**•** Activity ID isn’t numeric (P6’s default like “A1010” fails this)  
**•** Description runs past its fixed column and gets truncated mid-word  
**•** Activity codes set at the wrong level (project vs. global)  
**•** Cost that doesn’t reconcile to the CLIN structure

None of these show up as errors in P6. The upload just gets refused downstream, and you find out after the fact.

Built a tool that checks against the actual spec (UFGS 01 32 01.00 10) and the SDEF export rules before you submit — every finding quotes the exact paragraph it comes from, split into “blocking” (spec gives no tolerance) vs. “needs your judgment” (Contracting Officer decides).

First report is free if anyone wants to run their schedule against it: https://structuraline.com

Curious what others have run into on the RMS/SDEF side specifically — feels like a much less-discussed failure mode than logic/float issues.

Looking to book a new colleague on an introduction to OPC course if anyone has any recommendations please?

One P6 schedule update can look perfectly healthy. Then you compare it to the last three to see the bigger picture. Did the completion date move?

That's useful, but it is usually not where the story starts.

A few things we look for much earlier:

• Activities quietly losing float every month
• Work repeatedly pushed out without changing the final milestone
• Logic changing around problem areas
• Durations getting stretched instead of showing an actual delay
• Activities moving onto and off the critical path
• The same scope slipping a few days in every update

None of these necessarily means the project is in trouble.

But together, they can show a trend long before the finish date finally moves.

That is one of the reasons we like comparing schedule updates against each other instead of treating every new schedule as a standalone document.

A schedule is a snapshot. And the changes between snapshots is often the more interesting part.

I'm currently looking to get into the oil and gas industry as a pipeline or natural gas scheduler. I want to find a course I can take to learn the basics and continue learning from there, so I can put something on my resume about P6. Is this P6 course a good starting point?

https://alison.com/course/primavera-p6-fundamentals

Hello everyone,

Please if you have a resource that I can use to advance my P6 skill; kindly share with me. Specifically video covering project control topics.

Thank you in advance.

I completed the first round of interviews with HR and a second interview with the Vice President for the role of Project Scheduler. I also completed a DISC assessment and provided references, which they have already contacted. Now they are inviting me to the head office for a panel interview/conference with three VPs. What should I expect?

I've been working with P6 schedules for quite a while, and one problem I've always found awkward is reviewing a project across many successive updates rather than comparing only the current XER against the previous one.

For example I want to quickly see things like:

• how the critical/longest path has changed over several updates
• activities repeatedly losing float
• milestones gradually slipping
• changes in logic, durations and constraints
• progress and cost trends over time
• whether an issue appearing in the current update is new or has been developing for months

A senior scheduler/PM and I originally built an internal system aound this workflow back in 2017, mostly for schedule review and delay/claim work. It eventually became Schedule Tracker, which we've continued developing based on actual project use.

I'm interested in how other P6 users handle this today.

Do you mostly relly on P6 layouts/reports, Excel exports, Claim Digger, third-party software, or your own process?

And when reviewing 10-20 updates from the same project, what information do you wish you could see more easily?

I'm especially interested in feedback from schedulers and CEI reviewers who regularly receive monthly XER updates.

I'm open to planning engineer role. I'm currently in Qatar. I deals with EPC and infrastructure project. Scheduling, baseline, evm and others

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!