A baseline built from the scope and the takeoff.A lookahead your superintendent can run.
Construction scheduling software for a general contractor builds the baseline schedule from the scope and the takeoff quantities, labels where every duration came from, and turns master activities into weekly lookahead tasks with a crew and a responsible party. Below: a duration calculator for your activities, where a duration comes from activity by activity, a three-week lookahead template to download, and what superintendents get wrong.
- Activities from scope rows and takeoff quantities, with procurement activities and completion milestones
- Every duration carries its evidence, and the carried sub's stated timing takes priority over a reference
- Lookahead tasks with parent activity, timing, crew size and responsible party, without touching the master
Framing and drywall runs eighteen working days because the carried subcontractor said so. Ceilings are sized from the takeoff at the production rate. Finishes still carry a reference duration because no bid is in. The storefront waits on procurement. The dashed line is the critical path the calculation found.
Part of Ruh for general contractors · stage 07 of 12
The whole GC lifecycle →- 01ScopeBid package read, scope register written by trade
- 02TakeoffQuantities off the drawings, each traced to its sheet
- 03EstimatePriced on your price book, into your own workbook
- 04Bid levelingSub bids compared on scope, not on the total
- 05SubsEligibility, invitations and awards on one record
- 06BudgetOriginal, changes, committed and buyout variance
- 07You are hereScheduleDurations from quantities, lookaheads each week
- 08ProcurementPurchase orders from award, materials to receipt
- 09SubmittalsSubmittals from the spec, on a review clock
- 10ChangesRFIs tracked, change events priced with evidence
- 11Pay appsSchedules of values, pay apps and audited waivers
- 12CloseoutCloseout obligations and handover, gaps named
Durations from quantity, rate and crew.
Enter each activity's quantity, the production rate one crew achieves in a day and the crews you will assign. The calculator returns working days per activity, the sequential total, and which activities land in the first three weeks.
Activities, in sequence
Quantity from the takeoff. Rate is what one crew puts in place in a working day, from this crew's recent jobs. Crews is how many you will assign.
| Activity | Quantity | Unit | Rate per crew day | Crews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- Slab on grade, area B5 days
14,200 SF at 3,500 SF a day (1 crew). Days 1 to 5, week 1.
- Structural steel erection9 days
186 tons at 22 tons a day (1 crew). Days 6 to 14, week 2 to 3.
- Metal stud framing, level 28 days
9,800 SF at 1,300 SF a day (2 crews). Days 15 to 22, week 3 to 5.
- Drywall hang and finish, level 211 days
24,000 SF at 2,200 SF a day (2 crews). Days 23 to 33, week 5 to 7.
- HVAC ductwork rough-in, level 214 days
1,650 LF at 120 LF a day (1 crew). Days 34 to 47, week 7 to 10.
Slab on grade, area B (week 1); Structural steel erection (week 2); Metal stud framing, level 2 (week 3). Each of these needs its material on site, its RFIs answered and its inspection booked before it is a lookahead task rather than a line on the master schedule.
Quantity divided by rate times crews, nothing more. It does not know your predecessors, your weather or your inspector. Ruh builds the baseline from the takeoff quantities and the carried subcontractors' stated days, labels where each duration came from, and reads roadblocks from Outbuild.
What superintendents get wrong about the schedule.
The view of the Ruh estimating team, from baseline schedules and lookaheads on general contractor jobs. An opinion, not a measured result.
- 01
The rate comes from the last job.
Production rates belong to a crew, a building and a season. A rate carried from a different crew on a different job is a guess with a decimal point.
- 02
The lookahead is a slice of the master schedule.
A lookahead task is ready when the material is on site, the RFI is answered and the inspection is booked. Cutting three weeks out of the Gantt chart is not a lookahead. Checking those constraints is.
- 03
Float is treated as everyone's buffer.
Each trade spends the float it can see, and the critical path arrives late. Float is owned, and who owns it is written down.
- 04
Progress is recorded as percent complete.
Fifty percent complete says nothing about the finish date. Remaining duration, from remaining quantity at the rate the crew is actually hitting, does.
- 05
Time is recovered by stacking trades.
Two trades in one area hide the delay until finish, then pay for it in rework. Recovery is a rate change, a crew change or a sequence change, chosen on purpose.
Where a duration comes from, activity by activity.
The quantity that drives each type of activity, the hold point before the next trade can start, and what the schedule cannot see on its own. The calculator above runs on the first column.
| Activity | Duration driver | Hold point before the next trade | What the schedule cannot see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundations | CY of concrete and LF of formwork per crew day | Footing inspection before the pour; strip and cure before backfill | Rock, water and weather in the excavation |
| Slab on grade | SF per pour, with the pump and finishing crew | Underslab inspection; cure before loading or layout | Vapor barrier and rebar deliveries |
| Structural steel | Tons or pieces erected per crew day | Anchor bolt survey; plumb and bolt-up before decking | Fabrication and delivery sequence from the shop |
| Framing and sheathing | SF of wall or LF of stud per crew day | Framing inspection before insulation and cover | Openings changed by RFIs still open |
| MEP rough-in | LF of duct, pipe and conduit per crew day, by trade | Rough-in inspections before drywall | Coordination clashes not resolved in the model |
| Drywall | SF hung and finished per crew day, by finish level | Fire caulking and inspection at rated walls before close-in | Level 5 extents and patching after other trades |
| Finishes | SF or units per crew day, by material | Substrate moisture and cure; ceiling close-in | Long-lead materials and owner selections |
| Site utilities and paving | LF of pipe and SY of paving per crew day | Utility inspection and backfill compaction before paving | Utility company scheduling and permits |
Hold points are the usual sequence, not code advice; the inspector and the specification set them on a given project. Rates are yours to enter. The table names the driver, not a number.
