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FE Civil · Chapter 15 · 4–6 exam questions

FE Civil Construction Eng.

This chapter covers CPM scheduling, earned value analysis, project delivery methods, and construction safety.

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What the FE tests in Construction Eng.

CPM Scheduling

As a civil engineer, CPM scheduling is how you plan and track construction projects. You identify activities, durations, and dependencies, then compute early/late start and finish times. The forward pass finds the earliest each activity can start; the backward pass finds the latest without delaying the project. Activities with zero total float form the critical path — any delay on the critical path delays the entire project.

Earned Value Management

As a civil engineer managing a project, earned value analysis lets you track cost and schedule performance simultaneously. BCWS is what you planned to spend, BCWP is the budgeted value of work completed, and ACWP is what you actually spent. Cost and schedule variances tell you if you are over/under budget and ahead/behind schedule. Performance indices (CPI, SPI) and forecasting formulas (ETC, EAC) predict total cost at completion.

Project Delivery & Safety

As a civil engineer, you work within different project delivery systems — design-bid-build, design-build, and CM-at-risk — each allocating risk and responsibility differently. You also must understand OSHA construction safety requirements: excavation protection at 5 ft, fall protection at 6 ft, and PE-designed systems for excavations deeper than 20 ft. These topics appear as scenario-based questions on the FE.

Key Construction Eng. formulas

  • EF=ES+DEF = ES + D
    Early FinishFE Handbook p. 310
  • LS=LF−DLS = LF - D
    Late StartFE Handbook p. 310
  • TF=LS−ES=LF−EFTF = LS - ES = LF - EF
    Total FloatFE Handbook p. 310
  • FF=min⁡(ESj)−EFiFF = \min(ES_j) - EF_i
    Free FloatFE Handbook p. 310
  • CV=BCWP−ACWPCV = BCWP - ACWP
    Cost VarianceFE Handbook p. 310
  • SV=BCWP−BCWSSV = BCWP - BCWS
    Schedule VarianceFE Handbook p. 310
  • CPI=BCWPACWPCPI = \frac{BCWP}{ACWP}
    Cost Performance IndexFE Handbook p. 311
  • SPI=BCWPBCWSSPI = \frac{BCWP}{BCWS}
    Schedule Performance IndexFE Handbook p. 311
  • ETC=BAC−BCWPCPIETC = \frac{BAC - BCWP}{CPI}
    Estimate to CompleteFE Handbook p. 311
  • EAC=ACWP+ETCEAC = ACWP + ETC
    Estimate at CompletionFE Handbook p. 311

Sample Construction Eng. problems

Q1. In a CPM network using Activity-on-Node (AON) notation, what do the arrows between boxes represent?

Answer: Dependency relationships between activities

Explain it simply

In AON notation, the boxes (nodes) represent activities. The arrows between boxes show logical dependencies — which activity must come before another. This is the opposite of Activity-on-Arrow (AOA), where the arrows represent the activities themselves. Resource assignments and durations are shown inside the nodes, not on the arrows.

Q2. Activity B has a Start-to-Start (SS) relationship with Activity A. Activity A starts on day 4. Activity B has a duration of 6 days. Which statement is correct?

Answer: B can start no earlier than day 4 (when A starts)

Explain it simply

Start-to-Start means B cannot start until A starts. Since A starts on day 4, B can start no earlier than day 4. SS does not mean they finish together (that would be Finish-to-Finish). It does not mean B waits for A to finish (that would be Finish-to-Start). And SS has nothing to do with matching durations — B can be longer or shorter than A.

These are 2 of 1,126 problems across all 15 chapters. The full bank, lessons, mastery tracking, and timed exam simulation live inside the app.

Common Construction Eng. mistakes on the FE

  • Critical path has ZERO total float — if you calculate negative float, your backward pass has an error.
  • Free float ≤ total float — always. If your free float exceeds total float, recheck the calculation.
  • Forward pass uses MAX of predecessor EFs; backward pass uses MIN of successor LSs.
  • CV = BCWP − ACWP (not ACWP − BCWP). Negative CV = over budget.
  • ETC uses remaining work (BAC − BCWP), not remaining budget (BAC − ACWP).
  • OSHA excavation safety: trenches > 5 ft deep require protective systems; > 20 ft require PE-designed systems.
  • Fall protection trigger: 6 ft for general construction, 15 ft for steel erection connectors.

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