On any project, some tasks can slip a few days without consequence, while others push back the handover date if they slip by even one day. Those tasks make up the critical path, and knowing which they are is the difference between reacting in time and discovering the delay when it's too late to fix.
Why the critical path changes
The critical path isn't set in stone. A late delivery, a work package moving faster than planned or a design change can turn a task that had float into a critical one. That's why a schedule you only review once a month gives a false sense of control.
Three habits that keep it up to date
- Link tasks through real dependencies rather than fixed dates, so changes ripple through automatically.
- Update progress from the daily reports, not from estimates made at the weekly meeting.
- Review float every week: shrinking float is the first warning sign of a problem.
How ConstrAllianz handles it
In ConstrAllianz's Gantt planning, the critical path is recalculated every time a duration, a dependency or the progress logged on site changes. The site manager can see at all times which tasks can't afford to slip, and reassign resources before the problem reaches the handover date.