Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The WBS is the use of planning our work activities for the project. The WBS is the first step in preparing the planning in project even the smallest project to the huge project. It will define the single  activities and elaborate the project identifiable part can be easily to monitor and manage in company organization.  The WBS can be defined as product-oriented family tree composed of hardware, services and data that can result from project engineering effort during the development and production. It will be tooled to helps easily communicate the works within and/or process to execute in a construction site.

The main functions of WBS in construction industry are:

1. To serve the planning tool before can proceed with the scheduling method.
2. Breaks a project down into greater detail by level.
3. Organizes work without scheduling
4. Provides a framework for organizing and ordering activities.

Importance of WBS for construction project are:-

1. Can provide the explained the overall program in summary according the breakdown by sub-element of works.
2. Planning could execute
3. Can Estimate more accurately the cost and budget.
4. Performance, time and cost for each element could be monitor
5. Network diagram and control planning could be prepared in early stages.
6. Responsibilities for each parties involve in every element could be identified and assign.

The WBS in cost estimation are to:-

1. Provide an organized manner of collecting project cost data in a standard format for estimating, cost reporting, and cost tracking.
2. Provide a checklist for categorizing costs.
3. Provide a means to maintain historical cost data in a standard format.
4.  

The WBS can categories by 3 types of structure which are Project WBS, Standard WBS and Contract WBS. The WBS can be display in either Outline or Graphical Method. However, it can be:-

                                             i.            Outline View

                                           ii.            Hierarchical Structure

                                          iii.            Tabular View

                                        iv.            Tree Structure View.

Generally the WBS elements must fulfil the following requirements :-

• Definable-can be described and easily understood by all project participants
• Manageable- a meaningful unit of work where specific responsibility and authority can be assigned to a responsible individual.
• Estimate able- time duration and cost can be estimate.
• Independent- minimum interface with or dependence on other ongoing elements (i.e. assignable to a single control account and clearly distinguishable from other work packages)
• Integratable- integrates with other project work elements and with higher level cost estimates and schedules to include the entire project.
• Measureable- can be used to measure progress; has start and completion dates and measureable interim milestones.
• Adaptable-sufficiently flexible so the addition/elimination of work scope can be readily accommodated in the WBS framework.

  Steps for developing WBS

Activity identification or the WBS inputs can be gathered from few valid project sources such as:-

1. Plans and Specifications
2. Agreements
3. Contract Conditions
4. Bill of Quantity (BQ)
5. Other information (valid for the project)

     

The number of level needed in the WBS depending on:

1. the project’s size and complexity,
2. technical uncertainty
3. organizational constraints
4. Contractor management’s assessment of need.

The design of WBS and OBS depends on:

• The complexity of the project
• Goals
• Constrains impose on it.

Mostly, we can create a breakdown based on the Bill of Quantity (BQ). For my experience, the WBS not need to put the sub-elements, just make a major activity (head) in your breakdown.

The table below is an example for the breakdown Booster Pump house

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