| Course | MT381 Construction Planning and Scheduling |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Duration estimate worksheet |
| Length | About 870 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT381 Unit 3
Quantity Over Rate, Rounded Up: An MT381 Unit 3 Duration Estimate Worksheet for a Medical Office Building
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT381: Construction Planning and Scheduling
Unit 3 Duration Estimate Worksheet
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The quantities, rates and weather assumptions are composite; the research cited is real.
How the Worksheet Works
Each row lists the activity, its quantity and unit, a production rate per crew-day, any adjustment factor, the raw duration, the rounded duration and the source of the rate. Rows follow the order the building goes up, so a reviewer can check each duration against the network it feeds. Every row prints its arithmetic, quantity over rate times factor, so any duration can be recomputed on a phone calculator in seconds.
The Sixteen Rows
Excavation and grading: 8,400 cubic yards at 850 a day, 9.88 days, rounded to 10. Source: the sitework subcontractor's records for similar lots.
Underground utilities: 1,320 linear feet at 115 a day, 11.48, rounded to 12. Source: the course's cost data.
Footings: 236 cubic yards at 20 a day, 11.80, rounded to 12. Source: the concrete subcontractor's records.
Foundation walls and piers: 92 cubic yards at 12 a day, 7.67, rounded to 8. Source: the concrete subcontractor.
Slab on grade: 14,200 square feet at 2,500 a day, 5.68, rounded to 6. Source: the concrete subcontractor.
Steel erection: 410 tons at 14 a day, 29.29, rounded to 30. Source: the erector's stated output with one crane.
Metal deck: 42,600 square feet at 2,600 a day, 16.38, rounded to 17. Source: the deck installer.
Concrete on deck, each of levels 2 and 3: 14,200 square feet at 3,600 a day, 3.94, rounded to 4. Source: the concrete subcontractor.
Exterior framing and sheathing: 14,900 square feet at 750 a day, 19.87, rounded to 20. Source: the course's cost data.
Air barrier: 14,900 square feet at 1,300 a day, 11.46, rounded to 12. Source: the air barrier installer.
Curtain wall: 7,350 square feet at 300 a day, 24.50, rounded to 25. Source: the curtain wall installer's stated output.
Brick veneer: 11,200 square feet at 372 a day, adjusted by 0.95, 31.69, rounded to 32. Source: the masonry subcontractor, six masons at 62 square feet each.
TPO roofing: 14,200 square feet at 1,200 a day, 11.83, rounded to 12. Source: the roofer.
Drywall hang, each level: 36,500 square feet of board at 3,700 a day, 9.86, rounded to 10. Source: the drywall subcontractor.
Tape and finish, each level: 36,500 square feet at 3,800 a day, 9.61, rounded to 10. Source: the drywall subcontractor.
Ceilings, flooring and trim-out, each level: governed by 14,200 square feet of ceiling at 1,200 a day, 11.83, rounded to 12. Source: the ceiling subcontractor, with flooring and trim crews working behind.
Rounding in One Direction
Raw results such as 29.29 or 11.46 become thirty and twelve. Rounding always goes up, because a crew does not pack up after 0.29 of a day's output, and rounding down would promise production the rate itself says the crew cannot deliver.
One Factor, With Its Reason
Brick veneer is the only row with an adjustment factor. Six masons laying 62 square feet each produce 372 square feet a day on a straight wall, but production slows while scaffold is moved around the building's corners, so the worksheet applies 0.95, giving about 353 square feet a day. Thomas and Yiakoumis (1987) model construction productivity as a standard rate adjusted by factors for conditions that disturb the work, and scaffold moves are a predictable disturbance on this job. No other row needed a factor, because the rates were taken from records of similar conditions, and the worksheet says so rather than leaving the reader to wonder.
Every duration on the sheet is a measure of work; weather is handled on the calendar, so no row hides a guess about rain.
Weather Kept Off the Rows
Weather is handled once rather than sixteen times. Exterior activities are assigned an exterior calendar that removes 28 anticipated lost working days between March and December, drawn from the scenario's ten-year averages: four each in March and April, three in May, two in each month from June through September, and three each in October, November and December. El-Rayes and Moselhi (2001) found that rainfall affects productivity on exterior work well beyond the hours of rain itself, which supports treating weather as lost days rather than slower rates. Interior work runs on the standard calendar. As a result, the 30 working days of steel erection span more standard working days than 30, and the CPM paper in Unit 5 explains the difference.
