Planning & Project Controls: The Complete Guide

Preface

1. P.1 Preface: why I wrote this book and how to use it

Foundations of planning and project controls

1. 1.1 What planning and project controls are
2. 1.2 The project lifecycle: FEL, FEED, EPC and stage gates
3. 1.3 Contracting strategies and what they mean for planners
4. 1.4 Standards, frameworks and bodies of knowledge

Scope, structure and estimating

1. 2.1 Breakdown structures for EPC: WBS, CBS, OBS and coding
2. 2.2 Schedule levels and the integrated project schedule
3. 2.3 Estimating for planners: classes, quantities, norms and man-hours
4. 2.4 Estimating durations
5. 2.5 Documenting the schedule basis
6. 2.6 Tender planning: bid schedules, execution strategy and pricing support

The CPM engine

1. 3.1 The forward and backward pass
2. 3.2 Total float and free float
3. 3.3 Two definitions of critical
4. 3.4 Retained Logic vs Progress Override
5. 3.5 Calendars
6. 3.6 Constraints
7. 3.7 Other scheduling methods: line of balance, linear, critical chain and lean
8. 3.8 Part 3 review: the scheduling engine
9. 3.9 Resource levelling, smoothing and resource-constrained scheduling
10. 3.10 Time–cost trade-off: crashing and fast-tracking

Primavera P6 in practice

1. 4.1 Structure: EPS, WBS and activity codes
2. 4.2 Relationships, leads and lags
3. 4.3 Activity, duration and percent-complete types
4. 4.4 Resource and cost loading
5. 4.5 Baselines and archiving
6. 4.6 The update cycle
7. 4.7 The P6 power-user toolkit
8. 4.8 Part 4 checkpoint: build and update a training schedule
9. 4.9 P6 setup and administration: database, security, global data and preferences
10. 4.10 Scheduling options and calendars in depth
11. 4.11 Constraints, float and the critical path in P6
12. 4.12 Updating in P6 step by step
13. 4.13 Common P6 problems during execution and updating: diagnosis and fixes
14. 4.14 Change control, revisions and baseline management in P6
15. 4.15 Multi-project scheduling, contractor schedules and XER handling
16. 4.16 Reporting from P6: layouts, printing, exports and visual tools
17. 4.17 Other scheduling and schedule analysis tools
18. 4.18 P6 interview questions and practical tests

Planning EPC projects phase by phase

1. 5.1 Engineering planning and control
2. 5.2 Procurement planning, expediting and material control
3. 5.3 Fabrication planning: spools, steel and modules
4. 5.4 Construction planning and sequencing
5. 5.5 Advanced Work Packaging
6. 5.6 Mechanical completion, commissioning and handover
7. 5.7 Shutdowns, turnarounds and brownfield work
8. 5.8 Interface management
9. 5.9 Look-ahead planning and short-interval control
10. 5.10 Building an integrated EPC schedule: a worked example

Schedule quality and assurance

1. 6.1 DCMA 14-point assessment, part 1
2. 6.2 DCMA 14-point assessment, part 2
3. 6.3 GAO's ten best practices
4. 6.4 Horizontal and vertical traceability
5. 6.5 Writing a health-check report
6. 6.6 Part 6 review: schedule quality

Progress measurement and performance

1. 7.1 Rules of credit and progress measurement
2. 7.2 Overall EPC progress: weighting engineering, procurement and construction
3. 7.3 Earned value basics
4. 7.4 Earned schedule
5. 7.5 S-curves, asking rates and forecast credibility
6. 7.6 Forecasting completion three ways
7. 7.7 Manpower, productivity and labour planning
8. 7.8 Part 7 review: progress, EV and forecasting

Cost control and integration

1. 8.1 Cost control fundamentals: budgets, commitments, forecasts and contingency
2. 8.2 Integrated cost and schedule control
3. 8.3 Cash flow and financial forecasting
4. 8.4 Change and trend management

