Construction Project Planning Intermediate Level with P6

1. Open both projects together (in P6 20.12: select the projects with CTRL, right-click and choose Open).
2. Create the same activity codes in the target project (Enterprise > Activity Codes, project-level codes).
3. Show the activity code columns, copy the code values from the source activities and paste them on the matching activities in the target project.
4. Review the result and save.

Tip: create the codes as Project codes, not Global, to avoid problems when exporting and importing XER files. Always keep a backup before big changes.

This is one of the common Excel-import errors in P6. Follow the fixes in this article: Solutions for the Error Message While Importing an Excel Sheet to P6.

If the error is still there, send your Excel file and XER to the course support group so the team can check it.

This usually comes from how the data is loaded or how column types are set in the query. These two articles walk you through the fix:

1. Why is the total cost in the Power Query different than the BOQ total cost?
2. Why does Data Loading Power Query have errors?

The cause is the Change Type step in Power Query. If some floor columns (for example "All floors" and "Foundation") are set to Whole Number (Int64) while the others are decimal, a value such as 0.01 is rounded to 0.

Fix: change the type of those columns to Decimal Number so 0.01 stays 0.01, then refresh the query.

The file already contains a query, so you should not create a new one. The existing query is on the BOQ-Per-Floor sheet. To change it, click any cell in the query table, open the Query tab on the ribbon and click Edit to open the Power Query editor.

1. Equipment – use the same resource-loading approach as the labour in the course: add columns for each piece of equipment (loader, excavator, crane…) and apply their productivity rates.
2. Materials – tracking and calculating material consumption is mainly cost-control scope. It is covered in the Cost Control for Construction Projects course.
3. Activity durations – mostly based on experience from similar projects. You can also use the PERT estimate: (Optimistic + 4 × Most likely + Pessimistic) / 6.

There is no fixed rule or standard percentage – activities and fixes differ in cost and effort. Agree the split with your site team or project manager where possible. If that is not possible, distribute the cost by the manhours of each sub-activity.

Example: Activity A = 200 manhours, split into A-1 = 60, A-2 = 100, A-3 = 40.

• A-1 cost = 60 / 200 × cost of A
• A-2 cost = 100 / 200 × cost of A
• A-3 cost = 40 / 200 × cost of A

Separate the resource types before you copy, depending on what you want to produce:

1. Cash flow – filter Resource Type = Material, collapse the project, then copy the timescaled values to Excel.
2. Manpower histogram – filter Resource Type = Labor, collapse the project, then copy the timescaled values to Excel.

Step-by-step guide with a template: How to Create Manhour Histogram from Primavera P6 [Template].

Procurement is planned per material, not per location. For example, if the same tiles go on every floor, add one procurement activity for that item. Long-lead materials are often kept apart from the others in the WBS.

The same way as above: one procurement activity per material, not one per floor or area.

The procurement in the main schedule is kept at a high level. The detail goes in a separate document, the procurement tracking schedule. More reading:

• Materials Procurement Scheduling in a Baseline Programme
• Typical Activities Under the Procurement WBS

• Duration % complete – how much of the planned duration has passed (5 of 10 days = 50%). Time and earned value move together. This is the usual default.
• Physical % complete – how much of the work is actually done (90 of 100 items installed = 90%), entered independently of time. Use it when time progress and earned value must be separated, e.g. equipment that is 90% installed but can only claim 50% until tested.

Update it as complete. P6 measures work progress, not payments. The earned value in the schedule shows what you are entitled to for the work done, not what has been received.

Payment delays, approvals and invoicing status should be tracked in your cost-control or ERP system. Schedule progress and cash collection are two separate but complementary processes.

1. Unverified progress – run regular site audits: each week pick some activities and check their status yourself. Document any difference and raise it in progress meetings.
2. Negative float – ask the contractor's planner to explain the reason for each activity and their recovery plan. Accept or reject based on the project, the amount of float and the activities affected.
3. Level 3 vs Level 4 – the L4 schedule should be a detailed breakdown of L3, using the same WBS so each L4 activity links back to its L3 activity, unless agreed otherwise.
4. No respected baseline – you cannot monitor without a reference. Formally request a recovery schedule, review and approve it, then monitor and audit progress against it.

Yes. See the step-by-step article: How to calculate planned and actual using weight.

If the BOQ has direct costs for engineering and procurement items, load them and give them weight in P6 like any other activity.

If the BOQ has no costs for them, you cannot weight them by cost or manpower. Track them with planned and actual dates and their percentages instead.

Method 1 – follow the driving relationships

1. Filter the delayed milestone by its Activity ID.
2. Open its Relationships and use Go To on the driving predecessors.
3. Repeat – the driving activities share the milestone's total float.

Method 2 – isolate by total float

1. Temporarily give the milestone a "Finish On or Before" constraint earlier than now, so its float becomes clearly unique (e.g. −50 days instead of −30).
2. Filter Total Float less than −49.
3. The activities shown are the ones driving the milestone delay. Remove the temporary constraint afterwards.