Linear Scheduling Method (LSM) is a graphical scheduling method focusing on continuous resource utilization in repetitive activities. It is believed that it originally adopted the idea of Line-Of-Balance method.

Application

LSM is used mainly in the construction industry

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 to schedule resources in repetitive activities commonly found in highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

, pipeline

Pipeline transport

Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....

, high-rise building

Skyscraper

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...

 and rail construction projects. These projects are called repetitive or linear projects. The main advantages of LSM over Critical Path Method

Critical path method

The critical path method is an algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities. It is an important tool for effective project management.-History:...

 (CPM) is its underlying idea of keeping resources continuously at work. In other words, it schedules activities in such a way that:

1. resource utilization is maximized;
2. interruption in on-going process is minimized, including hiring-and-firing; and
3. the effect of the learning curve
   Experience curve effects
   Models of the learning curve effect and the closely related experience curve effect express the relationship between equations for experience and efficiency or between efficiency gains and investment in the effort....
   
    phenomenon is minimized

These benefits are achieved in LSM by scheduling the start date of an activity at the date which will provide a continuous work flow for the resource. In contrast to CPM, this date is not necessarily the earliest possible start date of an activity.

Graphical presentation of LSM is also another advantage over the Critical Path Method

Critical path method

The critical path method is an algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities. It is an important tool for effective project management.-History:...

 when a project consists of repetitive activities.

Alternative names

According to , specific names for the linear scheduling method have been adopted, such as:

• Location-based scheduling (the preferred term in the book)
• Harmonograms
• Line-of-balance
• Flowline or flow line
• Repetitive scheduling method
• Vertical production method
• Time-location matrix model
• Time space scheduling method
• Disturbance scheduling
• Horizontal and vertical logic scheduling for multistory projects
• Horizontal and vertical scheduling
• Multiple repetitive construction process
• Representing construction
• Linear scheduling
• Time versus distance diagrams (T-D charts)
• Linear balance charts
• Velocity diagrams

See also

• Time distance diagram
• List of project management topics
• Project
  Project
  A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
  
  
• Project management
  Project management
  Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
  
  
• Project planning
  Project planning
  Project planning is part of project management, which relates to the use of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report progress within the project environment....
  
  
• Work breakdown structure
  Work breakdown structure
  A work breakdown structure , in project management and systems engineering, is a deliverable oriented decomposition of a project into smaller components. It defines and groups a project's discrete work elements in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project.A work...
  
  
• List of project management software

Further reading

• Robert B. Harris and Photios G. Ioannou Repetitive Scheduling Method
• David W. Johnston Linear Scheduling Method for Highway Construction