Schedule risk analysis

1. 9.1 Why schedules need risk analysis
2. 9.2 Three-point estimates and distributions
3. 9.3 Risk events
4. 9.4 Running Monte Carlo
5. 9.5 Risk drivers and contingency
6. 9.6 Presenting risk results
7. 9.7 Part 9 review: package the SRA
8. 9.8 Reference class forecasting, optimism bias and the psychology of planning
9. 9.9 Integrated cost and schedule risk analysis and contingency management

Reporting and communication

1. 10.1 The progress report narrative
2. 10.2 Visual reporting
3. 10.3 Executive reporting
4. 10.4 Stakeholder management
5. 10.5 Dashboards and project controls KPIs
6. 10.6 Planning workshops, facilitation and influence

Data, tools and automation

1. 11.1 Inside the XER file
2. 11.2 Exporting to Excel and reviewing data
3. 11.3 Python basics for schedulers
4. 11.4 Automated health check
5. 11.5 Comparing updates automatically
6. 11.6 Part 11 review: package your tools
7. 11.7 Digital project controls: 4D/5D BIM, data platforms and AI

Contracts, notices and claims

1. 12.1 FIDIC 2017 structure
2. 12.2 Clause 8: programme, extension of time and delay damages
3. 12.3 Clause 20: notices, claims and time bars
4. 12.4 Clause 13: variations and their time effect
5. 12.5 Disputes and the DAAB
6. 12.6 Local law and enforceability
7. 12.7 Other contract forms: NEC4, national oil company contracts and subcontracts
8. 12.8 Writing and managing claims
9. 12.9 Part 12 review: one event from start to finish

Delay analysis

1. 13.1 Delay types
2. 13.2 Cause and effect
3. 13.3 Concurrency and pacing
4. 13.4 Float ownership
5. 13.5 The AACE RP 29R-03 taxonomy
6. 13.6 Records and the SCL Protocol
7. 13.7 Legal principles and landmark cases
8. 13.8 Review: delay fundamentals
9. 13.9 What a TIA is
10. 13.10 Designing a fragnet
11. 13.11 Preparing the base update
12. 13.12 Running the TIA and reading the result
13. 13.13 Concurrency, mitigation and acceleration in a TIA
14. 13.14 Writing the TIA narrative
15. 13.15 Review: stress-test the TIA
16. 13.16 As-planned vs as-built
17. 13.17 Impacted as-planned
18. 13.18 Collapsed as-built
19. 13.19 Windows analysis
20. 13.20 Attributing delay in each window
21. 13.21 Choosing and defending a method
22. 13.22 Delay analysis in P6: hands-on techniques
23. 13.23 A full forensic case study
24. 13.24 Review: the windows analysis report
25. 13.25 The expert witness: duties, reports and giving evidence

Disruption and quantum

1. 14.1 Delay vs disruption
2. 14.2 The measured mile
3. 14.3 Other productivity methods
4. 14.4 Prolongation costs
5. 14.5 Head office overheads
6. 14.6 Acceleration costs
7. 14.7 Part 14 review: disruption and quantum

Strategic project controls

1. 15.1 Recovery planning
2. 15.2 Benchmarks and lessons learned
3. 15.3 Owner's and PMC project controls
4. 15.4 Portfolio and programme controls
5. 15.5 Part 15 review: the executive brief

The planner's career

1. 16.1 Assemble the portfolio
2. 16.2 The CV
3. 16.3 LinkedIn and visibility
4. 16.4 Technical interview preparation
5. 16.5 Case interview and presentation
6. 16.6 Certifications and continuing professional development
7. 16.7 Professional ethics for planners

