The use of Gantt charts has developed from being the height of innovation when first used to the default tool for schedule management today. In fact, the use of Gantt charts is now seen as a fundamental part of any project.
It was in fact Polish Economist Karol Adamiecki that first developed what we now know as the Gantt chart in 1896. Adamiecki graduated from the university in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1891. Shortly after that he ran a steel mill, and this is where he developed many of his management ideas. The harmonogram was developed during this time and provided a unique way of displaying independent processes to enhance the visibility of production. His work was published in Polish and Russian and didn’t get much traction in the English-speaking world. By the time he had published his work in more widely read papers a similar method had been popularized by Henry Gantt.
Adamiecki’s early work on the Gantt chart was recognised in 1972 by the State College of Economic Administration in Katowice, Poland and in 1974 became the Karol Adamiecki University of Economics.
The chart is named after Henry Gantt (1861-1919) who designed his chart across the years 1910-1915. The cart was originally designed for operational tasks with a view of measuring the productivity levels of employees. In his book “Work, Wages and Profits” which was published in 1916 he specifically focuses on the importance of scheduling. He suggests giving the foremen a daily order of work that is an ordered list of tasks to be completed by that day. He also identified the importance of removing bottlenecks from those daily tasks.
Importantly in his book “Organising for Work” Gantt presented two principles for his charts:
- Measuring activities by the amount of time needed to complete them,
- The space on the chart is used to represent the amount of activity that should have been completed in that time.
Importantly Gantt was able to show the dependencies between tasks.
The emergence of the Gantt chart came before computers and were required to be drawn on paper. This presented problems whenever there was a schedule change as the chart would need to be completely redrawn.
As modern computers became more powerful it became easier to write programs that incorporated float, critical path, deliverable dates etc. Moving these when the schedule of a project changes is also a major step in the Gantt chart’s usability.
It is also interesting to note that it is common for Gantt charts to be featured in contracts and have been help up in as evidence in court cases.
Impact on World War 1
On April 2, 1917 then President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson announced to a special session of Congress that they would be entering the Great War with Germany. This decision provided huge logistical challenges moving thousands of soldiers, sailors and marines along with the required equipment, vehicles, horses and medical supplies.
The U.S. Army Ordnance Corp were put in charge of the deployment and shortly after hired mechanical engineer Henry Gantt to assist them with it’s mobilisation. In response to the great challenge Gantt produced the first working Gantt chart that featured the same attributes you would find today.
A contributing factor in the success of World War 1, Henry Gantt was acknowledged by Distinguished Service medal recipient Colonel John T. Thompson. He sent Gantt a letter stating that the chart was his compass.
Nation Building Projects
Shortly after World War 1 the Great Depression had a massive impact on the U.S.
In order to get the country back on its feet the Government began huge nation building projects which included the Hoover Dam and the Interstate highway system. Gantt charts were integral in both of these projects and have had a significant impact on many other projects since.
The Hoover dam is still functioning and it stands as a monument to the fortitude and courage of the 21,000 men who helped to build it. Gantt charts are given credit for managing the massive project and delivering it two years ahead of schedule.
The Gantt chart stands to this day a vital part of any project and with the advent of computers is accessible to nearly everyone.
