1. Confirm contractual schedule requirements
Begin with the contract documents. Review required milestones, notice-to-proceed assumptions, completion dates, activity coding, calendars, submittal expectations and report format.
A repeatable review for the first approved schedule
Baseline Construction Schedule Review Guide
A baseline schedule establishes the project's time-management reference. Reviewing the logic and assumptions early can help owners, contractors and resident engineers avoid unclear progress reporting later.
Key workflows
2. Inspect activity logic and sequencing
Trace the planned construction sequence from mobilization through closeout. Look for missing ties, illogical out-of-sequence work and assumptions that do not match site access or work restrictions.
3. Evaluate calendars, durations and constraints
Review whether activity durations and work calendars are plausible for the construction methods and conditions. Check hard constraints and unusual float values for explanation.
4. Confirm critical path and near-critical work
Evaluate the continuous driving path to completion and confirm that the schedule reflects relevant field dependencies, procurement and required agency coordination.
5. Record comments and responses
Record each observation with an activity reference, why it matters and the action requested. CPMForge describes automated QA/QC findings, narrative output and an Excel review comments workbook to support this work.
Who this is for
- Resident engineers and construction managers
- Owners evaluating baseline submittals
- Contractors preparing a first-pass self-review
- Schedulers documenting corrections and assumptions
Frequently asked questions
Does this guide replace a contract specification?
No. Contract provisions and the applicable agency's written requirements control the review.
Should the baseline be approved based only on automated checks?
No. Quality checks can help identify issues, but sequencing, constructability and contractual compliance require professional review.
What documents are useful during review?
The baseline schedule, narrative, relevant contract milestones, calendar details, procurement assumptions and a tracked comments/responses log.
Explore related construction scheduling topics
CPMForge supports software-assisted review. Always compare the results against applicable contract documents and project requirements.