Project scheduling methods, systems, and apparatuses

A project planning, bidding, and scheduling system, comprising;

• a plurality of customer shopping lists to indicate a number of customer items and an associated item cost for each of the number of customer items;
• a plurality of categorical lists that include the number of customer items and associated item costs separated into a number of categories;
• a customer totals list that includes a total cost for each of the plurality of categorically lists and a customer total for all of the number of categories;
• an equipment ordering worksheet, a materials ordering worksheet, and a labor worksheet where equipment, materials, and tasks are separated into a plurality of phases;
• a proposal to indicate an equipment total, a materials total, and a labor total for each of the plurality of phases and a total project bid;
• a schedule to indicate the materials total, the labor total, and a start date, and a lead time for each of the plurality of phases;
• and
• a calendar to indicate an equipment staging date, a materials staging date, and the start date for each of the plurality of phases.

A method of bidding and scheduling a project using visual identifiers to link alike items and to guide a user through a sequence of steps, comprising:

• separating the project into a plurality of phases to be completed and attaching phase visual identifiers to the plurality of phases;
• attaching a plurality of visual identifiers to user instructions, equipment, materials, and labor throughout the sequence of steps;
• and
• preparing a project bid and schedule by identifying a visual identifier attached to the user instructions and following the user instructions through the sequence of steps until a last step in the sequence of steps.

A computer readable medium having executable instructions storable thereon to cause a device to perform a method, comprising:

• inputting equipment for a project into an equipment list, materials for the project into a materials list, and tasks for the project into a labor list;
• separating the equipment, materials, and tasks into a plurality of phases;
• calculating a total equipment cost by summing equipment costs, a total materials cost by summing materials costs, and a total labor cost by summing labor costs and separating the total equipment cost, the total materials cost, and the total labor cost into the plurality of phases;
• calculating a project bid by summing the total equipment cost, the total materials cost, and the total labor cost;
• inputting a first start date for a first phase and determining a next start date for a next phase in the plurality of phases by adding a first phase maximum lead time to the first start date;
• determining a start date for the plurality of phases by adding a maximum lead time for each phase to a previous phase start date until a completion date is obtained;
• and
• transferring the start date for the plurality of phases to a calendar.

An educational tool, comprising:

• a project bidding and scheduling system using visual identifiers to link alike items and to guide a user through a sequence of steps, including:
• a plurality of phases to be completed and each phase identified by a phase visual identifier;
• a plurality of visual identifiers attached to user instructions, equipment, materials, and labor throughout the sequence of steps;
• an equipment ordering worksheet, a materials ordering worksheet, and a labor worksheet identified by the plurality of visual identifiers, where the equipment ordering worksheet, the materials ordering worksheet, and the labor worksheet include user instructions;
• a total project bid identified by a totals visual identifier;
• a schedule to indicate a start date for each of the plurality of phases identified by a calendar visual identifier;
• and
• a calendar to indicate the start date for each of the plurality of phases indicated by the calendar visual identifier.