Assessment of construction baseline schedule quality in transportation projects

Delays in transportation projects are frequently miscontrolled by contractors submitting unrealistic and inaccurate baseline schedules. Poorly developed schedules can lead to significant project overruns, making it essential for State Highway Agencies (SHAs) to evaluate and approve high-quality schedules. Despite the availability of scheduling guidelines, many SHAs lack effective evaluation processes, resulting in poor project control. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of industry-recognised metrics (IRMs) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) best practices (BPs) in assessing the quality of baseline schedules in transportation projects. The study also seeks to provide practical recommendations for improving the schedule baseline review process. Baseline schedules and daily work reports (DWRs) were collected from four transportation projects managed by one SHA of the United States. The as-built schedules were developed using the DWR data, and the baseline schedules were compared to the as-built schedules using the as-planned vs. as-built delay analysis method. In addition, the baseline schedules were evaluated using IRMs and GAO BPs. The findings revealed that 24% and 41% of the performance metric thresholds were not met when evaluated using IRMs, and only 14%–71% of GAO BPs were satisfied across the projects. The analysis identified significant deficiencies in task descriptions, work breakdown structure (WBS) element identifiers, relationships between activities and float management. The results highlight flaws in current scheduling practices and emphasise the need for SHAs to adopt more robust methods for evaluating baseline schedules. This study provides actionable recommendations to enhance the review and approval processes, ultimately contributing to the timely and efficient completion of transportation projects.