It is possible to bypass roles altogether in Primavera P6 Professional by defining individual labor resources directly as roles – which makes it a simple naming thing in Primavera P6. But Primavera P6 procedures can be most effective when task work is initially defined using labor roles that are later assigned individual resources.
The project manager most typically plans the project schedule using trade skills and not individual resources. Schedule work is therefore initially assigned to roles. Later, the line manager decides which individual resources will actually fulfill these roles. So the project manager plans the schedule using trade skills, and the resource manager later comes along and assigns individual resources to the project schedule work.
This article describes how to assign individual resources to labor roles in Primavera P6.
We begin with our demonstration resource data base, Figure 1.
Figure 1
This resource sheet lists all the individual Quality Engineering company labor resources, along with the company material and equipment resources for one or more projects. Note the piping and coupling material resources and backhoe equipment resource. Also observe that many of our individual resources have already been assigned trade roles. We want to complete these individual resource skill trade assignments.
Proceed and select Enterprise | roles, Figure 2.
Figure 2
In the roles dialog, Figure 3, right click on a construction trades & management role and select +Add from the popup menu.
Figure 3
In the roles dialog’s General tab bottom frame enter the role name common laborer and role ID CL, Figure 4.
Figure 4
Now in the bottom frame resources tab assign the following individual resources the common laborer role: Scott White, Tom Brady, Terrel Owens, and Jerry Rice, Figure 5.
Figure 5
Continue in the prices tab, and specify a standard pay rate for these resources, Figure 6.
Figure 6
Finally, in the limits tab set the maximum availability limit to 24h/d, which are three common laborers working 8-hour days, Figure 7.
Figure 7
Let’s assign our newly created common laborer role to our project schedule. Highlight the mobilize on site activity and select the bottom frame resources tab, Figure 8.
Figure 8
Click add role, again, Figure 8. In Figure 9 we see our schedule and resource usage profile with the common laborer trade skill assignments.
Figure 9
We assigned four common laborers to the mobilize on site and the common laborer excavate activities. (Note that we have four common laborer CT&M.CL role ID placeholders on mobilize on site and common laborer excavate).
Well, my common laborer limit was three so my common laborer resources are over allocated on these two activities. Common laborer resource allocations for the other activities are at or below the resource limit.
Let’s proceed and assign resources to our common laborer role. We begin with the mobilize on site activity. Highlight mobilize on site and click the assign by role icon in the bottom details resources tab, Figure 10.
Figure 10
In the assign resources by role dialog, Figure 11, assign Scott White and Tom Brady to the mobilize on site activity.
Figure 11
These resource assignments are indicated in the bottom details resources tab and resource ID name column, Figure 12.
Figure 12
The resulting schedule resource usage profile by role is displayed in Figure 13.
Figure 13
We select the common laborer resource and observe that the common laborer is over allocated on the mobilize on site and the common laborer excavate activities, again, Figure 13. Also note that the common laborer usage profile indicates that the mobilize on site activity is only partially staffed. (Dark green is staffed and light green is unstaffed.)
Remember we assigned two individual resources to this activity. We want four common laborers and the available limit is three. We therefore need to assign one more resource to the mobilize on site activity to reach our common laborer staffing limit. And then we need to decide whether we want to negotiate for a fourth common laborer to support our project on mobilize on site and common laborer excavate activities.
Let’s continue and assign common laborer resources to our backhoe excavate activity, Figure 14.
Figure 14
Again, we assign individual resources to our common laborer skill trades. The resulting common laborer resource usage profile by role is displayed in Figure 15.
Figure 15
Our backhoe excavate effort is now fully staffed with common laborers, as indicated by the dark green bars. We need to continue with other additional individual resource assignments to fully staff our common laborer trade and then proceed, and assign individual resources on the other schedule roles to completely meet our schedule’s staffing requirements.
Summary
Primavera P6 Professional supports project managers that would rather focus on trade skills and not concern themselves with individual resources. P6 also helps the line manager’s delicate effort to allocate individual labor resources to the project work. So from general trade skill project planning to the nuances of allocating individual labor resources to these trade skills Primavera P6 is sufficient.
Again, it is possible to bypass roles altogether in Primavera P6. But roles and individual labor resource assignments together in P6 support both the project manager and resource manager stakeholder efforts. Frankly this approach is more the exception, not the rule in most Engineering and Construction schedules we work with. But it is slowly growing in popularity.