Gantt charts: A centenary appreciation

With the proliferation of microcomputer based project management packages Gantt charts have enjoyed a revival in their use. Although Henry L. Gantt is recognized as their developer their origins and provenance are less well known. Gantt was a close associate of Frederick W. Taylor and an advocate of Scientific Management. His paper describing the use of ‘‘graphics’’ for general production planning appeared alongside Taylor s Shop Management in 1903 and was an integral and critical component of Taylor s system. Without Gantt s charts to plan the workloads for men and machines both in departments and throughout the factory Taylor s system would have been unworkable. The focus of this paper is to describe more fully their development and early history; and review their contemporary uses and future prospects. 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.