Primavera P6 and Construction

Here in Primavera-land it seems like eLearning is the new norm! We've seen many traditional Primavera P6 training providers launch online Primavera P6 training courses or some sort of Primavera P6 eLearning this year. Quick brag....Plan Academy has some of the best, most comprehensive courses you'll find! From a learner's perspective, this is a great opportunity as there are now many more

Measuring Project Progress : 6 Methods You Should Know

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Accurately measuring the progress of a project is always a challenge. There are many factors to account for in a progress update - type of measurement, accuracy of the data, and the system of record are all important factor in accurate progress measurements. Software packages like Primavera P6 don't always help us out. Sure there a 3 choices for Percent Complete Types, but how do we decide

Can Mastering Oracle Primavera P6 Enhance Your Career?

Yes mastering Oracle Primavera P6 can enhance your career... Here’s how and why you should work your way up to a Project Controller or Manager position. In Numbers: The Construction Project Controller/Manager job ranked #1 in the top construction jobs in the United States in 2021. It also ranked #52 in the Best 100 Jobs in the United States - also ranking #2 in the highest salary rankings for

Construction Mental Health… Why Bother Talking About It?

Why talk Construction Mental Health in the first place? The construction industry has been painted with masculine tones for decades. We often assume that in this predominantly masculine work culture, issues such as mental health are just not that prevalent. Well… that is wrong! “The real mental epidemic today is that we are all struggling to put on a show and pretend that everything's OK all

How To Import P6 Assignment Codes from Excel

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Perhaps you’ve noticed that as of December 2020, there are some new features in Primavera P6 EPPM (Enterprise Project Portfolio Management), which we are going to take a look at today. Specifically, we’ll talk about Assignment Codes, one of the new Primavera P6 features here to make our jobs easier. But only, of course, if you know how to use everything right. Note: If you didn’t read my last

Primavera P6: How To Use Assignment Codes as Cost Accounts

Cost accounts: love ‘em, hate ‘em? I’ll tell you what, though: If you're cost-loading a Primavera P6 schedule, you should be using cost accounts. Now, chances are good you haven’t yet because they’re hard to use. I get it; they’re really inflexible. They were designed so that you set them up once for a whole database, and you can't have different versions of them for different projects. Ergo,

Types of Schedule Delays in Construction Projects

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A 2020 report on worldwide Construction Claims states the global average value of a construction delay dispute to be a staggering US$30.7 million, a trend that has climbed upward from 2010. The report also indicates that the average dispute took 15 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,

Track Construction Delays with this Free Delay Log Tracker

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Construction delays costs both Owners and Contractors millions of dollars each and every year. According to a Arcadis' 2020 Global Construction Disputes Report, the global average value of disputes was $30.7 million USD in 2019. That's a lot costs tied up in claims, legal battles and disputes. With so much importance put on managing costly construction delays, why don't we have a better

Remote Construction Teams: Tips to Help You Conquer Common Challenges

During the past few months, we have been facing many challenges with the Covid-19 outbreak that has put a halt on everyone’s lives. Restrictions on social contact has made it much more challenging in the construction industry with site closures and sick workers. Our new normal is working at our home office, distanced, but together. The challenge now becomes adjusting to a remote work-life

Benefits of Cost-Loading Your Construction Schedule

Should you cost-load your construction project schedule? What are the benefits of cost-loading your schedule? Whenever either construction Owners or Contractors are looking at a new project, that's when these important questions come up. I'm going to look at the benefits and tradeoffs of cost-loading a construction schedule from the perspectives of both the Owner and the Contractor. Let's

The Best Construction Bidding Websites You Should Know About

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If you haven't heard, there are some great construction bidding websites out there that can help contractors find new projects that are the best fit for their area of construction expertise. Searching for construction bid opportunities online can be a real pain for contractors. Where should you look to find the best construction jobs to bid on? Should you visit your local municipal or

Construction Project WBS – Examples to Get You Started

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When it comes to planning a construction project, many of us prefer to re-use elements from previous plans and schedules. But what if you're starting from scratch with no construction project examples to draw from? And are your past projects adhering to construction WBS best practices? Most project planners start building their construction schedule by establishing a Work Breakdown Structure.

12 Best BIM Books You Should Have On Your Bookshelf

The best resources are books, in digital format or hard-copy. With the number of BIM (Building Information Modelling) software’s to choose from, the design process for professionals has become more automated but also, efficient when designing buildings, tunnels, and bridges. If you’re just starting out you may be wondering, “what is BIM anyway?”. According to Autodesk, “Building Information

13 of The Best 3D Modelling Software You Need To Know About

Our construction industry is moving towards the visualization of sites to improve the coordination and reduce labour costs. 3D modelling software is now used during the pre-planning and design stages making sure there are efficiencies and coordination identified early on reducing rework and costly change orders during the construction process. We have compiled a list of 13 3D modelling

