 The next phase in the construction management system design and development is budgeting and scheduling. The actual mechanics of planning should be organized logically and systematically. This involves adaption of standard planning values and development of dollar conversion standards. Manpower is planned by activity or activity group for each contract or program. Planned manpower may be computed in terms of man hours or man months. Regardless of planning method, the basic computation is standard planning value times number of planning units equals planned manpower. Computations should be made for each applicable activity and totaled to determine the total needs for a contract. The recommended procedures are based on determining manpower requirements for 12 calendar months. It may be better for an agency with a two-week pay period to adopt a system that uses calendar months, 12 per year, for future year programs, and four-week periods, 13 per year, for current year programs. The next step involves selecting a staffing method. The staffing method distributes the manpower needs over the calendar year by estimating the requirement for each month. For any contract or construction program that can be planned for a particular budget period, the number and types of personnel needed can be estimated with varying levels of accuracy. Multiple options are available. Decisions must be made concerning activities to be used in staffing and manpower distribution methods. Two types of activities can be used for determining manpower requirements, either planning activities or staffing activities. First, let's cover planning activities. Manpower may be distributed by estimating the monthly needs for each planning activity. Combining the manhours for related planning activities will simplify the distribution. On minor contracts, such as bridge repair, the individual planning activities may be grouped into a single staffing activity. There are several manpower distribution methods. Equal distribution, prorating, and engineering judgment. Equal distribution distributes manpower equally to each time period. The proration method recognizes the variance in the number of days that are actually available for construction work in the time period. The distribution of manpower can be based on the average number of charged working days. Distributing manpower by engineering judgment is primarily based on previous and present contract experiences. Manpower staffing needs can be estimated in terms of total number of personnel only. Determination of staffing needs by total numbers of personnel is adequate for each contract or group of contracts under the responsibility of an engineer in charge. Manpower needs by skill levels are desirable for district or agency-wide staffing. This technique aids in determining adequacy of existing staffing levels by skill level or specialty. The objective of a manpower distribution procedure is to estimate the manpower needs for each month. Second manpower is distributed for each contract. It should be distributed by monthly time periods. Manpower should always be distributed over the length of a contract. Balancing monthly manpower requirements determines the total needed. By comparing the number of personnel available with the number needed, the need for seasonal or part-time employees can be determined. Manpower should be balanced at the management level, which has a relatively stable need for personnel, usually the district. Consumers of employees between contracts and engineers in charge help meet fluctuating needs. Manpower requirements should be reviewed for the district each year. An allowance must be added to cover holiday, sick, and annual leave. A comparison of permanent personnel versus the monthly needs will show the excesses and deficiencies in staffing. A review of monthly manpower estimates helps in determining the need for seasonal personnel and the number of permanent personnel available for other work during the off-season. The use of planned overtime should be considered to meet peak construction needs. The advantages of using overtime include continuity of inspection and a smaller workforce during slack periods caused by bad weather. Skill-level guidelines are developed to provide a basis for determining the number of employees in each classification. The guidelines are used to develop long-term personnel goals. Most activities include tasks with varying levels of difficulty. The most efficient performance of these activities is accomplished by a combination of different construction personnel. Skill-level guidelines are most useful when the majority of employees in any classification are able to perform all tasks assigned to their level. Some departments have classification plans which encourage versatility. Many do not. With classification plans based on ability to perform several tasks, skill-level percentages can be applied to determine the number of employees needed in each classification. The classification plan could be revised to relate to skill levels. Employees and tasks may be classified using only two skill levels to determine the number of permanent and seasonal employees needed. The number of employees in each specialty, such as asphalt plant inspector, may be determined. A procedure for determining skill-level requirements provides a way to estimate staffing requirements by personnel classification. The number of personnel needed in each classification is determined by applying skill-level guidelines to the distributed manpower requirements. Computations are made for each activity and totaled to determine a profile of skill-level needs. It is not necessary to make computations for every month. Computations should be made for key months in the calendar year. The key months should represent the highest and lowest manpower requirements. The skill-level requirements represent the ideal mix of employees. All staff capabilities may not meet the optimum requirements. Staff as close to the ideal as practical. A budget is developed to plan for the costs of construction management. Construction management costs can be budgeted by contract with sufficient accuracy using standard costs. The basic computation is as follows. Total man months times cost per man month equals total cost. Computations should be made for each applicable contract and should be totaled to determine the required budget. The budgeting procedures are designed for manual computation but can also be done by computer. Standard costs are developed to simplify preparation of budgets. The standard costs should allow for labor and other expenses necessary for contract support. Standard costs should be based on the actual average annual salary paid for each classification. These costs should contain base pay, fringe benefits, and any anticipated pay raises. An additive can be computed to allow for estimated overtime costs. Scheduling is done to assess short-term manpower needs, to plan personnel assignments, and to communicate assignments to employees. Managers and construction engineers are managers must schedule to effectively and efficiently use personnel. Even where scheduling is now done, schedules are often not written. In some instances, this works and crews are used effectively. Scheduling procedures should be simple and allow for listing the work to be done and assigning personnel to perform the needed work. To meet the objectives of scheduling, you must consider what work needs to be done, the means of assigning manpower, and how to communicate the plan. This involves adoption of standard planning values and development of dollar conversion standards. Manpower is planned by activity or activity group. Planned manpower may be computed in terms of man hours, man months, or other time periods. Manpower can be distributed using either planning activities or staffing activities. Also there are a number of manpower distribution methods. Equal distribution, prorating, and engineering judgment. In this program we have covered the procedures for manpower budgeting and scheduling. For more information on this or other IRF videotapes, write to the International Road Federation or call the numbers on your screen.