Learning often comes with a curve that can pull you up quickly and leave you wondering if you are cut out for what you are trying to accomplish. It can be comforting, motivating and inspiring to know that people from all walks of life have felt exactly like you do. To do just that for you, I've gathered together some of my favourite quotes that are designed to encourage and support you when
About Michael Lepage
Types of Schedule Delays in Construction Projects
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A 2016 report on worldwide Construction Claims states the global average value of a construction delay dispute to be a staggering US$46million, a trend that has climbed upward from 2010. The report also indicates that the average dispute took 15.5 months to reconcile. You can read the full report from Arcadis here. Although claims and disputes are the inevitable result of delays to a project, for
Review of PrimaveraReader – the P6 XER File Viewer You Didn’t Know You Needed
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In this post, I'm doing a complete review of PrimaveraReader.When it first launched, PrimaveraReader XER viewer was an intriguing alternative to importing .xer files in your database to view the contents. But the tool was a bit too new to do a deep dive. Now, having a few releases under its belt (currently version 3.5), I'm convinced PrimaveraReader is a tool that will become essential to any
How To Preview A Primavera P6 XER File’s Global Data
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This post is part 2 of our Scheduler's Guide to Primavera P6 Global Data and Project Data. If you have't read part 1 yet, go have a read. In this post, I'll show you how to preview Global Data coming from a Primavera P6 xer file.The concept of Global and Project Data in Primavera P6 is important to understand; not so much from a planning & CPM scheduling perspective, but from the view of
A Guide to Primavera P6 Global & Project Data
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I've always had difficulty explaining the concept of global and project data to new users of Primavera P6 in my training courses. It's a bit too much for some, and why should you even care? You seem to be able to use Primavera P6 just fine without any knowledge of Global or Project Data.You can, but you can also get into trouble once you start moving data around, especially back and forth
As Late As Possible Constraint: How To Use It In Primavera P6 [VIDEO]
2 Comments![As Late As Possible Constraint: How To Use It In Primavera P6 [VIDEO]](https://planacademy-nffybkc1gjvuuhit.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/as-late-as-possible-264x200.jpg)
Ever been confused by Primavera P6's As Late As Possible constraint? If you're a still familiarizing yourself with P6's many features, you might not be sure what the As Late As Possible constraint does or when to use it.I had Avi ask me that question recently and decided to put this informative video together. I had a chance to practice my whiteboard skills and hopefully you'll understand how
How To Create a New SQLite Database for Primavera P6
I do like the ease of use of Primavera P6's SQLite database. Although there are a few of P6's features that are excluded when using the SQLite database in a standalone install, SQLite is so easy to use since the actual database is just a file and requires no database engine.But like everything, once in a while, things go left and you may need to install a new instance of the Primavera P6
Primavera P6 Certification Explained [Video]
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After so many questions about how to get certified on Primavera P6 and the confusion around Oracle certification exams, Michael has decided to clear things up with an explanation of Primavera P6 certification for users of the tool. Michael answers the following questions in this Ask Plan Academy video:How do I get certified on Primavera P6? What's the difference between a
5 Ways to Prevent Your Primavera P6 Install From Getting Hacked
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Just over a week ago, the city of San Francisco lost millions in revenue as a hacker's attack left the city's MUNI municipal transportation kiosk system completely inoperable.The trains and buses were running, but everyone was rode for free for 2 days as IT experts struggled with a ransomware demand. All MUNI computer terminals displayed the “hacked” message: “Contact for key
My Favourite Quotes on Construction & Building
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Throughout history, builders have always been revered for their ability to mold the natural elements into something new, perhaps something never seen before. Building is therefore a creative act on a momentous scale.For those lucky enough to be involved in Construction & Building, it's an incredible joy to be involved in bringing forth from mere drawings and ideas a structure that will
Does Your Project Schedule Have Too Much Detail? [Video]
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"These submittal activities are screwing everything up," I told my boss. "The project's Critical Path is completely messed up."There were 576 submittals to log. Each one took 2 lines in my P6 schedule. That was an extra 1,152 activities to manage and update, a lot of extra work from my perspective. I didn't like this notion."The Owner's guy want to see those details or he won't approve the
7 Key Project Management Skills of Relentless Leaders
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When you are in charge of planning and coordinating small or large scale projects, you must exude the key characteristics of a great leader to ensure the success of your endeavors. To be an excellent leader, you must never say fail in the face of adversity and always dream up creative ways to work around tough problems. You must micromanage as needed, delegate equally often, and keep your eye on
What’s the difference between Primavera P6 PPM and Primavera P6 EPPM?
