Attachment 02 SOP_WFL Project Controls-Working.pdf

Standard Operating Procedures

Western Federal Lands Highway Division

Project Controls

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REVISION HISTORY

Version Publication Date Description of Change Author

3.0 03/25/2021 Initial document created Orobosa Obayagbona

DOCUMENT APPROVAL

COR / TOCOR: ________________________________ ______________________________

(Name) (Date)

Program Manager: __________________________________ ______________________________ (Name) (Date)

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Table of Contents

Introduction

OVERVIEW OF FLH

OVERVIEW OF WFL

OVERVIEW OF WFL ORACLE PRIMAVERA P6 ENVIRONMENT

Project Administration

OVERVIEW OF WFL SCHEDULE TEMPLATES

Create New Project – General Approach Speculative Projects (Phase 0) Chartered Projects (Phase 1) Pavement Preservation Projects Defense Access Roads (DAR) Projects S&O Projects and Studies Overhead Project

PROJECT & DATABASE SETTINGS

P6 EPPM (P6 Web) Project Preferences Client Project Settings Project Schedule Settings P6 Team Member Settings P6 Enterprise Settings

ANNOUNCEMENT TRIGGERED UPDATES

Load P6 Master Template and Merge with Scoping Template Update at PS&E Delivery Update at Advertisement Update at Bid Opening Update at Award Update at NTP Letter Update at Final Acceptance .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Closeout Project Construction WBS Activities ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Close Cost Account Due to Lack of Funding

SCHEDULING AND SUMMARIZING PROJECTS

PUBLISHING PROJECTS

ARCHIVING PROJECTS

RE-OPEN ARCHIVE PROJECTS

Users, Roles and Resource Administration

USER ADMINISTRATION

Add New User to P6 Client Add New Users to P6 Web P6 Client User Preferences P6 Web Global Security Assign User To Groups, Teams and BI Reports New User P6 Training Notification ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Update at Change in title Update at Employee Promotion Update Notice for Deactivating User

MAINTAINING RESOURCE ASSIGNMENTS ..................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

Assign Resource to Overhead Account Projects ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Updating Existing Resources

UPDATING RESOURCE TITLES & RATES

UPDATING OTHER EMPLOYEE INFORMATION

Quality Control (QC) – Bi-Weekly ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

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QUALITY CONTROL (QC) - WEEKLY............................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

Quality Control Error Reporting Dashboard

Reporting

BI-WEEKLY REPORTS

Functional Manager (FM) Updates Engineer’s Estimate Schedule Analysis Cost Analysis 12-Week Look Ahead Time and Attendance Reports Labor Cost Distribution (LCD) Report Timesheet Report Update Reports CON Projects for COEs Upcoming PM to Acquisitions Hand-Off Meetings Cost Report for Program Managers and PMs Actuals for WFL – 5 Month Look Back Bridge Report ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

MONTHLY REPORTS

Program Delivery Monthly Status Meeting Earned Value Reports 20xx Construction Gantt Report Construction Staffing Report Post Project Schedules WFL Projects by Phase Project Schedules by State Resource Histograms WFL Overhead Hours by Resource Report

Timesheet Administration

TIMESHEET REMINDER EMAILS ................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

EDIT AND SUBMIT RESOURCE TIMESHEETS

REVIEW AND REJECT TIMESHEETS

TIMESHEET REPORT ................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

TIMESHEET TROUBLESHOOTING

APPLY ACTUALS

Quality Control Steps Leading to Apply Actuals Process Execute the Appy Actuals Process

Change Control

OVERVIEW OF CHANGE CONTROL PROCESS

CHANGE CONTROL TRIGGERS AND EVENTS

Baselining and Earned Value Method

INITIAL BASELINE

Initial Baseline Review Initial Baseline QC Calibrate for Initial Baseline EV Set Initial Baseline

REBASELINING

Schedule Rebaseline Review Perform Rebaseline QC Calibrate Schedule for Rebaseline EV Set Rebaseline

EARNED VALUE METHOD (EVM)

Earned Value Explained Planned Value (PV)

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Earned Value (EV) SPI Labor & CPI Labor Metrics

Appendix 1 – FLH Programs

Appendix 2 – FLH Engineering Services Functions /Disciplines

Appendix 3 – FLH Project Life Cycle

Appendix 4 – Project Controls Schedule Analysis Meeting by Role

Project Manager (PM) Meetings

Functional Manager (FM) Meetings

Construction Operations Engineer (COE)

Appendix 5 – Delphi Project Number Guide

Appendix 6 – Delphi Task Number and Org ID Guide

Appendix 7 – Change Control Forms

Category 1 Category 2 Category 3

Appendix 8 – Notating Changes to P6 Project Codes/UDF Using Project Notebook

Appendix 9 – Glossary

Introduction

This Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual contains all standard procedures required for the effective operation and maintenance of the Western Federal Lands Highway Division (WFL) Project Controls Oracle Primavera P6 system (P6) and the associated processes and reporting applications. Its purpose is to explain and illustrate the specific tasks the Project Controls Team

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(PC) and P6 system administrators perform to ensure the integrity of the project planning and portfolio management system and the continued satisfaction of all project stakeholders.

