Schedule levels

Is there any clear cut defination or guideline to define L-0,L-1,L2,L-3,L-4 schedule.According to me, Levels are the perception of the individual. I have discussed the same with many but still i have received any conviencing reply

I dont know about L-0, and i dont think it does exist in real life, but i do know about L-1, L-2, L-3, and L-4 L1- schedule comprise key events or major milestones selected as a result of coordination between client and contractor. It does represent in the format of list, summary schedule or in the form of Bar chart. Example of L-1 schedule activities, mobilisation of major equipment or installation of major equipment. L2 -Schedule comprise of Critical network activities and other senior project management selected activities with mainly there ES and EF dates. L2 schedule provides integral plan of the Project activities for Project management. L3- Schedule shows lowest level of details necessary to complete the project through Job Completion and also to finalize remaining requirements for the total project. example if L1 shows structural steel engineering activity/task then in L3 this particular activity likely to break up in more activities with shorter durations such as define and collect loads, drawing specifications etc. L4- Schedule two to six week look ahead schedule that shows resources assigned, detailed and work activities and L4 schedule is mainly used planning and progress reporting purposes and advance planning for near term future week work

I think it is down to the individual or organisation involved. My rule of thumb is - Level 4 is an individual deliverable/document level, so for example Produce Test Strategy Level 3 is a group of deliverables, for example Test Documentation Level 2 is a summary of phase, for example Detail Design Level 1 is a summary of phases which possibly could be at project level, for example Durham Project Level 0 is a summary of projects at programme level, for example English Cathedral Refurbishment Programme But as is said, I think there is no hard and fast rule.

The EPC Level 1 schedule summarizes the overall project for client and management. EPC Level 1 schedules show start and finish dates for the major project phases and key milestones (such as design, procurement, construction, and commissioning and start-up). Significant contract milestones and project-specific milestones or activities are included in EPC Level 1 schedules as required by the project execution plan. EPC Level 2 schedules contain more detailed activities for each of the summary phases previously identified in the Level 1 schedule. This often includes a breakout of the various trades or disciplines responsible for the activities in each phase, the critical procurement activities, the major elements of construction, and general commissioning and start-up requirements. Generally in the EPC Level 2, this is the first level of scheduled detail where logical links or task relationships may be shown.EPC Level 3 is the first level where the full use of critical path method (CPM) techniques could be shown effectively. In addition to start and finish dates for each grouping of deliverables or activities within each phase of the project, EPC Level 3 schedules include major review and approval dates as well. Most EPC schedule models are not developed below Level 3 in terms of CPM activity detail, with the intent to keep the schedule broad enough to be described for any specific project. Since EPC schedule levels are normally limited to Levels 1 through 3, sometimes an ‘external’ schedule or set of schedules would be included for a project. These external schedules are called “Level 4.” EPC Level 4 are detailed work schedules and generally would be prepared outside of the CPM software, with careful correlation to the CPM schedule activities and scope of work. The theory is, that if there is too much detail within the CPM network, the schedule would not only lose its flexibility as a value-added tool to manage the job, but schedule maintenance would become difficult, due to the greater effort needed to maintain the CPM logic after each progress update. A variety of software tools can be employed to develop work schedules at Level 4 and below: spreadsheets, databases, and word processing are all utilized.

some additional guidlines that helped me:Level 4: approx. One week activity durationsLevel 3: around 3 weeks to one month durationLevel 2: Around 2 month- 3 mnth durationsLevel 1: Miles stones or durations about 3 month- high level