, status, and percent complete. Track additional information such as task type, trade, cost code, cost impact, and man-hours.
• Task Resources: Assign the contacts responsible for the work. Assigned resources can view their tasks and receive reminders to help keep work moving forward.
• Task Reminders: Create Planning, Starting, or Custom Reminders so that the right people are notified ahead of key dates. 
• Notes, Linked Items, & Attachments: Add notes, link related records, and attach files directly to tasks to keep supporting information organized and accessible.

Working with Predecessors

Predecessors determine the order in which Schedule Tasks need to happen—they're what turns a list of tasks into a true, dynamic schedule. When one task is set as a predecessor for another, a relationship is created between the two tasks, making the timing of one task dependent upon the other.

By defining predecessor relationships, you can build project schedules that automatically adapt as dates change, helping ensure work stays sequenced in the correct order throughout the project.

For example, an "Electrical Rough-In Inspection" task might depend on the completion of an "Electrical Labor" task. By connecting the tasks with a predecessor relationship, the schedule automatically maintains the correct sequence of work. 

By default, Schedule Tasks in ConstructionOnline use a Finish-Start relationship, meaning that the predecessor must finish before the next task can start. However, ConstructionOnline offers a total of 4 ways to configure task relationships. 

Task Relationship Configurations

• Finish-Start (fs): Task A must finish before Task B can start. {Default}
• Finish-Finish (ff): Task A must finish before Task B can finish. 
• Start-Finish (sf): Task A must start before Task B can finish. 
• Start-Start (ss): Task A must start before Task B can start. 

Additional predecessor rules:

• A task may have multiple predecessors (7fs, 9fs)
• A group cannot be used as a predecessor

Scheduled Tasks in the Calendar View

Every task you create in a schedule automatically appears on the Project Calendar, giving the entire Project Team a unified view of project tasks and events. This helps ensure that everyone stays aligned on upcoming work, deadlines, and key project activities. 

• See Tasks & Events Together: Scheduled Tasks display alongside Calendar Events across Day, Week, and Month views. 
• Spot Scheduled Tasks Easily: They're marked with the schedule icon to set them apart from other Calendar Events. 
• Edit in the Schedule, Not the Calendar: Scheduled Tasks cannot be edited from the Project Calendar. Instead, update the task in the Schedule and changes will automatically be reflected in the Calendar. 
  • Calendar Events, by contrast, are created and edited directly within the Calendar.

Suggested Next Steps

• Create Your First Schedule
  Start by creating a project schedule from scratch or from a schedule template. Then, add a few groups, tasks, and milestones to begin building your project timeline.
• Experiment with Task Dependencies
  Set predecessors for your tasks to make sure they fall in the right order. Start with the default Finish-Start relationship, then explore other relationship types and lag time applications to see how schedule adjust automatically.
• Assign Resources to Key Tasks
  Assign Project Team contacts to schedule tasks to explore resource allocation within OnPlan Scheduling. Then, add reminders ahead of critical start dates to experience how scheduling can help automate project communication.
• Review Your Schedule in the Calendar
  Open your Project Calendar to confirm schedule tasks are appearing as expected alongside Calendar Events. Experiment with Calendar Filters to see how you can customize your view and focus on the information most relevant to your day-to-day work.

HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about OnPlan Scheduling can be found in the article FAQ: Scheduling.
• If you need additional assistance, chat with a Specialist by clicking the orange Chat icon located in the bottom left corner or visit the UDA support page for additional options.