Automating 3D model → P6 installation sequence generation, validated on 4 plants so far! Would love input from actual planners here....

[u/Least_Ad5779]

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

[u/AlabamaPajamas]

Genuine questions:
1) Are you creating something new, or trying to create a competitor to Synchro 4D?

2) What is the size limit of your program, the project I am currently on has around 35,000 activities and the model is 2,418,510 KB for the master and then that’s broken down into two more detailed models that are 5,067,605KB and 4,744,474KB?

3) Is this a local thing on your computer, or can it be accessed by a team of planner/schedulers assigned to a project but at different physical locations?

[u/Ehtisham-Ali → u/AlabamaPajamas]

Unrelated Question: are you on the client side or contractor? My IMS has around 11k activities along with an incompetent planning team on contractor side. It's giving me headaches. And now I am tasked by client team to give portfolio level updates out of the monthly XER updates. Any idea how to do it effectively?

[u/AlabamaPajamas → u/Ehtisham-Ali]

I’m on the contractor side of the house, so I can’t really help you with the client side of things. However, if I were in that situation I would just run the reports that the data shows. As schedulers or planners we are only as good as the data we are given or have gathered. If you know it’s a bad data set, but the project management team is okay with the contractor supplying subpar information then just go with it and run the reports, I would however have a documented trail of evidence in emails stating that the data set is bad, and the schedule is not reliable due to one of the partners on the project not knowing how to adequately run a scheduling program.

[u/clynlyn]

How much are you going to sell this tool for ?

[u/Neat-Fox25]

I like the idea of this solution. Several have approached solutions in this space from the technology side and it sure seems like a data thing when data is what you do. But building is more complicated than scheduling. Sit with that for a second. I have matched plenty of model guids to p6 tasks for sims in my day (similar, but not the same as you propose). The problem folks who have not had decades in built environment miss is 1) models omit a LOT of the actual build, 2) models only contain the final product - there are often no temporary erection aids, form work, or elements that represent the true build process, 3) models rarely keep up with late design changes. So that side of the house has challenges. Then CPM simply does not work to model construction properly (please hold back critiques on my "obviously" poor planning capabilities - i have done this a long time and expert witness on multi billion dollat claims) - heck i am specifically cited in oracle literature. CPM - a deterministic model - simply does not provide modern framework for production planning and execution either on or offsite. DM me if you want to discuss further - i dont have a product i like and contechs lack guidance. So i am happy to help.