Answer to Question 1
While the suggestion may seem reasonable at first glance, one must realize that
the purpose of the short interval schedule is to serve as a planning document for the
upcoming week. If a schedule is prepared on a Monday for the following Monday,
assumptions must be made about the extent of work that will be accomplished by Friday.
Needless to say, at the level of detail that such schedules are prepared, many activities
will not be scheduled with accuracy. If many activities are improperly represented when
work begins on the following Monday, the utility or value of the short interval schedule is
drastically reduced. The schedule must be prepared after most of the work week activities
have taken place as this is the only way to assure its accuracy.
Answer to Question 2
The level of detail in a short interval schedule is considerably more involved
than that of the project schedule. For example, with a one or two year project schedule it
may be possible to tell in relative terms (approximately which week) certain tasks will be
performed. The short interval schedule, on the other hand, will specify the specific day of
the week when activities are to take place. A craft supervisor will be able to plan
activities by using a short interval schedule, but the project schedule will not contain
sufficient detail for this to occur.
Additional planning would be required for the supervisor. Of course, this is not the intent
of the project schedule. The project schedule will present information about general tasks
to be performed, but the short interval schedule will present information about the tasks
to be performed by a particular crew.
Red-bellied short-necked turtle
Preparing a Smear
Preparing Slides
Preparing Slides
Embryonic Period - 7th week
An 8-week-old fetus