Procurement Lines
Procurement lines are split into submittal preparation, review and fabrication with delivery, because each part belongs to a different party: the subcontractor prepares, the architect reviews within the ten working days the specification allows, and the manufacturer fabricates. Quoted lead times for fabrication and delivery are 25 working days for structural steel, 55 for curtain wall, 140 for switchgear, 80 for the elevators and 70 for the rooftop units, including their submittals. Mubarak (2015) warns that long-lead items often drive early schedules more than field work does, and switchgear, the longest, is flagged for close tracking.
References
El-Rayes, K., & Moselhi, O. (2001). Impact of rainfall on the productivity of highway construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 127(2), 125-131. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2001)127:2(125)
Mubarak, S. (2015). Construction project scheduling and control (3rd ed.). Wiley.
Thomas, H. R., & Yiakoumis, I. (1987). Factor model of construction productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 113(4), 623-639. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1987)113:4(623)
What the MT381 Unit 3 assignment asks for
Unit 3 asks students to estimate durations for the activities in their breakdown, using quantities and production rates rather than judgment alone. Each duration should show its arithmetic and name the source of its rate, such as a cost database, the course text or a subcontractor's stated output. Instructors expect rounding to be handled consistently and explained. Adjustment factors should be used only where conditions justify them, with the reason stated. Weather is a common point of judgment: many schedulers keep it out of durations and handle it on a separate calendar. Procurement lead times usually belong on the worksheet too, split by the party responsible for each part, so a late review can be told apart from a slow fabricator.
Inside the MT381 Unit 3 example
The sample explains its columns and the order of its rows. Sixteen rows follow, from excavation to ceilings, each giving quantity, rate, raw result, rounded duration and source. A section explains why rounding always goes up. Brick veneer's factor is justified with Thomas and Yiakoumis's factor model of productivity, and the worksheet states why no other row needed one, under a highlighted line about durations as measures of work. The weather section lists lost days month by month and cites El-Rayes and Moselhi on rainfall. Procurement lines are split by responsible party, and quoted lead times close the sheet with switchgear flagged for tracking because it is longer than most field work combined.
Reading the MT381 Unit 3 grading rubric
Duration worksheets tend to be graded on transparency, sourcing, consistency and the handling of special conditions. Showing quantity over rate on every line lets a grader check the work, which earns the core marks. Naming each rate's source shows the estimate is grounded. Rounding treated consistently, with a reason, shows care. Rubrics reward factors used sparingly and justified specifically. Keeping weather out of the rows and on a calendar shows awareness of good practice, as does splitting procurement by party. Durations should match the work breakdown and feed the network without change. Research and sources appear in APA 7, and every figure should be recomputable from what is printed on the page without asking the writer.
MT381 Unit 3 help from the desk
Many worksheets list durations that are simply plausible numbers, with no quantity or rate behind them. Others show arithmetic but cite no source for the rates, leaving the grader unable to judge them. Rounding to the nearest day, or down, is a common slip that understates durations. Adjustment factors are sometimes applied to every row without reasons, which hides judgment inside arithmetic. Weather contingency added to each duration makes it impossible to tell work from allowance. Before you finish, pick any row and recompute it from the numbers printed on the page. If you need information that is not there, the row is not finished, however reasonable its number looks.
Get an MT381 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Upload whatever quantities and production data the Unit 3 prompt provides, along with the activity list from your breakdown and the rubric, and mention which cost data your course uses. Within 24-48h a free first worksheet comes back with each duration shown as a division, every rate sourced, and weather kept on its own calendar. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT381 Unit 3 questions, answered
Should anticipated weather go into each activity's duration?
Usually not. Many schedulers leave durations as measures of work and give outdoor activities a calendar with expected lost days taken out, based on local historical records. An update can then separate normal weather from abnormal weather. If your course or scenario prescribes a different method, follow it and state the method on the worksheet.
What if the prompt gives no production rates?
Use a published cost database, the course text or rates the scenario implies, and name the source on each row. Where you must assume a rate, mark it plainly as assumed and pick a figure credible for the crew described. A sourced but imperfect rate is easier to defend than an unexplained number, and graders can follow the reasoning.
Why round durations up rather than to the nearest day?
Because a crew needing 11.46 days of output is still working on day twelve. Rounding down schedules less work than the quantity requires and builds a slip into the network before the job starts. Some sections accept half days; if yours does, say so, but whole working days are the usual convention.
Where can I find a free MT381 Unit 3 sample paper?
The full MT381 Unit 3 duration estimate worksheet is printed here, with sixteen rows of quantity over rate for a medical office building.
Why is weather kept off the rows in the MT381 Unit 3 sample?
Exterior work runs on a separate calendar that removes 28 anticipated lost days, so each duration measures work and the weather allowance can be seen and checked in one place.