How to define Resource Productivity in Primavera P6 and create schedule

When building a schedule in Primavera P6, you can estimate activity durations based on resource productivity. Here’s a step-by-step guide using a concrete example.

Example Scenario

• A construction team can cast 10 m³ of concrete per day (this is the productivity).
• A foundation requires 100 m³ of concrete.
• Therefore, the activity duration is calculated as:

Now, let’s implement this in Primavera P6 using an example project illustrated in the picture below:

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Set Duration Type

• Open your project.
• Change the Duration Type of all relevant activities to “Fixed Units/Time”.
  This ensures that duration is calculated based on resource productivity.

2. Create a Resource

• Go to Enterprise → Resources.
• Create a new resource named Concrete.
• In the Details tab, under Default Units/Time, enter 10 (representing 10 m³/day).

 

3. Assign the Resource

• Go to Project → Activities.
• Assign the Concrete resource to the foundation activity.

4. Set Budgeted Units

• In the activity details, set Budgeted Units to 100 (for 100 m³ of concrete).
• Primavera will automatically calculate the duration as 10 days.

 

5. Repeat for Other Activities

• Use the same method to define productivity and duration for other resource-driven activities.

 

Handling Multiple Resources

If an activity has multiple resources, the finish date will be determined by the latest finish date among them.

Example:

• Add another resource: Backfill.
• Set its Budgeted Units to 1000.
• If Backfill finishes on 20-Dec-16, and Concrete finishes on 10-Dec-16, the activity will finish on 20-Dec-16.

 

Adjusting Start Dates

• If Backfill should start after Concrete, add a lag.
• Enter 12 days in the Original Lag column.
• Backfill will now start on 13-Dec-16, creating a more realistic schedule.