Primavera P6 scheduling and recovery programmes
Programmes that reflect how the work will actually be built, in Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project, with the logic, calendars and narrative that stand up to review.
Who this is for
- Contractors at tender or award who need a baseline to the contract specification
- Owners and programme management consultants who need an integrated master schedule across packages
- Contractors behind programme who need a recovery or acceleration plan with its consequences stated
- Teams whose programme has been rejected by the engineer and needs to be fixed or rebuilt
The problem it solves
Where the contract makes the programme a contractual document, as many construction contracts do, its quality matters at the moments that cost money. Open-ended logic, mixed calendars, missing procurement links or an unrealistic critical path all surface at the worst time: when a payment, an extension of time or a recovery plan depends on the programme being believed.
Scope and deliverables
Assignments are fixed scope, with the deliverables and the number of review rounds agreed in writing.
- Tender programme with resource histograms and a method narrative
- Baseline programme to the contract specification: WBS, activity coding, calendars, logic, float and milestones
- Integrated master schedule across design, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning and handover
- Resource and cost loading, histograms and cash flow curves
- Recovery and acceleration programmes with what-if scenarios and the resource or cost consequences stated
- Basis of schedule document and schedule narrative
- Submission layouts, PDFs and the native files
- Responses to the engineer's review comments within the agreed rounds
- Training for your team on updating and maintaining the programme
What we need from you
- Contract clauses and the specification covering the programme
- Drawings, bill of quantities and method statements
- Procurement and long-lead item information
- Subcontract packages and the resource assumptions behind them
- Client calendars, working time and access constraints
- Previous programmes and any review comments received
How the work runs
- Kick-off workshop. WBS, construction strategy, calendars and coding agreed with your team.
- Draft logic and durations. Built with your site and procurement people, then reviewed together.
- Loading and checks. Resources and cost where required; open ends, lags, constraints, calendars, float and critical path checked, with the DCMA metrics reported where the client expects them.
- Narrative and submission. Basis of schedule, layouts and PDFs prepared; native files handed over.
- Review rounds. Responses to the engineer's comments within the agreed number of rounds.
- The construction strategy and the durations you approve remain yours; we build the programme on them and tell you where we think they are optimistic.
- We do not provide design or engineering, quantity surveying or method engineering.
- Further review rounds beyond the agreed number, or a rebuild after a change of strategy, are priced separately.
Experience and demonstrations
Tender, baseline and recovery programmes on building and infrastructure projects are the foundation of our lead consultant's experience, including programmes that have gone through demanding engineer and owner reviews.
The experience behind this service is the professional record of our lead consultant from more than 20 years on Saudi and Gulf projects, gained before Expert Systems was formed, not work contracted by Expert Systems. References for assignments contracted by the firm will be published with each client's consent as they become available.
Demonstrations, all built with sample data: schedule review findings, which show the checks we apply, milestone register.
Common questions
How long does a baseline take?
It depends on the size and the information available. For a mid-size building contract, two to four weeks from receipt of the inputs is typical; the proposal gives a date for your project.
Do you work in our Primavera P6 database?
If you give us access, yes. Otherwise we work in our own environment and exchange .xer files exported for the P6 version you use, which we agree and test with a trial file before the first real exchange.
Do you run the DCMA 14-point checks?
Yes, where the client expects them, alongside our own checks on logic, calendars, float and the critical path. The findings go into the basis of schedule.
Can you fix a programme the engineer has rejected?
Yes. We start from the review comments and the native file. Sometimes a rebuild is faster than a repair, and we say which before starting.
What do we receive at the end?
The native files, the layouts, the PDFs, the basis of schedule and a short session with your team on keeping the programme updated.
Need a programme or a recovery plan?
Tell us the contract, the stage you are at and the date you need it by. We aim to reply within one working day. We confirm the scope and fee once we have the information needed to assess the work.