6 Unusual Construction Builds That Push The Limits

Pushing the limits has become the norm, especially when it comes to the new construction builts that are cropping up all over the world. No matter the state of the earth, engineers, architects, and contractors always accepts the challenge and seems to make it work. Founded by Fred Mill’s, TheB1M.com website was created as a place to view the best construction videos from all over the globe. B1M

These As-Built Drawing Software Tools Make Marking-up Changes Easy

As-built drawings are a critical component of every project and a valuable piece of information for future expansions or projects. Usually, as-built drawings are a project requirement and tied to contractual requirements demanding to have as-built completed prior to final acceptance or payment. The as-built drawings are recorded and prepared after the project gets completed and sometimes could

Top 10 Construction Magazines You Should Be Reading

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Construction professionals are always looking for the newest technology and news to keep them up with the latest in their field. Magazines are one of the top worthy tools that construction professionals use along with participating in trade shows and conferences. However, since magazines are sometimes free or low-cost tools, they are still a preferred method of learning and skill development

7 Top Construction Management Template Tools To Check Out

We all like freebies, right? Construction management is all about reporting, managing projects and capturing data that is used to depict the project status. Developing or perhaps finding the right construction management template can take time and therefore you will be less productive. Don’t reinvent the wheel, someone already did it for you and we have facilitated even more as we have put

3 Construction Cost Estimating Mistakes You May Have Overlooked

Construction cost estimating is an important and major part of any construction project. To improve your estimating skills, you must first understand that each project is different and no two are identical. Dr. Saleh Mubarak, expert on Construction planning and scheduling discussed the most common construction cost estimating mistakes that are being made and how you can avoid them during a

6 Wearable Construction Innovations To Watch Out For In 2019

Technology is moving at a very fast pace and we should be aware of the latest wearable construction innovation. Wearable innovation can save companies and contractors thousands of dollars due to enhanced safety and training to your workers. Every year the construction industry spends more than $1 billion in fines and loss of productivity that could be avoided by using wearable construction

Top 6 Free Construction Estimating and Project Planning Tools

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Managing a construction project is a multifaceted endeavour. With the number of resources out there that can confuse anyone, accurately cost estimating and planning your construction project shouldn’t be one to suffer. With a wide range of open-source and free management tools available to help connect a team, implementing one of these tools can assist in making sure that the project plan

Global Construction Disputes: Trends You Should Watch Out For in 2019

Arcadis Contract Solutions released their Global Construction Disputes 2018 Report – Does the Construction Industry Learn from Its Mistakes? The 30-page report highlights key themes and patterns that has been occurring within the global dispute market that can be used to reflect the market trends. According to Arcadis, in 2016- 2017, the most common cause of disputes was a failure to properly

Oracle Launches A Construction and Engineering Innovation Test Lab

Construction productivity has been declining since the 1990’s (Mckinsey&Company). With the rapid growth of digital technology and IoT, Oracle is developing a 15,000-sq-ft facility that provides a space for industry professionals to test new products – the Construction and Engineering Innovation Lab, in Deerfield, Ill. According to research from Mckinsey&Company, large projects take 20%

How To Manage Unknowns In Your Construction Projects

Learning how to manage unknowns in your project sounds very tricky and complicated but it isn’t. Every construction project, from design to physical installation will go through numerous processes and challenging situations that can derail the actual purpose of the project. Every project has known unknowns and unknown unknowns; learning how to managing those risks are crucial for a project

17 Construction Scheduling Blogs You Should Know About

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The internet is a great place when looking to broaden your horizons, but the amount of content that is being put out there daily is ridiculous. It's necessary to narrow your search down to get the most accurate content - where you don’t become overwhelmed with reading material or spending hours searching, just to end up being distracted by cat videos. As construction planners and schedulers,

4 Ways To Correctly Document Your Construction Project Decisions

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“Please proceed with the changes.” That familiar phrase used by many but not written or documented properly can cause major issues. Documenting decisions in your construction projects are not only save you time and money, but it should be a best practice on every construction project. There are many tools and resources for you to use and capture decisions or important commitments, but what

25 Tips You Should Know About Red-line & As-built Drawings

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As-built drawings are required in almost every project and it is a common practice for future reference. Recording as-built and taking care of red-line drawings during construction can be a hurdle to clear before getting the final payment or releasing the retainage. This article presents some of the best practices recommended by general contractors and builders that will facilitate the as-built

A Solution for Great Managers: Integrated Project Delivery

Integrated Project Delivery is a thoughtful process designed to enhance productivity, reduce costs and increase collaboration through all design and construction phases. The IPD approach is used by many construction professionals offering it to project owners as an additional benefit during the contracting process. The Integrate Project Delivery system optimizes collaboration and communication

A Guide To Understanding Construction Contracts from A to Z

Contractors use many different types of contracts but predominantly lump sum and unit price type of contracts. However, I have seen contracts that are lacking or missing essential elements required for your protection and the customer’s as well. This article is written to inform you about the very basics plus a few more items that must form part of every construction contract. Basic Elements

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Construction Manager? [Quiz]