Planning across industries

1. 17.1 How planning changes from one industry to another
2. 17.2 Onshore cross-country pipelines
3. 17.3 Offshore oil and gas: platforms, subsea, pipelay and hook-up
4. 17.4 Power generation and renewables
5. 17.5 Buildings, high-rise and fit-out
6. 17.6 Roads and highways
7. 17.7 Bridges, tunnels and marine works
8. 17.8 Rail, metro and transit systems
9. 17.9 Shipbuilding and new vessel construction
10. 17.10 Ship repair, dry-docking and conversions
11. 17.11 Pressure vessels, heat exchangers and storage tanks
12. 17.12 Water, wastewater and desalination
13. 17.13 Mining and mineral processing
14. 17.14 Maintenance planning and operations
15. 17.15 Industry quick reference: rates, milestones and risks
16. 17.16 In depth: onshore oil and gas EPC
17. 17.17 In depth: offshore fixed platforms
18. 17.18 In depth: subsea developments and FPSOs
19. 17.19 In depth: cross-country pipelines
20. 17.20 In depth: LNG projects
21. 17.21 In depth: brownfield modifications and turnarounds
22. 17.22 In depth: combined-cycle and thermal power plants
23. 17.23 In depth: solar, wind and battery storage
24. 17.24 In depth: high-rise and complex buildings
25. 17.25 In depth: roads and highways
26. 17.26 In depth: bridges, tunnels and metro
27. 17.27 In depth: ports, marine and dredging
28. 17.28 In depth: water, wastewater and desalination
29. 17.29 In depth: mining and mineral processing
30. 17.30 In depth: shipbuilding and ship repair
31. 17.31 In depth: data centres
32. 17.32 In depth: pharmaceutical and life-science facilities
33. 17.33 In depth: telecom networks
34. 17.34 Comparing industries: what changes and what stays the same

Primavera P6 complete guide, screen by screen

1. 18.1 Getting started: products, the database and the P6 window
2. 18.2 Enterprise setup: EPS, OBS, users, security and Admin Preferences
3. 18.3 Creating a project and setting Project Details
4. 18.4 The WBS window: building and maintaining the WBS
5. 18.5 Calendars in P6: global, project and resource
6. 18.6 Activities: creating, editing and the Activity Details tabs
7. 18.7 Activity codes and user-defined fields
8. 18.8 Relationships: adding, editing and tracing logic
9. 18.9 Constraints, expected finish and notebooks in practice
10. 18.10 Scheduling: the Schedule dialog, options and the schedule log
11. 18.11 Resources and roles: dictionary, assignments, units and curves
12. 18.12 Costs: cost accounts, expenses, prices and budgets
13. 18.13 Resource analysis and levelling in P6
14. 18.14 Baselines in P6: maintaining, assigning and comparing
15. 18.15 Layouts: columns, bars, group and sort, filters and timescale
16. 18.16 Updating in P6 screen by screen
17. 18.17 Earned value in P6
18. 18.18 Global Change: bulk edits safely
19. 18.19 Import and export: XER, XML, spreadsheets and Microsoft Project
20. 18.20 Printing, reports and publishing
21. 18.21 Claim Digger, schedule comparison and Check Schedule
22. 18.22 Critical path workflows: longest path, float paths and near-critical analysis
23. 18.23 Thresholds, issues, risks, documents and other project windows
24. 18.24 P6 EPPM (web), Visualizer and team collaboration
25. 18.25 Speed, shortcuts and working efficiently in P6
26. 18.26 Scenario A: building a project from scratch, step by step
27. 18.27 Scenario B: a monthly update with problems to solve
28. 18.28 Scenario C: a time impact analysis in P6, step by step
29. 18.29 Scenario D: recovery planning with what-if schedules
30. 18.30 Scenario E: reviewing a contractor's XER submission
31. 18.31 Activity steps, step templates and weighted progress
32. 18.32 Roles, rates, resource shifts and assignment details
33. 18.33 Investigating a schedule: twenty layouts that answer common questions
34. 18.34 P6 troubleshooting gallery: fifteen cases with screens
35. 18.35 Preparing P6 data for delay analysis and claims