The three-week lookahead, as an empty sheet.
One row per lookahead task with its location, crew, quantity, rate, duration, dates, predecessor and the constraint that has to clear before it starts. Four example rows show a task that is ready and three waiting on a material, an RFI and an inspection.
- Activity, location and the responsible crew or subcontractor
- Quantity, unit, production rate and crews, so every duration has a source
- Start, finish and predecessor for each task
- A constraint column: material, RFI, inspection or access, with the date it clears
No email, no gate. If you want the register written for you from a real set, the walkthrough is at the bottom of the page.
From approved scope to a sequence the trade agreed to.
Three things have to hold for a schedule to survive the first week. Every duration answers how long and why, the subcontractor who will do the work agreed to the timing, and the crew on Monday knows which piece of it is theirs.
The selected subcontractor's stated working-day duration takes priority. Matched takeoff quantities and scope-stated areas size the rest. Where only a reference remains, the output says so and says why scaling could not run.
Durations that answer how long, and why
The generator reads scope rows, inclusions and exclusions, and the physical quantities from the takeoff, then builds activities, procurement activities and completion milestones. A duration is not a guess with a number on it: the carried subcontractor's stated working days take priority, matched takeoff quantities at production rates size the rest, and a trade reference duration is labeled as exactly that.
- Scope rows and takeoff quantities become activities; long-lead items become procurement activities with milestones
- A carried subcontractor's stated working-day duration replaces the reference, with an explanation of what changed
- Takeoff quantities at production rates size activities where no bid states a duration
- Area-scaled reference durations need the project area and the reference area; when scaling cannot run, the output says why
- The critical-path calculation derives dates from durations and relationships, and your superintendent still checks access and zone constraints the sequence cannot know
| Task | Parent activity | Timing | Crew | Responsible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layout partitions, L2 east | Framing and drywall | Mon to Tue | 4 | Summit Drywall |
| Hang board, L2 east | Framing and drywall | Wed to Fri | 6 | Summit Drywall |
| Storefront frames set | Storefront install | blocked | 3 | Glazing sub |
A lookahead task records the piece of work, its parent activity, expected timing, trade, crew size and responsible party. It supports readiness and accountability without changing the master schedule. The blocked row points at the Outbuild roadblock it is waiting on.
The lookahead turns activities into work a crew can start
The Field view breaks broad master activities into near-term tasks a superintendent can coordinate. Each lookahead task records the piece of work, its parent activity, expected timing, trade, crew size and responsible party. It supports readiness and accountability without changing the master schedule.
- Tasks inherit their parent activity, so the field plan and the master always reconcile
- Crew size and responsible company on every task, named from the subcontractor record
- Expected timing in working days, with the constraint that blocks a task named beside it
- The master schedule is not edited from the lookahead; readiness is tracked without rewriting the plan
- Impacts recorded against the activity they belong to, so a slip has an owner and a cause
Two schedule sources, kept honest about which is which
Ruh generates a baseline artifact; your team works the schedule in Outbuild. Under the reviewed policy, routine activity editing stays in Outbuild, and Ruh reads the synchronized snapshot back for procurement coordination and shows the last successful sync. Before anyone discusses a completion date, the source is named.
- The generated sequence exports as the handoff file the project team develops in Outbuild
- The Outbuild snapshot is read beside procurement and material needs, with its freshness shown
- Roadblocks enter as a read-only mirror with a link to their source; resolving one happens in Outbuild
- A local Ruh roadblock and an imported Outbuild roadblock are different records, and the page says which is which
- Baseline snapshots and guarded restoration exist for the generated artifact; the working schedule's authority stays in Outbuild
Scope in. Baseline out. Lookahead every week.
Four steps, and at each one the schedule says where its numbers came from. Nothing about the sequence is decided in a place your superintendent cannot look at.
Generate the baseline
From the approved scope, the takeoff and the budget. Activities, procurement activities and milestones, each duration labeled with its basis.
Carry the trade's timing
As carried bids state working-day durations, they replace the references with an explanation attached. Long-lead items pull their procurement dates.
Work it in Outbuild
The sequence exports as the handoff file. Routine editing stays in Outbuild; Ruh reads the snapshot back and shows the last sync.
Run the lookahead
Master activities become tasks with crew, timing and a responsible party. Roadblocks from Outbuild sit beside them. Your superintendent releases the work.
One job. Everything the schedule records about the sequence.
A schedule rarely survives contact with procurement and weather unchanged. Here is what gets recorded so a slip has a cause and an owner instead of a shrug.
