I recently had a former student ask me how to apply a custom P6 resource curve to cost loading a task. Let’s take a look at this question.
If you have a task that has a non-uniform cost loading Primavera P6 Professional has numerous default curves, including a bell-curve shape, which you can apply to cost load the respective task. My student, apparently, was asked to delay the cost loading until the last 10% of the resource curve. Well, the good news is that you can create a custom Primavera P6 resource curve.
This article demonstrates how to create a custom P6 resource curve.
In a previous blog, Using Level of Effort (LOE) Activities in Primavera P6, I demonstrated how to apply a standard bell-curve to cost load the administrative effort on a level of effort (LOE) task.
Here we’re going to use the same schedule. The focus is on demonstrating how to create a unique resource curve for your specific cost loading situation. To create a one-of-a-kind curve select Enterprise | Resource Curves, Figure 1.
Figure 1
In the resource curves dialog select + Add, and then in the ‘select resource curve to copy from’, Figure 2, select ‘back loaded’ for our demonstration.
Figure 2
Type in the demonstration name ‘back loaded ten percent’ and select modify. This brings up the modify resource curves dialog, Figure 3.
Figure 3
The modify resource curves dialog allows you to specify a ‘curve value %’ for every ‘duration %’ increment of 5 from 0 to 100. In our demonstration we fill in uniform cost loading for the last ten percent of the resource curve, Figure 4.
Figure 4
That’s it! We have our unique cost loading resource curve.
Now let’s assign this cost loading curve to the common laborer working on task C, Figure 5.
Figure 5
In Figure 6 we display the usage profile of the common laborer.
Figure 6
We see that all the work of the common laborer on activity C is delayed until the last day, 14-January-2015. And ouch! The common laborer is way over allocated on that final day of activity C. Well, for the purpose of our demonstration you get the picture. And you can see that a non-uniform resource cost loading can generate an over allocated resource situation. This brings us to the somewhat complex topic of resource leveling, which you can read about in the following blog Primavera P6 Professional Resource Leveling Fundamentals.
Summary
It is possible in Primavera P6 Professional to generate a specific cost loading resource curve. The Primavera P6 resource curve feature if flexible; you can input a ‘curve value %’ for every ‘duration %’ increment of 5 from 0 to 100.
Be forewarned if you delay a resources cost loading until the end of the task you may create a resource over allocated situation, which is beyond the scope of this blog. The good news is that Primavera P6 does support creation of one-of-a-kind resource curves.