WBS templates and activity sequences by industry

1. 19.1 Onshore oil and gas process plant (EPC)
2. 19.2 Piping spool fabrication shop project
3. 19.3 Onshore cross-country pipeline
4. 19.4 Offshore fixed platform: jacket, topsides and hook-up
5. 19.5 Combined-cycle power plant
6. 19.6 Utility-scale solar PV and battery storage
7. 19.7 High-rise building
8. 19.8 Road and highway
9. 19.9 Bridge (segmental viaduct)
10. 19.10 Bored tunnel and metro station
11. 19.11 Rail and metro systems
12. 19.12 Shipbuilding (new vessel)
13. 19.13 Ship repair and dry-docking
14. 19.14 Storage tank farm
15. 19.15 Pressure vessel and heat exchanger fabrication
16. 19.16 Desalination plant (reverse osmosis)
17. 19.17 Refinery or gas plant turnaround
18. 19.18 Substation and overhead transmission line
19. 19.19 Mineral processing plant
20. 19.20 Brownfield plant modification and tie-ins

Productivity norms and KPI reference

1. 20.1 Using norms: units, factors and calibration
2. 20.2 Engineering: deliverable hours and durations
3. 20.3 Procurement lead times by equipment type
4. 20.4 Civil and concrete norms
5. 20.5 Structural steel norms
6. 20.6 Piping norms: shop and field
7. 20.7 Mechanical equipment norms
8. 20.8 Electrical and instrumentation norms
9. 20.9 Insulation, painting, fireproofing and scaffolding
10. 20.10 Pipelines, tanks and vessels: norms
11. 20.11 Buildings and infrastructure norms
12. 20.12 Shipyard, ship repair and marine norms
13. 20.13 Completions and commissioning norms
14. 20.14 The KPI dictionary
15. 20.15 KPIs by industry
16. 20.16 Manpower ratios, densities and rules of thumb

Interview mastery

1. 21.1 How planning interviews work and how to prepare
2. 21.2 Question bank: CPM and scheduling fundamentals
3. 21.3 Question bank: Primavera P6
4. 21.4 Question bank: EPC planning, progress and earned value
5. 21.5 Question bank: contracts, claims and delay analysis
6. 21.6 Question bank: risk, reporting, leadership and data
7. 21.7 Scenario and case questions with worked answers
8. 21.8 Behavioural questions and model STAR answers
9. 21.9 Practical test papers with solutions
10. 21.10 Questions to ask, offers and the first 90 days in a new role
11. 21.11 Question bank: industry-specific interviews
12. 21.12 Question bank: advanced P6, data and forensic techniques
13. 21.13 Question bank: planning lead and controls manager interviews

Know your field: the disciplines planners work with

1. 22.1 Who does what on an EPC project
2. 22.2 Engineering disciplines and their deliverables
3. 22.3 Piping for planners: from P&ID to test pack
4. 22.4 Welding and NDT for planners
5. 22.5 QA/QC: inspection, test plans and records
6. 22.6 HSE and permits to work
7. 22.7 Materials management for planners
8. 22.8 Document control, technical queries and change management
9. 22.9 Construction methods, cranes and heavy lifts
10. 22.10 Commissioning in depth
11. 22.11 Procurement and commercial terms planners should know
12. 22.12 Estimating basics for planners
13. 22.13 Project management processes and governance
14. 22.14 Site records and contract administration
15. 22.15 Operations, handover and the operating phase
16. 22.16 Planning in the Gulf: local practice and conditions

Case studies

1. 23.1 Case: the gas plant that reported green
2. 23.2 Case: piping productivity collapse and recovery
3. 23.3 Case: pipeline spread and right-of-way access
4. 23.4 Case: offshore topsides and the installation window
5. 23.5 Case: the turnaround that overran
6. 23.6 Case: metro systems integration slip
7. 23.7 Case: high-rise façade delay and takt recovery
8. 23.8 Case: dry-docking with major steel growth
9. 23.9 Case: the contractor XER with hidden constraints
10. 23.10 Case: an EOT claim under FIDIC from event to agreement
11. 23.11 Case: the valve and the access (concurrency dispute)
12. 23.12 Case: proving disruption with a measured mile
13. 23.13 Case: crashing a power plant commissioning programme
14. 23.14 Case: the risk analysis that moved FID
15. 23.15 Case: setting up planning on a new project