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Which Primavera P6 program should you purchase? Primavera P6 EPPM or Primavera P6 Professional? If you need to purchase the software, you had better understand which Primavera P6 is best for you. Primavera P6 software is costly, and you don't want to make the wrong choice.Navigating the Primavera suite of applications isn't exactly straightforward. So I thought I should clear up what Primavera
Oracle Releases Primavera P6 16.2 – Java Moving Out, Performance Moving Up
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Oracle is doing their round of webinars after the latest release of Primavera P6, version 16.2. I logged in to get the skinny on what we can expect in terms of new features and functions in Primavera P6 16.2.Starting from release 15 of Primavera P6, the Oracle Primavera business unit has committed to 2 releases every year. A new major version is released in the spring (xx.1) with the major
Primavera P6 Activity Calendars Don’t Match WBS Calendar
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Ask Plan Academy. Primavera P6 is a great scheduling tool, but I hear from people who struggle with P6's Calendars alot. Here's another Ask Plan Academy question about WBS bars and Calendars from Tom, a project scheduler: "In Primavera P6, the Calendar on the WBS lines is different than the calendars that I'm on seeing on each activity. What gives? How do I fix this
Ask Plan Academy: How To Fix P6 Partial Durations
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Today we're starting a new series on Plan Academy where will be answering your Primavera P6 and project controls questions in video rather than in text. Video is such a great medium to explore and it's one that I want to continue to hone my skills with. So welcome to Ask Plan Academy.Here's a great question from Raj: "In Construction, is it acceptable to have partial durations on my project?
Ghost Schedules: An Overview for Project Controllers
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Any project controls professional knows that during the course of a project multiple versions of a project schedule will be created. Schedules are often created at different levels. It usually takes a few iterations to get to an agree-upon baseline. Then there are progress schedules, scenario schedules, mitigation schedules, and perhaps even a recovery schedule. But what about ghost schedules?
Translate A Primavera P6 Project To A Different Language
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It's surprising to me how many people across so many countries have been helped by Plan Academy's Primavera P6 tutorials & training. I mean I know I'm tooting my own horn here, but it's not to be an egotist. When I first started blogging about Primavera P6 in 2011, and I would gaze daily at my little Google Analytics screen that would inform of what sort of visitors were visiting our site. I
5 Things I Learned At The AACE Project Controls Conference
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Admittedly, it took us weeks to prepare for. I really wasn't sure we would make it. There was so much to do. Brochures were designed & drawn up, backdrops architected and printed, boxes of business cards were ordered arrived by courier and a myriad of other essentials were procured. We were running our very first tradeshow booth. Being primarily an online company, I didn't realize until this
Construction Scheduling Software – How To Get The Most Out Of Your Solution
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As a leader in your organization, one of the biggest mistakes that you can make in terms of construction scheduling software is focusing on a tool as JUST a time management solution. While having the right solution at your side can certainly help you make sure that a project finishes on time and on budget, the overall functionality of today's construction scheduling software runs a great deal
Construction Project Management Certification – Is It For You?
