Cost and schedule performances share common variables for effective project control. However, the real-world implementations of breakdown structures for cost and schedule are at different levels of detail, which makes the integration of cost and schedule information quite complex. Given the pressing need for an effective yet relatively easy-to-compile approach, this research proposes an innovative scheduling approach that enables contractors to develop a schedule based on the pay items in the contract during the tendering and construction phase. By using Microsoft Visual C#, a system with the proposed approach is implemented and, thus, pay items and schedule information are automatically integrated. A case study is investigated to demonstrate the merits of this system. The research shows a true synchronization between the cost and schedule functions and provides useful insights into future project planning and scheduling in construction projects.
