RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECT USING PRIMAVERA P6 A Report for the project-based internship DIGINIQUE TECHLABS

SUBMITTED BY: Ms Pamela Gayen (DT21080063) Masters in Interior Designing International School of Design (INSD), Kolkata

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF Mr. Ashish Jha Lead Instructor

Diginique TechLabs OCTOBER 10, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 4 1. FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT ........................................................................ 4 1.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................... 4 1.2 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT ........................................................ 5 1.3 RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT ................................ 6 1.3.1 RESOURCE LEVELLING ................................................................................... 6 1.3.2 RESOURCE SMOOTHING ................................................................................. 6 2. PRIMAVERA P6 .............................................................................................................. 7 2.1 PRINCIPLE OF PRIMAVERA P6 .............................................................................. 7 2.2 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 7 3. PROJECT ON VILLA PROJECT FIRST FLOOR USING PRIMAVERA P6 SOFTWARE ............................................................................................................................................. 7 3.1 TRACKING AND FORECASTING ........................................................................... 8 3.2 RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION ................................................................................... 9 3.3 WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE ....................................................................... 9 3.4 ADDING ACTIVITY AND ACTIVITY TYPES ...................................................... 11 3.4.1 TASK DEPENDENT ......................................................................................... 12 3.4.2 RESOURCE DEPENDENT ............................................................................... 12 3.4.3 LEVEL OF EFFORT .......................................................................................... 12 3.4.4 START MILESTONE ........................................................................................ 12 3.4.5 FINISH MILESTONE ........................................................................................ 12 3.4.6 WBS SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 13 3.5 PROJECT DURATION............................................................................................. 13 4. ADVANTAGES & FUTURE PROSPECTS ................................................................... 14 4.1 RISK IDENTIFICATION ......................................................................................... 14 4.2 USER-FRIENDLY SOFTWARE .............................................................................. 14 4.3 VISUAL IMPACT .................................................................................................... 14 4.4 IMPROVED COORDINATION ............................................................................... 15 4.5 BREAKING COMPLEX PROJECTS ....................................................................... 15 5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 15 REFERENCES................................................................................................................ 16

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig 1. Basic Ingredients in Project Management ................................................................... 5 Fig 2. Project layout with active status ................................................................................. 8 Fig 3. Tracking chart indicating the estimation of labour cost ............................................... 8 Fig 4. Detailed tracking record ............................................................................................. 9 Fig 5. Details of resource...................................................................................................... 9 Fig 6. Block diagram showing a typical work breakdown structure of a large, complex project ................................................................................................................................. 10 Fig 7. Allocation of mason resource ................................................................................... 11 Fig 8. Works divided in manner ......................................................................................... 11 Fig 9. Activity types in Oracle Primavera P6 ...................................................................... 12 Fig 10. Reporting Schedule Progress in Primavera P6 ........................................................ 13 Fig 11. Project duration ...................................................................................................... 14 Fig 12. Chart indicating mason resource after levelling ...................................................... 15

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to sincerely thank Diginique TechLabs for giving me the opportunity to inculcate my knowledge and assisting me in getting acquainted to the basics of resource optimization, with profound exposure to the modernised infrastructure and hands-on training on the working principle of the project management software Primavera P6. Special credit goes to Advitiya IIT Ropar for supervising the entire internship programme and coordinating the preparatory training session on Construction Project Management. I would like to express my deep gratitude to my guide Mr. Ashish Jha without his constant motivation and guidance it wouldn’t have been possible for me to move forward. With utmost patience and focus, he has helped me in getting familiar with the basic fundamentals and working principle of the project management tool Primavera P6. His constant support time-to-time and weekly meetings for improvement, has helped me engage myself into understanding the construction project management fundamentals in depth and explore to my best possible level. His valuable experience and insights into this field have been of immense value throughout the journey. Also, special thanks to each and every member of this internship programme, who has maintained the discipline and a unique work culture throughout the training session. Their constant co-operation and innovative ideas have helped me to a great extent to grab a firm grip over the basics.

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INTRODUCTION In today’s world of technology and advancement, standardization of resource management processes can lead to path breaking innovations in each and every business sector with its variety of scopes and techniques. With an aim to achieve established goals, resource optimization plays an important role with its array of processes and various methodologies in order to synchronize with the available resources (Human, financial, etc) coping up with the fundamental requirements of an organization. In a typical project management, resource optimization techniques mainly refer to the tools that are mainly concerned with the successful implementation of internal project dealings and activities, thereby maintaining a balance between the planned resource and the resource availability. With minimal supplies, by means of resource optimization, one can aim towards balancing the requirements for the resources.

1. FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT For the management of construction projects, apart from having the basic ideas on modern management techniques, it is very essential to understand the basic design and the process of construction from the scratch. The most important aspect for the construction projects all around the globe is their individual set of targets and the deadlines. Despite having dynamic technologies, institutional arrangements and timeframes, the management of such kind of projects nurture similar regulations and methodologies like the ones with different domains such as aerospace, pharmaceutical and energy developments.

1.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT In simplest of words, project management is all about “getting things done” from inception to completion. This mission-oriented nature of the project determines the quality of the project management from the general management of corporations. Once the mission is achieved, a project organization will generally be terminated. Project management is the epitome of art using modern management methodologies, thereby leading to proper direction and co-ordination of human and material resources with an aim to accomplish the pre-determined objectives of scope, finance, time as well as quality throughout the lifetime of a project. There has been a contradictory opinion by the general management of business and industrial corporations that assumes a broader outlook with enhanced operational continuity. A schematic representation of the basic ingredients for a project management is shown below in Fig 1. A hands-on experience on general management and adaptability to the special knowledge domains are totally indispensable. Computer science and decision science might play an inevitable role as supporting disciplines. Most importantly, numerous techniques or tools that were once being symbolised as supporting disciplines have been acquired by 4

modern management practices and different special knowledge domains now-a-days. As for instance, in today’s world, general management cannot move a step ahead without the sole push from computer-based information systems and decision support systems. On a similar note, linear programming as well as network analysis has been widely used in various knowledge or application domains. Likewise, an ideal project management framework evolves from typical sources as schematically represented in figure 1 below.

Fig 1. Basic Ingredients in Project Management

Specifically, project management in construction is mainly circumscribed by an array of objectives that can be achieved by implementation of a series of regulations and executions subject to resource constraints. Political conflicts are also prevalent between the predetermined objectives with regard to cost, time, scope and quality, and the factors imposed on human material and financial resources. Execution of necessary trade-offs or creation of new alternative approaches can assist in resolving such conflicts. The functions of project management for construction basically include the following:  Proper specification of project objectives and plans including narration of scope, budgeting, scheduling, setting performance requirements, and selecting project participants.  As per the prescribed schedule and plan, maximization of efficient resource utilization through procurement of labor, materials and equipment.  Implementation of various operations through proper coordination and control of planning, design, estimating, contracting and construction in the entire process.  Development of effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts among the various participants.

1.2 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT Construction projects are highly structured endeavours, comprising of multiple moving parts and people, to be co-ordinated much preciously. Alike other projects, construction project 5

management possess chronological phases, from inception to successful completion within deadlines. In simple words, construction management ideally deals with the management of construction projects. A construction project manager is responsible for the tasks as stated below:      

Evaluation, estimation and balanced negotiation of project costs. Formulation of construction budget. Tactical management of construction scheduling and work timetables. Management of work orders. Short listing appropriate project management methods and strategies. Communication with project owners and stakeholders in context to budget, progress, execution, etc.  Interfacing with job site employees, teams on technical and contract details.  Collaboration with building, construction and regulatory specialists.

1.3 RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT The resource optimization techniques refer to the tools that are aided to adjust the implementation, execution and successful completion of project activities, thereby maintaining an optimum balance between the planned resource used and the resource availability. In the arena of Schedule Network Analysis, by means of resource optimization, one can efficiently calculate the schedule compression of the project. Ideally, there has been two major tools used by the resource optimization techniques as stated below:  Resource levelling.  Resource smoothing. 1.3.1 RESOURCE LEVELLING Depending on the constraints of the resources, this technique assists in adjusting the start to finish dates, with an aim to maintain and balance the demand for the resources with minimal supplies. Its use becomes more prominent when there is certain limited time-frames for the available resources or when over-allocated. It is also used when two or more activities during the same period of time have been allocated to the resource or in case of maintaining a constant level for the resource usage. Quite often, the critical path of a particular project might subject to vary owing to resource levelling. 1.3.2 RESOURCE SMOOTHING With a goal to adjust the activities of the schedule model, this technique is used, which ensures accurate alignment of the resource allocation and maintains the balance within the pre-defined resource limits. Henceforth, the critical path doesn’t change, as a result the completion date may not be delayed.

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2. PRIMAVERA P6 Oracle Primavera P6, designed to handle large and small projects in the industries with utmost diversities, is a project, program and portfolio management tool, used for planning, management and proper execution of a project work.

