Introducing ICS-INSTITUTE

What ICS-Institute Is All About

The ICS-Institute for Construction Project Time Management Studies provides high quality, relevant, cutting-edge, convenient, and affordable self-learning options, including coursework, seminars, videos, and more. All educational offerings are pre-developed for the construction industry, ready for off-the-shelf access through the ICS-Store.

Why ICS-Institute Was Created

For decades, the #1 complaint among construction Owners and Contractors is a lack of credible training that is relevant, affordable, and practical. While there is ample training programs, each comes with a particular bent and inherent limitations:

College Course: Typically, this is an 8-week course on CPM Scheduling, as part of a two-year or four-year degree in Construction Management or Project Management. Such courses are often taught by trainers who have never practiced as a Construction Planner or Scheduler and whose texts are notoriously outdated.
Software Seminars: Major publishers of Project Management software (e.g., Microsoft Project or Primavera P6) certify trainers to instruct attendees on how to operate their software. Sadly, these truncated seminars do not have time to cover the details of proper design, development, maintain, or usage of the Project Schedule in a real-world setting.
Claims Seminars: Masquerading as a “scheduling seminar,” many prominent Claims Consultants offer half-day or one-day seminar in which they share trade secrets on how to manipulate a Project Schedule to successfully assert or defend against time-impacting delays. Again, there is neither time nor interest in focusing on the Project Schedule as a project management tool.
Certification Trainers: By far, the greatest number of trainers on Construction PTM topics are for-profit instructors whose coursework is meant to help students sit for and pass a Project Management certification exam. Since Project Time Management is part of Project Management, it is one of dozens of PM “knowledge areas” covered in a short one-day or two-day seminar.

Just as there is a stark difference between knowing the fundamentals of bookkeeping and being a qualified CPA, Construction PTM is a multi-dimensional discipline. With over 225 construction projects under our belt, we can unequivocally assure you that Schedule Development entails far more than merely linking Schedule Activities by way of Schedule Logic. And Project Time Management is much, more than just Schedule Development and Maintenance.

Whom ICS-Institute Is Intended to Serve

We created the ICS-Institute to serve four general groups of knowledge seekers:

Practitioners: Those who wish to enter the field of Construction PTM, or practicing technocrats who wish to continue their education.
Management: Project Team Leadership of Owners and Contractors who want to know more about how to effectively manage time on construction projects.
Veterans: Returning military veterans who wish to transition to gainful private sector employment.
Interested Others: Anyone else who wants to know about Construction PTM.

Four particular courses form the basis for a number of academic programs that lead to a Certificate of Completion. To achieve the Certificate one must complete two phases of study: Classwork and an Internship. All courses are provided online, are self‑paced, and are taught by instructors who are seasoned Construction Scheduling Experts with impressive track records of their own.

While these courses may be taken individually or in any order, we highly recommend that following sequence which is meant to progressively expand the students understanding of Construction PTM.

Volume 1, CPM Mechanics: This Technology course teaches the raw mechanics of the Critical Path Method, which is the very foundation of Construction Planning and Scheduling.
Volume 2, Understanding Project Time Management: This Ideology course explains all that is entailed in the art and science of Project Time Management.
Volume 3, Construction Planning and Scheduling: This Methodology course delves into all aspects of schedule design, development, maintenance, and usage – within the context of Project Time Management. Upon completion of the academic portion, the student then serves a three‑month, paid Internship working for a Scheduling Consultant approved through ICS-Collaboration.
Volume 4, Understanding Construction Project Management: This Ecology course that teaches how Construction Project Time Management supports Construction Project Management processes.

A Special Note About Our Military Veterans

ICS‑Global holds a special debt of gratitude to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who have sacrificed so much to insure our freedom and way of life in America. As our way of giving back, we are seeking development partners for two programs that have the same goal of helping returning veterans transition to full‑time careers in the private sector.

ICS-Global Seeks Private Sector Early Adopters for SERVE! ICS-Research conceived a plan by which military veterans can learn a new discipline and then getting hired. We call it SERVE, which stands for either Sponsor‑Employed Returning Vet Education or Scheduling Engineer/Returning Veteran Exchange.
The idea is the simple: “They served you and me; now we must serve them!” Under this private sector sponsorship program, “You fund. We train. You hire. We mentor.”
Here’s how it works: ICS‑Institute offers VAST, Veteran Apprentice Scheduler Training, which is comprised of Coursework and Internship components. An Employer sponsors a returning veteran’s participation in the VAST Program. Sponsorship entails (a) paying 90% of the VAST Program tuition and (b) agreeing to hire the veteran as an Apprentice Scheduler upon their successful completion of the Program.
SERVE provides both training and employment in one program. Through a partnership with industry, construction organizations sponsor a student, by name, by paying for their tuition and offering them gainful employment upon their successful completion of the Program.
ICS-Global Seeks Public Sector Early Adopters for vTRADE! Veteran Training and Direct Employment is a public sector program that would be sponsored by the Federal Government.
Here’s how it works: ICS‑Institute offers VAST, Veteran Apprentice Scheduler Training, which is comprised of Coursework and Internship components.
With respect to the challenge of helping returning veterans to smoothly transition back into civilian life, the Federal Government wears two essential hats. We call this dual involvement, Supplier and Buyer.

Supplier: On the one hand, the Federal Government has a moral and regulatory responsibility to assist returning veterans find gainful employment. The Department of Labor’s VETS program is a prime example of this, the Veterans Employment and Training Service being dedicated to helping veterans retool for a successful civilian life.
Buyer: On the other hand, the Federal Government happens to be the largest consumer of construction services in the United States. Every day, FedBizOpps announces scores of new construction projects that the Government must launch. Further, it has a fiduciary responsibility to protect taxpayer funds.

What makes vTRADE so promising is that the Government can have a major hand in both creating and utilizing Construction Project Time Management practitioners. The Government can write into contracts a requirement that a VAST Program graduate be an active member of the contractor’s Project Team. By doing so, the Government can dramatically influence the demand side of the equation. This requirement would be similar to other set‑asides for veterans, protected minorities, etc. In the end, it is a Win-Win.

How ICS-Institute Is Organized and Functions

ICS-Institute courses are offered ala carte, or as part of one of the following structured programs: