Analytical project structure and schedule reliability in civil construction: technical foundations of executive sequencing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69849/xp4t4540Keywords:
work breakdown structure, scheduling, execution sequencing, construction planning, productivity, constructionAbstract
Between the designed project and the executed work lies a decisive technical layer, often underestimated in discussions on project performance: scope breakdown into work packages, definition of activity precedences, and the construction of a technically reliable schedule. This paper analyzes, from a theoretical perspective, project work breakdown and execution sequencing as foundations for schedule reliability in construction. The study was developed as a problem-oriented analytical review focusing on literature about scope decomposition, productivity, activity duration, precedence relations, constructability, and the integration between planning and execution. Rather than addressing construction management in broad terms, the paper isolates a specific problem: how the quality of project breakdown conditions schedule consistency and, consequently, execution stability. The findings indicate that delays, stoppages, and rescheduling do not stem solely from weak downstream control, but often from earlier deficiencies in the definition of work packages, the linkage between activities and resources, and the reading of execution dependencies. The study also shows that schedule reliability depends less on the formal sophistication of the software used and more on the technical quality with which scope is structured, measured, and sequenced. It is concluded that a construction schedule, when properly formulated, is not a mere administrative tool, but a technical representation of the project’s production logic.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Esthela Avancini Gomes (Autor)
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