2.1 PRINCIPLE OF PRIMAVERA P6 Primavera P6 is an enterprise project portfolio management software that is comprised of project management, scheduling, risk analysis, opportunity management, resource management, collaboration and control capabilities, and capable of integrating with other enterprise software such as Oracle and SAP's ERP systems. Apart from providing a very smooth project management, Primavera is helpful in creating strategies and innovative methodologies in civil engineering, with firm control of the delay of the project and assurance of the optimum use of resource supplies.

2.2 METHODOLOGY There have been two conventional methods by which project management was being executed in earlier times, namely Critical Path Method (CPM) and Project Evaluation Technique (PERT). But with progressing innovations and with the advent of new software, in today’s world, project management is typically handled by some of the handy software like Microsoft Project (MSP) and Primavera P6, that has been proved to be the most valuable and indispensable software in the construction industries in India. Hereby, in this assignment, Primavera P6 has been selected for managing and optimizing the project with minimal available resource supplies. Therefore, in the whole process, two specific phases are involved, firstly collecting the required data and calculating the quantities assigned to Primavera with respect to a stipulated amount of time and comparing the same to the quantity resource to be allocated to such activities and finding out the overall resource allocation, followed by resource leveling.

3. PROJECT ON VILLA PROJECT FIRST FLOOR USING PRIMAVERA P6 SOFTWARE With a perfect stage to plan project activities, progress evaluation, efficient governance assurance, Primavera P6 software serves the purpose to improve team coordination, prioritize the investments in a project and assignment of corresponding resources. The following work has been solely done on Villa project first floor by using the software Primavera P6.

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Fig 2. Project layout with active status

3.1 TRACKING AND FORECASTING Keeping a track on the existing baseline schedule, all the projects can be ideally executed and simultaneously the activities can be updated, that eventually facilitates rapid extraction of project reports. Collaborating with the stakeholders, necessary changes could be implemented in the middle in terms of cost, resource availability and deadlines, followed by creating forecasts for the same meeting the requirements.

Fig 3. Tracking chart indicating the estimation of labour cost

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3.2 RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION The Primavera P6 tool confronts the hindrances of optimization of the available resources and allows systematic allocation of all the resources to the respective activities, thereby meeting the project requirements. Moreover, this tool keeps on detecting the activities where resources are needed and also works on cost cutting and finances by accurate analysis of resource levelling and costs.

Fig 4. Detailed tracking record

Fig 5. Details of resource

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3.3 WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE In order to successfully complete a very complex, multi-step project, the project management comes up with a very efficient method called work breakdown structure (WBS). In simpler words, it typically breaks down such a project from bits to bytes and allocate accordingly. As a result of this equal allocation and division, the internal project stuffs could be done faster and more efficiently. Hence, WBS assists in managing a project in a quite smarter approach and efficiently. As per the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), WBS is the hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to achieve project objectives and successful completion within the stipulated time.

Fig 6. Block diagram showing a typical work breakdown structure of a large, complex project

As shown in Figure 5, Work breakdown structure is a systematic arrangement of the deliverables needed for a project completion being set up on a hierarchical manner. Once the work breakdown structure is created, the next task is the allocation of the activities under various WBS levels. It must be kept in mind that it is indeed to be formulated before creating the schedule. According to PMBOK guide, a deliverable is something that is any unique and verifiable product capability to execute a service needed to be produced for successful completion of a project.

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Fig 7. Allocation of mason resource

3.4 ADDING ACTIVITY AND ACTIVITY TYPES Post creation of the work breakdown structure in Oracle Primavera P6 various activities are inserted under specific WBS levels. Few important steps are there namely, creating activities, inserting activity durations and linking the same with respective relationships and eventually a schedule is created. With all those elements in perfect order, critical path method (CPM) comes into play that helps in calculating the duration of schedule.

Fig 8. Works divided in manner 11

Activities ideally refer to the different items, works or deliverables arranged within a work schedule. Each of the activity has got some pre-estimated and pre-evaluated resource, cost and duration. Only exceptions are the milestone activities, because they do not have any duration. At some point, activities can be sub-divided into a number of logical blocks. With proper expert knowledge, one can make an ideal allocation of the activities. In order to create a realistic schedule, a comprehensive activity definition is very essential followed by close to accurate estimation of duration. There are six different types of activities in Oracle Primavera P6 as stated shown in the figure 8 below.