Duration evidence
What gets recorded
For every activity: whether the duration was stated by the carried subcontractor, sized from a takeoff quantity at a production rate, or taken from a trade reference, and what it replaced. Reference durations say they are references.
Procurement activities
What gets recorded
Long-lead items as their own activities with milestones, so the storefront that waits on a delivery shows why.
Subcontractor timing
What gets recorded
The stated installation duration from the carried bid, and whether it was confirmed to include layout, inspections and finish.
Lookahead tasks
What gets recorded
Piece of work, parent activity, expected timing, trade, crew size and responsible party. The blocking constraint named beside a task that cannot start, with a link to the Outbuild roadblock when that is the source.
Sources and syncs
What gets recorded
Which schedule is the generated artifact and which is the Outbuild snapshot, with the last successful synchronization shown.
What the generated schedule knows, and what it cannot.
A generator can turn scope and quantities into a defensible first sequence. It cannot know that the elevator shaft is the only access to Level 2, or that the owner wants the lobby finished before the tenant tours. Ruh states its basis for every duration and leaves the constraints the drawings do not show to the people who walk the site.
What the baseline knows
- Which activities the scope and takeoff imply, and their quantities
- Which durations were stated by a subcontractor and which are references
- Which items are long lead and need a procurement activity
- The critical path the durations and relationships produce
What only your team knows
- Access and zone constraints that generic sequencing cannot see
- Whether a stated duration includes layout, inspections and finish
- Which completion date the owner actually cares about
- Whether the crew can work continuously once the predecessor finishes
No duration you cannot explain.
The fear in scheduling is not building the Gantt. It is defending a completion date in front of an owner when nobody can say why framing was eighteen days.
Scope and takeoff are the source
Activities come from the approved register and measured quantities, not from a template someone copied from the last job.
Every duration has a basis
Stated by the sub, sized from takeoff, or a labeled reference. The output says which, and what it replaced.
We show the slip. Your superintendent owns it
Impacts are recorded against the activity they belong to, with a cause. Roadblocks from Outbuild sit beside the work with a link to their source.
Your working schedule stays yours
Routine editing stays in Outbuild under the reviewed policy. Ruh generates, exports, reads back and coordinates. It does not quietly become a second schedule.
Our estimators spent more time retyping quantities than thinking about scope. Ruh reads our drawings like a senior estimator and hands back a priced estimate we want to review, not rebuild.
ADF GroupWhat the generator can do, and what your superintendent still does
The generated baseline is a bridge from estimating information to a working schedule. Durations are evidence-backed and labeled, procurement activities and milestones are built in, and the critical-path calculation runs over what is there. That is real, and every basis is inspectable.
It does not know access, zone or owner constraints the drawings do not show, and a stated duration has not been agreed by the trade until a person confirms it. Routine schedule editing stays in Outbuild, roadblocks are mirrored read-only, and the Outbuild connection needs configuration and permissions. This page describes that boundary rather than hiding it.
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Questions general contractors ask.
Does it build the schedule on its own?+
It generates the baseline from the approved scope, the takeoff quantities and the budget, with every duration labeled by its basis. Your estimator reviews it, the project manager checks it, the working schedule is developed in Outbuild, and your superintendent releases the sequence and runs the lookahead. The generator drafts; people decide.
Where do the durations come from?+
In priority order: the carried subcontractor's stated working-day duration, then matched takeoff quantities or scope-stated areas at production rates, then trade reference durations, scaled by area when both the project area and the reference area are known. Each activity shows which source it used and what a later source replaced.
How do subcontractor bids change the schedule?+
When a carried bid states an installation duration, it replaces the reference for that activity and the change is recorded with an explanation. Procurement lead time from the bid can create a procurement activity. Your superintendent still confirms whether the stated duration includes layout, inspections and finish before releasing the sequence.
What is the lookahead, and does it edit the master schedule?+
The Field view breaks master activities into near-term tasks with a parent activity, expected timing, trade, crew size and responsible party, so a superintendent can coordinate the week. It supports readiness and accountability and does not change the master schedule.
Which schedule is the real one, Ruh or Outbuild?+
They are two sources with two jobs. Ruh generates the baseline artifact and exports it as the handoff file. Under the reviewed policy, routine activity editing stays in Outbuild, and Ruh reads the synchronized snapshot back for procurement coordination, showing the last successful sync. Before discussing a completion date, name the source.
How are roadblocks handled?+
Outbuild roadblocks enter Ruh as a read-only mirror so urgent constraints are visible beside other open project items, each with a link to its source. Resolving an imported roadblock happens in Outbuild; changing a separate local Ruh roadblock does not close it.
Does it calculate the critical path?+
Yes. The critical-path calculation derives activity dates from durations and relationships, and procurement activities can create critical installation dependencies. It cannot know access or zone constraints that generic sequencing does not see, which is why the accepted sequence is released by your superintendent after the trade's timing and project interfaces are reviewed.
Bring one job with an approved scope and takeoff.
A 30 minute walkthrough on a real job. We generate the baseline live, show the basis behind each duration and walk the lookahead with your superintendent. Your team decides whether the sequence holds.
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