A Linear Scheduling Model to Plan Road Works.

Road construction works can be divided into three main categories: earthworks, pavement laying and structure building. By earthworks we mean all those works aiming at modifying the ground morphology, whether this is done on the ground surface (diggings or excavations and embankments), underground (trench digging, wells and tunnels) or underwater (structures being built by permanently working under the water level). Pavement laying consists of using materials whose properties have been normalized using complex techniques. Instead, building protection and completion structures means working at erecting constructions such as supporting walls, bridges, overpasses, side ditches, road drain wells etc. The Linear Scheduling (LS), which is a road work planning method that is particularly indicated for dealing with linear infrastructure building processes, was highly appreciated in the past solely because its graphic plotting looks very clear. However, unlike reticular techniques such as the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), the LS method has never drawn the same degree of attention because, of its lack of algorithms and calculus codes, which has never allowed its widespread employment. y element of scheduling methods based on reticular techniques lies in the possibility of identifying the critical path, i.e. the sequence of those activities according to which any change in a single activity duration brings about a modification of the entire project timing. Nowadays, the new methods of Linear Scheduling can be used as an alternative instrument to the better established reticular techniques since they make it possible to identify a group of controlling activities. A controlling activity corresponds to a partially or totally critical activity. Thus, the concept of controlling activity path is just an extension of the one of critical path. My contribution, thus, is aimed at illustrating the linear model, one of the innovative instruments of the current road work planning techniques and the ways one can make use of them when managing the activities to be carried out in road construction sites. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135448.