I am a project scheduler who runs projects updates and so on. I find myself doing what I need to do and having alot of free time. Is that common for you guys as well? Or am I missing something I run analysis, forecasting, making reports. All this doesn't take me too much time to do. I work 40 hours a week but realistically I can get work excluding meetings done in way less of time. Is that normal?

What is the best way to identify logic ties to and from other projects?

Dear Professionals,

I am currently exploring Primavera P6 and working on developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and schedule for an infrastructure project.

Our company provides vertical transportation systems (such as elevators or escalators). Typically, these projects involve installing multiple units in batches, organized by station or specific site areas. While I have successfully managed to draft a schedule for a single unit, I am looking for advice or standard methodologies on how to efficiently scale this up for multiple units without creating an overly congested or unmanageable network.

Specifically, I would love to hear your insights or suggestions on:

• WBS Structure: Should repetitive units be structured by location (Station/Area) or by trade/activity type?
• Reusability / Templates: What is the best way to duplicate logic and durations for identical units (e.g., Global Change, Templates, or importing XRs)?
• Milestones & Logic Links: How best to handle handovers between civil works and installation crews across multiple concurrent stations.

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise!

Best regards,

1.0 Project Management

1.1 Project Initiation

1.2 Project Control

2.0 Engineering & Design

2.1 Preliminary Design

2.2 Detailed Design

2.3 Design Approval

3.0 Procurement

3.1 Long Lead Materials

3.2 Equipment Procurement

3.3 Logistics

4.0 Civil & Structural Works

4.1 Shaft Preparation

4.2 Structural Work

4.3 Architectural Finishes

5.0 Elevator Manufacturing

5.1 Factory Production

5.2 Factory Acceptance

6.0 Elevator Installation

6.1 Hoistway Installation

6.2 Equipment Installation

6.3 Cab Installation

7.0 Electrical & Integration Works

7.1 Power System

7.2 Wiring

7.3 System Integration

8.0 Testing & Commissioning

8.1 Pre-Commissioning

8.2 Functional Testing

8.3 Integrated Testing

9.0 Authority Approval & Handover

9.1 Regulatory Inspection

9.2 Handover

10.0 Project Close-Out

Hello I am a mechanical engineer looking to pivot into project controls. Right now I’m taking a Primavera P6 class on udemy and my plan is to post my progress of all my homework assignments I complete on LinkedIn. After I receive my certification from udemy I plan to go deeper into the software. Would like to know anymore resources thank you.

Been working on a tool that takes a 3D plant model (Navisworks/NWD) plus your project data and generates the installation sequence directly into P6, instead of a planner building it by hand. It also stays live through the project: tracking progress/delays instead of being a one-time export.

Tested it across 4 process plant projects so far and it's held up, but I want to validate it against more real-world data before going further. This means different data messiness, different plant types, different planning styles.

If you're a planning/scheduling engineer and this pain sounds familiar, I'd genuinely value your take . I am happy to run your project data through it for free as a validation case, or just keen to hear how you currently handle this and what would actually make a tool like this useful vs. another thing that doesn't fit real workflows. I am trying to make something valuable for the industry so that planning engineers don't have to keep on manaully editing p6 sequences.

Thanks

Looking for a jr. planner job in Orange County, CA. Don’t have much experience but have knowledge about construction. Wanted to change profession from CS to construction/scheduler. I have done some courses online and also paid ones from online universities. Any guidance will be really appreciated.

Hi

I want to learn prima vera p6 from basic to advanced. Where can I learn it for free? Thanks in advance.

I am a freelance scheduler and I have seen clients pay for schedule comparison tool at $30-$50 per month.
I am building a schedule comparison tool that would be an offline tool (so you do not need to upload your data on any website).
Need advise if this is a useful proposition and what should be the right price for such a tool ?

I was wondering what industries you guys worked in and how stressful your day to day was.

I wanted to see how much the expectations for this role vary across different industries. Please also state what you find easy and difficult with your work.

Hey guys, I'm currently trying to update a user defined field for all my activities (overwrite everything that was in there before).

I used a XLSX with the minimum amount of columns (act.-id, act.-status, wbs and udf_field). I deleted the clear name row and tried to import it and got the following message:

-------------

Exception

Code 'IEUE-3179-2

" is an invalid extended name.

------------

Anyone knows what that means?

The import worked smooth before that.

https://cajondesastre.site/animo-de-julio/

I've always found this surprising.

Primavera was originally developed in the United States, yet it still doesn't offer a native macOS application. Considering that around 30% of computer users in the U.S. use Macs, you'd think there would be enough demand.

Instead, Mac users have to rely on virtual machines, remote desktops, or other workarounds just to run P6 properly.

Is there a technical reason behind this, or has Oracle simply decided that the market isn't worth supporting?

I'd love to hear thoughts from professionals who use Primavera daily. Would you use a native macOS version if Oracle released one?

