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Published June 2021, Updated April 2023
Published January 2023, Updated July 2024
NAVFAC Scheduling Specification and Standards: Top 5 Takeaways with Examples
In this article, we discuss NAVFAC’s scheduling specification and the top 5 takeaways with snapshots and examples.
Similar to other federal agencies, NAVFAC requires the project schedule to manage the project (for both contractor and government activities), evaluate time extensions, and serve as the basis for progress payments.
Contractor schedules can be rejected by the government when they don’t comply with the scheduling requirements, potentially leading to project issues or delays with progress payments.
This article pulls out the top 5 things to know from NAVFAC’s standard 01 32 17.00 20 scheduling specification, which can be found at the UFGS website here.
As with all our articles, this is for information only. Since individual project requirements may differ, refer to your contract to confirm the requirements.
Top 5 takeaways:
- NAVFAC “Network Analysis Schedule” = “NAS” = The Schedule
- Cost Loaded Schedule as the Basis for Progress Payments
- Interface with 3-Phase Quality Control
- NAVFAC Look-Ahead Schedule Requirements
- Schedule Milestone and Constraints
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
The NAVFAC scheduling specifications refer to the project schedule as the “Network Analysis Schedule”, or the “NAS”.
Whenever you hear the government referring to “the NAS”, it simply means “the schedule”.
NAVFAC “Network Analysis Schedule” = “NAS” = The Schedule
To lean more about what a S-Curve from a construction schedule (with examples), see our article here.
Contractor Cost Loading Tips from 01 32 17.00 20:
- Don’t include costs for mobilization, except for batch plant set-up, mobilization of dredging equipment, or other similar labor-intensive activities.
- Review your specs to see if it requires a certain percentage of contract costs for commissioning, testing, and closeout activities.
- Don’t assign costs to any activities that are government responsibility.
- Evenly distribute overhead and profit costs to work-in-place activities throughout the project.
- If you plan on requesting payment for particular work, make sure you have it detailed in the schedule with the costs assigned.
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
The Schedule Variance Control (SVC) Diagram or the S-Curve:
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
The cost loading is also used to develop the earned value reports, which include:
The Earned Value Report as part of the Monthly Update:
Instead of having a separate schedule of values and project schedule, they’re combined into a cost-loaded project schedule.
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
Cost Loaded Schedule as the Basis for Progress Payments
As we talked about in our Schedule Cost Loading article, the cost loaded schedule becomes the basis for the government to determine contract earnings for progress payments.
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
Additionally, the schedule’s actual start and finish dates need to match those in the contractor’s Quality Control daily reports.
In the NAS: Construction activities represent work involved with the Follow-Up Phase. (Since the Follow-Up Phase consists of daily monitoring and inspections, the NAS doesn’t need to include individual 1-day inspection activities as it’s inherent in the construction activities).
In the 3 Week Lookahead Schedule: The Preparatory and Initial Phase meetings need to be shown for each definable DFOW.
Interface with 3-Phase Quality Control
There are specific scheduling requirements for how the schedule needs to interface with the contractor’s Quality Control system and definable features of work (DFOW).
The contractor’s Quality Control plan lists out the DFOWs, which groups the work into specific trades, types, or disciplines. Each DFOW requires the 3-Phase Quality Control system: Preparatory Phase, Initial Phase, and Follow-Up Phase.
The snapshot below highlights the columns to show the NAS Activity ID, Look Ahead Activity ID, and Original Duration (5 work days or less).
Source: UFGS 01 32 17.00 20, updated May-2018
NAVFAC Look-Ahead Schedule Requirements
The specifications describe level of detail requirements for the NAS, which include:
- work-in-place activities not exceeding 20 working days (1 month), and
- separate activities for each phase, area, floor level, and location that the work is occurring.
For a greater level of detail, the Look-Ahead Schedule captures activities no more than 5 work days in duration.
The Look-Ahead Schedule is derived from the NAS but maintained separately.
The Look-Ahead Schedule needs to list the parent NAS activity number so the government can refer back to the project’s overall schedule.
Schedule Milestones and Constraints
There are various milestones and constraint types required, and below is a chart that compiles these requirements.
o NAVFAC “Network Analysis Schedule” = “NAS” = The Schedule. When you see or hear the term “Network Analysis Schedule”, or “NAS”, it simply means “the schedule”.
o Cost Loaded Schedule as the Basis for Progress Payments. Instead of having a schedule of values and a project schedule, they’re combined into a single tool: the cost-loaded project schedule.
o Interface with 3-Phase Quality Control. The Look Ahead schedule needs to include the Preparatory and Initial Phase meetings for each definable feature of work (DFOW). The NAS includes Follow-Up Phase activities which are inherent in the construction activities.
o NAVFAC Look-Ahead Schedule Requirements. The Look Ahead schedule is derived from the NAS but maintained separately, with a greater level of detail and activity durations that cannot be more than 5 work days long.
o Schedule Milestone and Constraints. See the chart above which captures required milestone names, types, and constraint types.
New to NAVFAC projects as a construction contractor and looking to save time and streamline your workflow? Check out our NAVFAC P6 schedule template files.
Questions or comments? Reach us at connect@cpm-ss.com.
Thanks for reading.
Related Articles:
Checklist - NAVFAC Schedule Cost Loading
How to Balance CLINs in a MILCON Schedule
S-Curve from a Construction Schedule (with Examples)
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This blog is for general informational purposes only and is not to be considered an official interpretation or enforcement policy of the UFGS standard specifications. As individual project requirements vary, refer to your specific contract. See our Terms and Conditions and Disclaimer for additional information.
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