Gantt chart with advantages

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a bar chart in which each activity is drawn as a horizontal bar on a time scale; the bar is filled in as the work progresses, so that planned and actual progress can be compared. Example: house project of 10 activities (progress shown at the end of week 10; # = planned, = = work done, | = status date).

                 0   4   8   12  16  20  24 (wk)
                +------------------------
A Site clearing |=         |             
B Excavation    | ==       |             
C Foundation    |   ===    |             
D Plinth beam   |      ==  |             
E Walls+columns |        ==###           
F Roof slab     |          |  ###        
G Plumb/electric|          |  ###        
H Plastering    |          |     ###     
I Floor,doors   |          |        ###  
J Painting      |          |           ##
                +------------------------
                           ^ status (wk 10)

Reading at week 10: A, B, C and D are complete (on plan); E (walls) has done 2 of its 5 weeks (planned: it started at week 8, so it is on schedule); the rest have not started. Total duration is 24 weeks.

Advantages

• Very simple to prepare, read and understand.
• Shows start, finish and duration of each activity and the total project time on one page.
• Planned and actual progress are compared directly, so delay is seen quickly.
• Good tool for communication with the client, management and site staff.
• Helps in planning of manpower, machine and material on a time scale.
• Cheap; no training or computer is needed.