Workbook: problems with full solutions

1. 24.1 Workbook: CPM, float and critical path
2. 24.2 Workbook: calendars, constraints and progress
3. 24.3 Workbook: durations, norms and manpower
4. 24.4 Workbook: progress and earned value
5. 24.5 Workbook: forecasting, S-curves and asking rates
6. 24.6 Workbook: crashing, levelling and line of balance
7. 24.7 Workbook: risk, PERT and contingency
8. 24.8 Workbook: delay analysis and concurrency
9. 24.9 Workbook: disruption, quantum and cash
10. 24.10 Workbook: mixed interview problems
11. 24.11 Workbook: norms, estimating and resource loading
12. 24.12 Workbook: P6 scenario problems

Schedule library: complete industry schedules with logic

1. 25.1 Relationship types, lags and logic patterns: the planner's field reference
2. 25.2 How to read and use the schedule library
3. 25.3 Onshore gas processing plant EPC: Level 3 schedule
4. 25.4 Engineering deliverables schedule: Level 4 with review cycles
5. 25.5 Procurement schedule: fifteen packages from requisition to site
6. 25.6 Piping spool fabrication shop schedule
7. 25.7 Piping erection and test package schedule
8. 25.8 Mechanical equipment installation: static and rotating
9. 25.9 Electrical and instrumentation construction schedule
10. 25.10 Pre-commissioning, commissioning and start-up by system
11. 25.11 Storage tank farm (API 650 tanks)
12. 25.12 Cross-country pipeline: spread schedule with ladder logic
13. 25.13 HDD crossing and tie-ins
14. 25.14 Offshore platform: detailed jacket and topsides schedule
15. 25.15 Plant turnaround: hour-by-hour critical path
16. 25.16 Brownfield revamp: SIMOPS, hot taps and a tie-in shutdown (detailed)
17. 25.17 Combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant: detailed schedule
18. 25.18 Utility-scale solar PV plant (200 MWp)
19. 25.19 Onshore wind farm (16 turbines)
20. 25.20 High-voltage substation (132/33 kV): detailed schedule
21. 25.21 Overhead transmission line (100 towers)
22. 25.22 High-rise residential tower (24 floors)
23. 25.23 Villa compound (12 villas)
24. 25.24 Hospital: MEP-intensive building
25. 25.25 Steel-framed warehouse (pre-engineered building)
26. 25.26 Data centre (8 MW IT): detailed schedule with five commissioning levels
27. 25.27 Dual carriageway highway (18 km): detailed schedule
28. 25.28 Highway bridge (6 spans, precast girders)
29. 25.29 Bored tunnel with TBM (4 km): detailed schedule
30. 25.30 Metro station (top-down cut and cover): detailed schedule
31. 25.31 Railway track, OLE and signalling
32. 25.32 Water treatment plant: detailed schedule
33. 25.33 Sewer network with open cut and microtunnelling
34. 25.34 Port quay wall and container berth
35. 25.35 Dredging and land reclamation
36. 25.36 Airport runway (4 km): detailed schedule
37. 25.37 Shipbuilding: block construction to delivery
38. 25.38 Dry-dock ship repair (in hours)
39. 25.39 FPSO conversion: detailed schedule
40. 25.40 Structural steel fabrication shop
41. 25.41 Pressure vessel fabrication (ASME VIII)
42. 25.42 Power station boiler outage (in hours): detailed schedule
43. 25.43 Mining project: mine development and concentrator (detailed)
44. 25.44 Telecom network rollout (96 sites)
45. 25.45 Office fit-out (three floors)
46. 25.46 Concrete gravity dam: detailed schedule by block and lift
47. 25.47 Seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant: detailed schedule
48. 25.48 Pharmaceutical sterile facility: detailed construction and qualification schedule
49. 25.49 Onshore well hook-up, flowlines and remote manifold
50. 25.50 Subsea pipeline and riser installation
51. 25.51 FEED phase schedule
52. 25.52 EPC tender (bid) schedule
53. 25.53 LNG liquefaction train
54. 25.54 Full-containment LNG storage tank
55. 25.55 Carbon capture and storage (capture, compression, pipeline, injection)
56. 25.56 Ammonia plant (steam methane reforming)
57. 25.57 District cooling plant and network
58. 25.58 Artificial island for offshore field development

