Standardizing scheduling data exchange

One of the major inefficiencies in the use of the critical path method (CPM) in the construction industry is the large number of proprietary and commercially available software scheduling systems. This inefficiency is due, in part, to the amount of data reentry required when progress data is exchanged between members of a project team. To solve this problem, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coordinated the development of a data-exchange standard with eight vendors, several construction managers, and Corps of Engineer field-office representatives. The standard was tested on a limited basis and has been officially requiredby the Corps of Engineers since March of 1990. To use the data-exchange features currently provided by software vendors, it is necessary for all participants in the data exchange to spend considerable time anticipating inconsistencies between software systems. A revised version of the format is expected to be released to vendors in early 1993. The revised version is expected to considerably reduce the time required by users to implement the exchange of project scheduling data.