You have been awarded a job. It requires two days for site preparation and one day for cleanup. The contract involves two separate tasks — one lasting seven days and the other ten days. If the two tasks can be done simultaneously, for how many days should you schedule the job?

You have been awarded a job. It requires two days for site preparation and one day for cleanup. The contract involves two separate tasks — one lasting seven days and the other ten days. If the two tasks can be done simultaneously, for how many days should you schedule the job?

• A. 12 days
• B. 13 days
• C. 14 days
• D. 15 days

Answer: (B)

When tasks can be done at the same time, you schedule based on the longer duration of the parallel work, then add any setup and cleanup time around that block. Here, the two main tasks can run concurrently, with durations of seven days and ten days—the longer one dictates the main work time, which is ten days. Add two days for site preparation before the work, and one day for cleanup after the work. So the total schedule is 2 + 10 + 1 = 13 days.

When tasks can be done at the same time, you schedule based on the longer duration of the parallel work, then add any setup and cleanup time around that block. Here, the two main tasks can run concurrently, with durations of seven days and ten days—the longer one dictates the main work time, which is ten days. Add two days for site preparation before the work, and one day for cleanup after the work. So the total schedule is 2 + 10 + 1 = 13 days.