Fig 9. Activity types in Oracle Primavera P6

3.4.1 TASK DEPENDENT Task dependent is used when there has been a stipulated deadline for the assignment to be finished, regardless of the existence of the assigned resource. The calendar of a particular activity itself is the basis for scheduling the task dependent activities, it’s not at all dependent on the resource calendars. 3.4.2 RESOURCE DEPENDENT Whenever the completion of the work is having a dependency on the existence of the assigned resource, then “resource dependent” is used. In simpler terms, if there is a direct consequential relation between the activity duration and the availability of resources, then resource dependent type can be used. Those resources are scheduled on the basis of their assigned calendars. 3.4.3 LEVEL OF EFFORT A wide diversified range of activities such as project management, executive, clerical work, etc. are involved in the process where “level of effort” is used. The immediate predecessor/ successor activities are mainly responsible for the determination of the duration of level of effort. 3.4.4 START MILESTONE Start milestone is basically a zero-duration activity comprising of only a start date. This is generally used to indicate or rather mark the beginning of a phase or a significant event.

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3.4.5 FINISH MILESTONE Finish milestone is basically a zero-duration activity comprising of only a finish date. This is generally used to indicate, rather mark the phase or a significant event when it is completed. 3.4.6 WBS SUMMARY WBS summary is a combination of an array of activities, usually having a common work breakdown structure level. The start date of WBS summary is symbolised as the earliest possible start date, whereas the finish date is the latest finish date of the activities in the group.

Fig 10. Reporting Schedule Progress in Primavera P6

In above bar chart, blue colour indicates the budgeted labour and purple colour indicates remaining labour, where the green colour indicates actual labour. This can be optimized by the labelling method and to save the cost which helps the mason helper.

3.5 PROJECT DURATION The project duration can be estimated by means of the software Primavera P6 as shown in the figure 10 below.

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Fig 11. Project duration

4. ADVANTAGES & FUTURE PROSPECTS Some of the important advantages of using the Primavera P6 software have been listed below:

4.1 RISK IDENTIFICATION As a result of poor scheduling, inconsistencies and errors in the logic of project expenses might arise and grow exponentially. Using Primavera P6 allows us to detect all possible risks and precautionary measures could be planned beforehand.

4.2 USER-FRIENDLY SOFTWARE Although the Primavera P6 software might look a bit complex apparently, but on regular usage, one could explore more catchy stuffs and new innovative approaches. One simply needs to send the input date, and the software would do the rest of the task. It is quite efficient and easy to use.

4.3 VISUAL IMPACT For the preparation of a typical progress report, graphical visualization of the software plays a vital role. Hence, as per the requirement of the entered data, Primavera P6 plays a major role in extracting such reports.

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4.4 IMPROVED COORDINATION If a project spans over a large part of geographical diversity, Primavera enables smooth communication with all stakeholders by means of notes in the schedule, thereby allowing the users easy access to the schedule from anywhere around the globe.

4.5 BREAKING COMPLEX PROJECTS The most tactical approach is breaking down and dividing a large complex project into subparts, so that they could be easily accomplished for smaller teams with limited assignments with responsibilities.

5. CONCLUSION Avoiding unnecessary wastage of resource by strategically optimizing it has been the sole objective of this assignment. As for instance, a pictorial representation of mason resource has been shown in figure 11 below, where resource optimization has been efficiently done by using the software Primavera P6.

Fig 12. Chart indicating mason resource after levelling

Above fig shows the mason helper resources labeled without increasing the project duration. Therefore, in this case, the predecessors have been modified without any further impact on the duration of the project, thereby leading to the successful optimization of the resource. The activities have been allocated quite efficiently. Hence the resources have popped up with maximum availability. This optimization has been done in such a way taking into account of the fact that neither they are over-allocated nor they are less allocated. Therefore, now-a-days Primavera P6 has emerged as an inevitable project management tool with its high efficiency, accuracy and user-friendly interface.

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REFERENCES [1]https://www.cmu.edu/cee/projects/PMbook/02 Organizing_For_Project_Management.html , Project Management Guide, [25.09.2021] [2]https://www.projectmanager.com/construction-project-management,Construction Management Guide, [28.09.2021] [3]https://projectvictor.com/knowledge-base/resource-optimization-techniques/,Resource Optimization Guide, [29.09.2021] [4]https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/what-is-primavera-p6, Details Guide, [01.10.2021]

Primavera P6 Software

[5]https://askplanner.blogspot.com/p/primavera.html, Tracking and Forecasting Details Guide [04.10.2021] [6]https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E90746_01/English/User_Guides/p6_eppm_user/helpmain.htm ?toc.htm?43407.htm, Activity Types – Oracle Primavera P6 Guide, [07.10.2021] [7]https://www.projectcubicle.com/primavera-p6-resource-leveling/, Progress in Primavera P6 Guide, [09.10.2021]

Reporting

Schedule

[8]https://www.psgincs.com/advantages-reasons-to-use-oracle-primavera-software-p6/, Advantages and Reasons to use Oracle Primavera P6 Software, [09.10.2021]

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