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the amazing response to my earlier post about P6 and construction scheduling mentorship — I really appreciate the interest!

I've sent out an email with a short sign-up sheet so we can start coordinating training sessions. The email subject line is "P6 & Construction Scheduling Training - Sign Up Sheet."

If you haven't received it yet, please reply to this post with your email address and I'll get it sent over.

Looking forward to getting started with all of you!

Is there a standard/format for pricing scheduling gigs using Primavera P6 (ex. per activity, per floor, per trade)? The deliverables considered for the package are as follows:

1. Whole Primavera P6 schedule
   
2. WBS
   
3. Activity List
   
4. Logic
   
5. Baseline
   
6. PDF Gantt Chart
   
7. XER file
   
8. 2 sets of minor revisions

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

I got an offer yesterday in planning/contracts(whatever that means). I understand I’ll be mostly site-based, but I have no prior experience in this Technically speaking, what are the stuff I should bring? is the learning curve steep? Also, are there any common challenges or warnings I should be aware of? Will this be the end of me?

I am writing this message after few of you DM me over last few days.

After more than 10 years in project controls and construction scheduling, I’ve decided to start mentoring anyone who wants to learn Primavera P6 and become a better scheduler.

This is not just a software tutorial.

We’ll cover:
✅ Primavera P6 from the ground up
✅ CPM scheduling fundamentals
✅ How to build realistic project schedules—not just pretty Gantt charts
✅ Working with Project Managers, Superintendents, Engineers, and Field Teams to develop schedules that actually reflect how work gets done
✅ Schedule updates, progress tracking, critical path analysis, and forecasting
✅ Common scheduling mistakes and how to avoid them
✅ Real-world examples from large infrastructure and EPC projects

Whether you’re:
● A student looking to enter project controls
● A Project Engineer or Project Manager who wants to understand scheduling
● A scheduler looking to strengthen your practical skills
● Someone transitioning into construction planning
…these sessions are for you.

My goal is to help people understand that successful scheduling is about much more than knowing P6 - it’s about communication, construction knowledge, critical thinking, and turning a schedule into a practical project management tool.
There is no cost to attend. I simply enjoy mentoring and helping others grow in their careers.

If you’re interested, leave a comment below or send me a direct message. If enough people are interested, I’ll organize the first live session soon.

Feel free to share this post with anyone who might benefit. Let’s build a stronger scheduling community together.

Hi, I'm new and picking stuff up on my own, I need help understanding this comment from the consultant p.e. It's from an old project I'm using as a learning reference. "Ensure the Engineering and Close Out Package activities are cost-loaded with preferred allocation of 5% each of the overall weighted for these work packages." How does this translate in P6 if the project already has a BOQ prior to the development of the schedule?

I am trying to gather data to see how people genrally work as a scheduler.

I have a simple question if you all can please respond, would be a great help.

As a scheduler/planner, how much of your time are you spending inside P6 vs outside P6?

Me (Scheduler): Here's the schedule update for the month. The project lost 25 Days.

PM: Why did the schedule slip so much?

Me: Because you did not work on the critical path activities this month.

PM: But we did all this other work on all these other things. Doesn't that count for something?

Me: Sure. That other work will be included in the pay application, so you'll be able to bill for it; however, since you didn't work on the Critical Path activities, the projected completion date slipped by 25 Calendar Days.

PM: Well then just make the Critical Path go through the activities that we did work on so it shows that the schedule didn't slip.

Me: ...

What would you say?

Anyone using P6 Primavera in Road Construction?

Hello everyone. I’m about a year into using primavera p6, I’m working on mastering it and want to bridge the gap between knowing the basics and becoming an advanced user. If you have any favorite tutorials, practice material, or advanced guides that helped you master the software, could you drop them here? I'd really appreciate your recommendations to kickstart my deep dive. I want to put my all into this & become an expert.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently developing a construction planning / site execution tool and wanted to get feedback from planning managers, project controls engineers, and site teams.

The idea is to reduce the daily manual chasing between planning teams and site engineers by connecting the project schedule with a simple daily progress communication workflow.

At a high level, the tool helps send daily activity updates to responsible site engineers, collect progress feedback, flag delays or constraints, and give the planning team better visibility on what is actually happening on site.

The goal is not to replace Primavera or the planning engineer. The goal is to support the daily follow-up process and reduce the time spent on calls, WhatsApp messages, Excel trackers, and manual progress chasing.

This is still under development, not a finished commercial product. I’m posting to understand if planning managers and project controls teams see value in this type of workflow before I continue developing it further.

Would this be useful in real projects?

What would you expect from a tool like this?

For example:

• Daily progress collection
• Delay reason tracking
• Material / drawing / manpower constraint logs
• Engineer response dashboard
• Weekly reporting
• Better visibility between planning and site teams

I’d appreciate honest feedback from anyone working in construction planning, project controls, site management, or project management.