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ABSTRACT: The construction industry is a very complex segment of any economy and is often faced with many challenges. One of the most complex challenges confronted by today's project managers is cost controlling and project schedule overruns. A well organized project planning and cost control system is needed. An effective cost and schedule control system must be established in order to deliver the construction projects on time and within the budget. Such a system should provide the information needed for the whole project team so that the actual performance can be compared to planned performance in a format that will provide a valid, timely picture of the project status, while problem areas that require particular attention can be isolated and looked into individually. To manage a project effectively, you need to communicate and distribute project information. The objective of this article is to look into the effective use of MS-Project's Gantt Chart in the planning and scheduling process of project management. Gantt charts are simple to understand and easy to construct and are a powerful visual tools for managing projects. The project chosen to illustrate the effectiveness of a Gantt chart is a 66kV transmission substation project. This involved the construction of three substations, procurement and installation of switchgear, transformers, associated controls, protection, and cabling works up to the energizing of the substations.
KEY WORDS: Gantt Chart, MS-Project, and project control management
A project is an undertaking of limited duration in time with a defined outcome. The word project comes from the Latin word projectnm from projicere, which denotes something that precedes the action of the next part in time. [3].
A project can also be defined as a set of activities which has a definite beginning and a definite end, has non-routine tasks with resource constraints, and which ends with specific accomplishments. Tasks are activities which must be completed. Resource constraint refers to time, money, people, and equipment. A project will always be unique in the sense that the final product or service delivered will always be different from another.
Project Management
Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and managing tasks and resources to accomplish a defined objective, usually within constraints of time, resources, and cost. A project plan can be...