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According to Payscale.com, over 4,900 construction project managers report making between $48,400 and $105,698 per year. Pay depends on experience and skill set, but construction project managers are often able to find work in most cities across the country and around the world once they obtain the appropriate work history and education, and often a construction project
POBS Data Bug Fixed in Oracle Primavera P6 16.1
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By now, if you're an Oracle Primavera P6 user you've probably heard about the problems with large XER files, slow XER import processes and the problems with POBS data in the Primavera P6 database. We showed you how to circumvent those POBS issues either by cleaning up your XER file before import or by cleaning Primavera P6's POBS tables from the database itself.Oracle Support has confirmed
Primavera P6 16.1 Is Released! Everything You Need To Know
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This month marked Oracle's latest release of Primavera P6 16.1, their flagship project management software. There are some new features to discuss and some changes. If you're on an a single-digit version (version 6, 7 or 8) don't forget about Oracle's new versioning approach - version 16.1 isn't truly 8 releases ahead of v8. You can get the low-down on all versions from our version history
13 Project Controls Books That Every Project Controller Should Have In Their Library
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Every industry has its publications that are held to that lofty status of go-to guides, and project controls is no exception. Rather than spend valuable time weeding through the volumes that are available out there, we bring you the top 13, can't-miss project controls books that every good project professional has on their shelf. And now I've kept the promise I made on a recent webinar. Top
Primavera P6 64-Bit or 32-Bit: Which Should You Install?
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There was a decision to be made. It was just a simple check box. But looking back now, I'm as surprised as Robert Frost to the difference it made.I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. --Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken.Not that installing software
Hack A Primavera P6 Change Log from Activity Steps
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One of the most often requested features for Primavera P6 is an Activity Change Log. Although a log of changes to your project's activities is not yet native to the software, you can hack yourself a Primavera P6 Change Log using a few simple steps.I want to first give full credit for this solution to Ronald Weaver, a master scheduler at KBR Australia who brought it to us. It's innovative
Location Based Management System (LBMS) – What No One Is Talking About
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A location based management system (LBMS) might not be something that is on your radar as a project planner or scheduler -- but it likely will be soon. The concept has deep roots in the United States. The Empire State Building is one of the most well-known examples of using a LBMS, and its use is considered a key factor in the building's rapid completion. While this method of tracking construction
Primavera P6 Cloud Offers P6 EPPM As A Service
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The Primavera P6 Cloud is here. Are you ready for it?A while back, I explained that the Primavera Cloud offers most of Oracle's Primavera applications in the Software-as-a-Service model. That means companies can pay Oracle to spin-up a hosted implementation of say Primavera Unifer and be up and running in hours. It also means no fiddling with servers or the tear-inducing WebLogic backend
The Construction Schedule Compression Techniques Online Course is Back!
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Are you throwing resources at a construction job in the hopes of moving faster? Are you not getting the speedup results you expected despite the cost increases? If so, then I have something special I want to share with you.I'm very excited to announce that Plan Academy will be again be hosting in December 2015 a unique online course focused on making Construction projects go faster.The
Accelerating a Construction Project & Direct Costs
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Accelerating a construction project seems pretty straightforward right? Work more, pay more, save time, right? Well that's pretty close, but not quite. In fact, without digging into this a bit more, you could easily work more, save time, pay A LOT more. Let me explain.When accelerating a construction project, it's pretty self-explanatory that the job's costs will be impacted by our decision to
[Special Offer] 6 Must Have Books for Primavera P6 Users or Administrators
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Dear Primavera P6 Professional user, P6 EPPM user, and Administrator,I have something special for you that will hopefully rock your week.Let me start by saying that Oracle Primavera software is becoming more and more complex with every release. Primavera P6 Professional has a few modules that come packaged with it now. I'm thinking P6 Visualizer and some backend java jobs to run Update
Primavera Cloud: What Is It & What Will It Do For Me?
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It wasn't that long ago that Oracle released the Oracle Primavera Cloud, a cloud-based offering for Oracle's popular project management software packages. If you've been following the news, you might know that Oracle was a bit late to the cloud-party. Nonetheless, if you work in an enterprise with large Primavera installations, you'll be happy they finally showed up - fashionably late