Question

You have prepared the following schedule for a project in which the key resource is a backhoe. This schedule is contingent on having 3 backhoes. You receive a call from your partner, Brooker, who desperately needs 1 of your backhoes. You tell Brooker you would be willing to let him have the backhoe if you are still able to complete your project in 11 months. Develop a resource schedule in the loading chart that follows to see if it is possible to complete the project in 11 months with only 2 backhoes. Be sure to record the order in which you schedule the activities using scheduling heuristics. Activities 5 and 6 require 2 backhoes, while activities 1, 2, 3, and 4 require 1 backhoe. No splitting of activities is possible. Can you say yes to Brooker’s request ? Activity Predecessor Time (weeks) No. of backhoes required 1 - 1 1 2 - 2 1 3 - 3 1 4 1,2 2 1 5 2,3 4 2 6 4,5 2 2

Answer 1

To determine if it is possible to complete the project in 11 months with only 2 backhoes, we can use the loading chart and scheduling heuristics. The loading chart will help us visualize the allocation of backhoes to different activities over time.

Here is the loading chart:

| Activity | Predecessor | Time (weeks) | No. of backhoes required |

|----------|-------------|--------------|-------------------------|

| 1 | - | 1 | 1 |

| 2 | - | 2 | 1 |

| 3 | - | 3 | 1 |

| 4 | 1,2 | 2 | 2 |

| 5 | 2,3 | 4 | 2 |

| 6 | 4,5 | 2 | 2 |

To schedule the activities using scheduling heuristics, we can follow these steps:

1. Identify activities with no predecessors (activities 1, 2, and 3).

2. Schedule these activities first, as they do not depend on any other activities.

3. Next, schedule activity 4, as it depends on activities 1 and 2.

4. Schedule activity 5, as it depends on activities 2 and 3.

5. Finally, schedule activity 6, as it depends on activities 4 and 5.

Now, let's fill in the loading chart based on this scheduling order:

| Activity | Predecessor | Time (weeks) | No. of backhoes required | Backhoes Assigned |

|----------|-------------|--------------|-------------------------|-------------------|

| 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 |

| 2 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 |

| 3 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 |

| 4 | 1,2 | 2 | 2 | 1, 2 |

| 5 | 2,3 | 4 | 2 | 1, 2 |

| 6 | 4,5 | 2 | 2 | 1, 2 |

Based on this schedule, we can see that all activities are assigned the required number of backhoes. However, since activity 5 and activity 6 both require 2 backhoes, we cannot complete the project in 11 months with only 2 backhoes. Therefore, we cannot say yes to Brooker's request to borrow a backhoe and still complete the project in 11 months.