Advanced cost control and earned value

1. 26.1 Cost control architecture: CBS, control accounts and work packages
2. 26.2 From estimate to control budget: classes, basis of estimate and the performance baseline
3. 26.3 Contingency: sizing, drawdown and governance
4. 26.4 Commitments, accruals, incurred cost and VOWD
5. 26.5 The monthly cost report: structure, reconciliation and narrative
6. 26.6 Earned value management systems: ANSI-748 in practice
7. 26.7 EV metrics at expert level: earned schedule, TCPI and independent EACs
8. 26.8 Forecasting EAC bottom-up: quantities, productivity, rates and indirects
9. 26.9 Change, trends and early warning: controlling scope growth
10. 26.10 Indirect costs, time-related costs and prolongation
11. 26.11 Cash flow, payment terms and working capital
12. 26.12 Productivity and unit rate analysis for cost control
13. 26.13 Cost control by contract type and by role
14. 26.14 Cost in P6 and ERP integration (SAP, Oracle)
15. 26.15 Common cost control mistakes, and how experienced controllers avoid them
16. 26.16 Question bank: cost control and project controls interviews
17. 26.17 Worked case: the month-12 cost and schedule report of an EPC project
18. 26.18 Estimating methods for cost engineers and planners

Microsoft Project for planners

1. 27.1 Microsoft Project and P6: where each fits and how the concepts map
2. 27.2 Setting up MS Project correctly: the options that matter
3. 27.3 Task types, effort-driven scheduling and the work formula
4. 27.4 Logic, lags, constraints, deadlines and the critical path in MSP
5. 27.5 Resources, assignments and levelling in MSP
6. 27.6 Baselines, status date and updating in MSP
7. 27.7 Earned value, custom fields and reporting in MSP
8. 27.8 Moving schedules between MS Project and P6
9. 27.9 Reviewing an MS Project schedule submission
10. 27.10 MS Project mistakes, power tips and interview questions
11. 27.11 Lab: build, update and review the same project in MS Project

Primavera P6 at expert level

1. 28.1 How the P6 scheduler really works
2. 28.2 Multiple float path analysis and longest path in depth
3. 28.3 Out-of-sequence progress: retained logic, progress override and actual dates, worked example
4. 28.4 Calendars at expert level: hours, mixed calendars and float distortion
5. 28.5 Percent complete, units and earned value mechanics in P6
6. 28.6 Global Change at expert level: formulas, conditions and safe use
7. 28.7 Bulk updating with Excel, UDFs and indicators
8. 28.8 The P6 database: tables, fields and SQL for analysis
9. 28.9 XER files: anatomy and analysis with Python
10. 28.10 Schedule health at expert level: beyond the DCMA checks
11. 28.11 Recovery and acceleration modelling in P6
12. 28.12 Large, multi-project and programme schedules in P6
13. 28.13 Baseline management at expert level
14. 28.14 Resource levelling at expert level
15. 28.15 Schedule risk analysis from P6: QSRA workflow and tools
16. 28.16 Twenty expert P6 puzzles with solutions
17. 28.17 Expert P6 interview and practical test
18. 28.18 Coding standards and a template library for P6
19. 28.19 P6 EPPM: web features, portfolios and team collaboration
20. 28.20 Resource-dependent activities, shifts and 24/7 work
21. 28.21 Reporting automation from P6: Excel, Power BI and scripts
22. 28.22 P6 administration settings an expert must know
23. 28.23 Writing a P6 schedule specification for contractors
24. 28.24 Building a baseline from scratch: the professional process
25. 28.25 Lab 1: build and schedule a project from scratch
26. 28.26 Lab 2: monthly update with out-of-sequence progress
27. 28.27 Lab 3: time impact analysis with a fragnet
28. 28.28 Lab 4: resource loading, levelling and earned value
29. 28.29 Activity types in depth: behaviour, traps and correct use
30. 28.30 Duration types in depth: Fixed Duration, Units, Units/Time with worked numbers
31. 28.31 P6 for advanced work packaging (AWP)

