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Planning

Schedules that help you meet the completion date

A project that slips almost always slips on its schedule first. We draw up schedules that are realistic and binding on the contractors, and that are actually used to manage the site.

  • Scaffolding and roof structure being installed, Begnins site

For which projects

When to entrust us with your schedule

Ideally from the design phase, but not only then: planning can be commissioned from us on its own, at the outset or partway through the project.

  • Before you commit

    Check that your target date is achievable, order lead times and permit timescales included.

  • An existing team

    Consultants already chosen? We draw up the master construction schedule alongside them.

  • A fixed opening date

    Boutique or showroom: we coordinate the contractors and keep to your deadlines through to opening.

  • A building that stays occupied

    Renovation or vertical extension without rehousing the residents: we phase the works.

  • A building to commission

    We plan the transition to operation, handover included.

  • A site already running late

    Before reacting, you need to measure the actual delay: that is where we start.

They have trusted us

Architects, developers, property managers, public institutions and private owners entrust us with the management of their projects in French-speaking Switzerland.

What you gain

Time is won on the schedule

What worries youWhat we do

  1. I am given a date, with nothing to prove it is achievable.

    An outline schedule tests the target date and reveals the lead times that cannot be shortened: orders, permits.

    From the design phase

  2. I only find out about delays when it is too late.

    The schedule is checked every week against observed progress. Slippage shows up three to four weeks before it has any effect.

    Checked every week

  3. On site, the contractors get in each other’s way.

    Each trade knows where and when it is working: the construction schedule is broken down by zone, and a coordination schedule aligns the consultants.

  4. A contractor is demanding more time.

    We assess its request for an extension of time, based on the causes of the delay and who is responsible.

    Critical path checked

  5. I do not know when I will be able to operate the building.

    Commissioning and handover have their own schedules, drawn up in advance.

    Through to operational handover

Our role

Our planning services

Planning starts in the design phase. It continues on site with the weekly progress check, through to the commissioning schedules.

  1. During design

    An outline schedule tests whether a target date can be met. A coordination schedule then keeps all the consultants working to the same timetable.

    Before you commit

  2. At the start of works

    The master construction schedule breaks the works down by trade and by zone. Detailed schedules refine it by phase or technical package, and they identify the critical path.

    For the whole construction phase

  3. Every week

    The schedule is checked against actual progress and the timetable updated. The critical path is tracked: it is what determines the completion date.

    Through to handover

  4. At the end of construction

    We plan the testing and handover of the works, then the transition to operation.

    Through to handover of the building

A date to meet?

The first conversation is without obligation: tell us about your project.

How we work

Schedules that help you decide

A good schedule is a decision-making tool. It shows, week after week, where the completion date will be won or lost.

Facade drawings and schedules displayed on the wall of a site office
  • We work in MS Project, with a template scaled to the size of the project.
  • Each task has a duration negotiated with the contractor concerned and an explicit predecessor.
  • A named person answers for each task.
  • We check the schedule against the progress verified in meetings, not against what is merely reported.

Projects

The sites we plan

In Geneva, a renovated apartment building was delivered in two phases so as not to displace its tenants. In Chêne-Bourg, the vertical extension was carried out in three stages, above 20 occupied apartments.

All our projects

Site running late

Is construction running late? Let us start by measuring the delay.

Not every delay moves the completion date. But it has to be measured first, against actual progress.

Long open concrete floor lit by a strip light, multi-purpose building in Begnins
  • First, measure the actual delay, not the one the contractors announce.
  • Then check whether it affects the critical path: only a delay on that path moves the completion date.
  • Find its causes and who is responsible, then reorganise what comes next with the contractors.
  • Has your schedule stopped driving the works? We take it over.

Your questions about planning

When should a project schedule be drawn up?

As early as possible. An outline schedule drawn up from the design phase lets you check that a completion date is achievable before you commit, and identify the lead times that cannot be shortened, particularly for orders and permit procedures.

What should you do when a site is running late?

First, measure the actual delay, against the progress verified in meetings, and check whether it affects the critical path: only a delay on the critical path moves the completion date. We then analyse the causes and who is responsible, and reorganise the rest of the schedule with the contractors. Where applicable, we also assess their requests for an extension of time.

Can you take on the planning only?

Yes. Planning can be commissioned from us on its own, for example an outline schedule to test a target date before you commit, or a master construction schedule for an existing team. We also take over schedules that can no longer be used to manage the site.

Let us talk about your project

Describe your project in a few lines. We will get back to you within 48 working hours to arrange a first conversation, without obligation.

The building and the planned works, then where the project stands: design, permit, construction.

Do you have drawings or project documents? Attach them below.

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    Our other services

    • Owner’s representation

      Making day-to-day decisions when dealing with building professionals: we take on that role for you.

      General view of the construction site of the multi-purpose building in Begnins

    • Cost management

      Knowing what a project will cost, and knowing it early, then keeping to that budget through to the final account.

      AKB Project hard hat resting on site drawings

    • Tendering and contract award

      A well-prepared contract award means works that start with no grey areas.

      Site table with a binder, material samples and two hard hats

    • Construction management

      The discipline AKB Project was founded on: we take operational responsibility for construction.

      Two AKB Project team members checking a technical cabinet on a roof in Chêne-Bourg