Longest Path vs Critical Path
Many planning engineers experience confusion regarding the difference between the longest path and the critical path. This article explains the definition, focus and use case for both. A spoiler alert: the longest and critical paths are not the same. In fact, the longest and critical paths are different to the extent that P6 offers separate […]
Connect Progress Photos with the Power BI Model
In this video, I explain how you can connect your progress photos to your Power BI model. Here is the script: let BinaryToPbiImage = (BinaryContent as binary) as text=> let Base64 = “data:image/jpeg;base64, ” & Binary.ToText(BinaryContent, BinaryEncoding.Base64) in Base64 in BinaryToPbiImage Regards, Osama Saad, MBA, PMP, PSP, CCP, PMI-SP
Schedule Changes – Explained
Schedule changes are crucial in project control but they are not often discussed. You will most likely need to make, document and justify schedule changes throughout the project. First, let’s look at why we need to manage the schedule changes carefully. The Contractor is the constructor of the project so the Contractor utilizes the suitable […]
Schedule Constraints
Understand schedule constraints in 3 minutes. In this video, you will learn what a constraint is and how it should be applied to a schedule. You will also learn the best practices for applying the constraints and the common mistakes planners make. If you don’t apply the constraint properly, you will have a misleading […]
Risk Management Register
Planning engineers should identify and monitor risks effectively. A risk management register should be updated regularly. This register can include the following: ✅ Risk description and category. ✅ The status of this risk (active or inactive). ✅ Cause and effect. ✅ Risk Type (threat or opportunity). ✅ Qualitative risk assessment (Probability, Impact and Score). ✅ […]
Line of Balance in Project Control
The Line of Balance (LOB) is one of the most effective tools in planning and project control. This amazing tool can help you plan and optimize the rate of progress and also facilitate the development of delay recovery measures. This video explains everything you need to know about the line of balance and the associated applications in both […]
Colour patterns and presentation best practices
Colours are not everything in planning but they are important. The value of your reports will be compromised if the results are not presented in a skilled and polished manner. Many planners think that the more colours they show in their reports, the better. But this is far from the truth. Watch the below video […]
Why is your Baseline unrealistic?
Why do many planning engineers focus on progress monitoring over plan development? Planning engineers often seek to improve their skills in the progress reporting area. It makes sense because we spend most of our time monitoring the progress in the execution phase. However, if you don’t have a realistic plan, your progress monitoring will become […]
Earned Value Mindset
Why do we need to establish earned value metrics based on both cost and manhours? Why do we need to develop a cost and resource-loaded schedule? If your answer is something like: Because it is a part of the contract or the client’s requirements. Because it is a part of my company’s procedures. Then you […]
Bored from your planning task routine? Think Again!
As a planning engineer, you probably follow the below routine every week. 1- Collect progress data. 2- Update the schedule. 3- Prepare the weekly report and dashboards (input data in the same fields, apply the same formula, do the same formatting, etc) 4- Review the outcome. 5- identify project delays. 6- Prepare progress presentations for […]