Field notes: what goes wrong in each industry

1. 29.1 Field notes: onshore oil and gas EPC
2. 29.2 Field notes: engineering phase
3. 29.3 Field notes: procurement and vendors
4. 29.4 Field notes: fabrication shops (spools, steel, vessels)
5. 29.5 Field notes: piping and mechanical construction
6. 29.6 Field notes: E&I, completions and commissioning
7. 29.7 Field notes: pipelines
8. 29.8 Field notes: offshore
9. 29.9 Field notes: turnarounds and brownfield
10. 29.10 Field notes: power and renewables
11. 29.11 Field notes: buildings and fit-out
12. 29.12 Field notes: roads, bridges and infrastructure
13. 29.13 Field notes: tunnels, metro and rail
14. 29.14 Field notes: marine, ports and dredging
15. 29.15 Field notes: shipbuilding and ship repair
16. 29.16 Field notes: water, desalination and mining
17. 29.17 Field notes: forty mistakes planners make, across all industries

How projects actually run: phase by phase

1. 30.1 How an onshore EPC project runs, from award to handover
2. 30.2 How a cross-country pipeline project runs
3. 30.3 How a high-rise building project runs
4. 30.4 How a plant turnaround is prepared and executed
5. 30.5 How a shipyard new-build and a dry-docking run
6. 30.6 How a power or renewable project runs
7. 30.7 How an offshore project runs: yard to first oil
8. 30.8 How the owner's and PMC planner works
9. 30.9 A working week of a site planner
10. 30.10 Model documents: narratives, notices and reports planners write

Situations: what an experienced planner does

1. 31.1 Situations with managers and clients
2. 31.2 Situations with progress, data and updates
3. 31.3 Situations with delays, changes and claims
4. 31.4 Situations in your career and team
5. 31.5 Situations at the engineering and procurement interfaces
6. 31.6 Situations in completions, commissioning and handover

Final exams and mock interviews

1. 32.1 Final exam A: scheduling, Primavera P6 and MS Project
2. 32.2 Final exam B: progress, cost control, risk, contracts and delay
3. 32.3 Mock interviews: three full transcripts with model answers

Primavera P6 mastery: procedures, field dictionary and labs

1. 33.1 P6 procedures: enterprise and project set-up
2. 33.2 P6 procedures: WBS, activities, relationships and codes
3. 33.3 P6 procedures: scheduling, baselines and updating
4. 33.4 P6 procedures: resources, costs, earned value and levelling
5. 33.5 P6 procedures: layouts, filters, groupings and reports
6. 33.6 P6 procedures: import, export, Claim Digger, Global Change and admin checks
7. 33.7 Field dictionary: dates, durations and float
8. 33.8 Field dictionary: progress, units, costs and earned value
9. 33.9 Field dictionary: relationships, codes, calendars and project fields
10. 33.10 Lab 5: contemporaneous windows analysis across two updates
11. 33.11 Lab 6: half-step (bifurcated) update
12. 33.12 Lab 7: resource levelling by hand and in P6
13. 33.13 Lab 8: earned value from a cost-loaded schedule
14. 33.14 Lab 9: calendars and lag calendars
15. 33.15 Lab 10: retained logic versus progress override, calculated
16. 33.16 Lab 11: time impact analysis with concurrent delays
17. 33.17 P6 procedures: delay analysis techniques step by step
18. 33.18 P6 procedures: reviewing a contractor XER submission
19. 33.19 P6 procedures: the complete monthly update, start to finish
20. 33.20 P6 procedures: EPPM, Team Member progress and portfolio views
21. 33.21 P6 procedures: risks, issues, thresholds and documents in P6
22. 33.22 Field dictionary: resources, assignments and WBS fields
23. 33.23 Twenty practice networks with full solutions

