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Scheduling

Gantt Chart

In Plain English

A bar chart that shows project tasks as horizontal bars across a timeline, making the schedule easy to visualize.

Definition

A Gantt chart is a bar chart representation of a project schedule that displays activities as horizontal bars along a time axis, showing start and finish dates, durations, and sometimes dependencies between tasks. Gantt charts are the most widely recognized format for communicating project schedules to owners, project teams, and stakeholders. They are generated by scheduling software from the CPM network model.

Why It Matters in Bidding

Gantt charts are the schedule format most owners and lenders actually read, so the bid-stage preliminary schedule a GC submits shapes perceptions of how realistic and well-planned a proposal is. Estimators and schedulers use them to communicate sequencing, milestones, and durations that back up the bid's general conditions and time-related costs, which can influence award decisions beyond price alone.

Example

To support its bid, the GC's scheduler produced a Gantt chart from the CPM model showing the foundation-to-dry-in sequence and key milestones, demonstrating to the owner that the proposed completion date was achievable within the bid's general conditions duration.

Related Terms

Critical Path Method (CPM)Baseline ScheduleLook-Ahead ScheduleMilestone

Related Tools & Templates

Primavera P6Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet

Frequently Asked Questions

A CPM schedule is the underlying network model that calculates the critical path, float, and logic relationships. A Gantt chart is a visual bar-chart output generated from that model. The Gantt communicates dates and durations clearly, but the CPM analysis behind it is what proves the schedule is logically sound.
Many solicitations require a preliminary project schedule with the proposal, and a Gantt chart is the common deliverable. It demonstrates the bidder understands sequencing and can meet the contract duration. A credible, milestone-driven schedule supports the general conditions pricing and can strengthen a proposal during best-value evaluation.
The schedule's overall duration drives time-related general conditions like supervision, trailer rental, and equipment standby. A Gantt chart visualizes that duration and overlap of trades, helping estimators justify the general conditions line and spot where compressing the schedule could reduce overhead or where extensions would add cost.

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