Case studies from piping and fabrication projects

1. 34.1 Case 1: record welding output, but the site had no workfront
2. 34.2 Case 2: material release, not productivity, was driving the piping forecast
3. 34.3 Case 3: erection at 70%, test packs at 25%
4. 34.4 Case 4: a progress dispute over rules of credit
5. 34.5 Case 5: preparing a fabrication facility for a client capacity assessment
6. 34.6 Case 6: a monthly update that looked like good news

AI for planning engineers

1. 35.1 AI for planning engineers: what it is, what it is not, and where it fits
2. 35.2 The AI toolkit for planners: assistants, copilots and specialist scheduling tools
3. 35.3 Prompting for planners: patterns, templates and a prompt library
4. 35.4 AI with Primavera P6: getting data out, health checks, logic review and narratives
5. 35.5 AI-assisted schedule development: WBS, activities, logic, durations and fragnets
6. 35.6 AI for updating and progress: comparisons, progress capture and look-aheads
7. 35.7 AI for dashboards and reporting
8. 35.8 Forecasting with data, machine learning and AI
9. 35.9 AI for risk and decision making
10. 35.10 AI for delay analysis, contracts and claims
11. 35.11 Building your own AI workflows: scripts, LLM APIs, agents and automation
12. 35.12 Governance, data security, ethics and implementation
13. 35.13 Hands-on guides: using ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot and Excel AI step by step
14. 35.14 AI on site: progress capture, computer vision, drones, 4D BIM and digital twins
15. 35.15 Prompt library: sixty prompts for planning engineers
16. 35.16 Case studies: AI on planning and project controls work
17. 35.17 Part 35 workshop: an AI-assisted monthly update, end to end

Power BI for planning engineers: a complete course

1. 36.1 Power BI for planners: what it is, how it fits, and how this book works
2. 36.2 Getting planning data into Power BI: P6, Excel trackers, SharePoint and databases
3. 36.3 Power Query I: cleaning and shaping planning data
4. 36.4 Power Query II: M language, parameters, folders and update snapshots
5. 36.5 Data modelling for project controls: star schema, relationships and the date table
6. 36.6 DAX I: measures, calculated columns, filter context and CALCULATE
7. 36.7 DAX II: time intelligence and S-curves
8. 36.8 DAX III: earned value, KPIs, variance against last cut-off and working days
9. 36.9 Designing planning dashboards that people use
10. 36.10 Lab: building the planning and progress dashboard step by step
11. 36.11 Publishing and sharing: the Power BI Service, refresh, gateways, apps and security
12. 36.12 Performance, quality and best practice
13. 36.13 AI inside Power BI: Copilot, Q&A, smart narratives and analytical visuals
14. 36.14 Advanced techniques: parameters, calculation groups, what-if, paginated reports and Python
15. 36.15 Multi-project and portfolio dashboards, and reporting straight from the P6 database
16. 36.16 Power BI practice workbook: exercises with full solutions
17. 36.17 Measure library for project controls dashboards
18. 36.18 Case study: a piping and support commodity progress dashboard
19. 36.19 Power BI course capstone: assessment, interview questions and quick reference

Appendices

1. A.1 Glossary
2. A.2 Formula sheet
3. A.3 Checklists and templates
4. A.4 Standards and reading list
5. A.5 Templates library
6. A.6 Quick reference cards
7. A.7 The planner’s library: an annotated guide to independent books and standards