Other reference documents:

FLH public and intranet sites https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands http://our.dot.gov/office/fhwa.flh/Home.aspx

WFL intranet site http://wflnet.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov/

Project Delivery and Design Manual (PDDM) https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/pddm

Overview of FLH

The Federal Lands Highway (FLH) is a division of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), an agency of the US Department of Transportation (DOT). It was established to promote effective, efficient and reliable administration for a coordinated program of federal public roads and bridges; to protect and enhance our Nation's natural resources; and to provide needed transportation access for Native Americans. With a FY2019 program funding budget of over $1.45B, the primary purpose is to provide financial and technical transportation engineering assistance for public roads that service the transportation needs of Federal and Indian lands.

The FLH provides services in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and US territories through its three regional divisions and Headquarters office in Washington, DC. The regional divisions are:

Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division Central Federal Lands Highway Division Western Federal Lands Highway Division

See diagram below for a breakdown of the states and territories within each of the three divisions:

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FLH Partners The FLH works with its partners to implement Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS). CSS is a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that involves all stakeholders to provide a transportation facility that fits its physical setting and preserves scenic, aesthetic, historic and environmental resources, while maintaining safety and mobility. Some of the FLH’s key partners in the achievement of its mission are:

National Park Service (NPS) USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Tribal Governments Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Department of Defense (DOD) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)

For additional details about the overview of the FLH, please visit the URL below:

https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/about

Overview of WFL Western Federal Lands Highway Division (WFLHD) is one of the three divisions that make up the Federal Land Highway (FLH). The WFL has responsibility across five (5) states and northern Wyoming. The states are Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

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The WFL program size consists of roughly 200 active engineering and construction projects with an annual budget in excess of $250M. PC supports a staff of over 300 individuals in the WFL consisting of engineers, geotech, safety, environment, acquisition (procurement) specialists, Information Technology, administrative and operations personnel located across 5 states and territories.

WFL Project Managers and team members are supported by PC Specialists. For updated and detailed list of all Project Managers (PM), Functional Managers (FM), Construction Operations Engineers (COE), Program Managers, Branch Chiefs etc. see the WFL organizational chart below. PC Specialists primarily support PMs, FMs, COEs & Program Managers.

WFL Organizational Chart:

http://wflnet.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov/departments/division_management/documents/office-org-chart.pdf

Overview of WFL Oracle Primavera P6 Environment

P6 is the backbone of the WLH Project Management Information System (PMIS) and is used to manage project schedules, resources and costs for all worked performed at WFL. In addition to P6, there are various reporting, analytical and accounting systems that comprise the PMIS. They include:

P6 Professional – Also referred to as “P6 Client”, is used by Project Controls staff, project managers, and other WFL staff with a high P6 proficiency.

P6 EPPM – Also referred to as “P6 Web”, is used by Project Controls staff for enterprise reporting and capacity analysis, as well as by functional managers, timekeepers and other WFL staff who regularly run reports.

P6 Team Member – Also referred to as “Timesheets”, is used by all non-General Operating Expense (GOE) federal employees to charge their time against specific project activities. All charges made by resources via Timesheets is uploaded to P6 schedules via the Apply Actuals process.

Delphi – This is the enterprise Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Oracle E- Business Suite financial system that stores all project expenditures and charges. For example, resource hours input into P6 Team Member are outputted via the Labor Cost Distribution (LCD) Report and then uploaded into Delphi, Oracle P6 BI – This is an out of the box reporting functionality that is directly embedded within the P6 application. It is a very simplified version of the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher application with limited reporting functionality.

Oracle BI Publisher – This is an enterprise reporting and analysis application that can be used to query the P6 database to pull project data to generate and distribute complex reports and graphs to different WFL stakeholders.

Project & Database Settings

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Schedule templates should be pre-set with these preferences; action to modify preferences should not be necessary. These sections are primarily provided for information purposes.

P6 EPPM (P6 Web) Project Preferences

This section presents preferences on the General, Analytic & Services, Calculations, Integration and Team Member configuration settings within the Project Preferences section in the P6 Web application for reference purposes.

Follow the steps below to review and/or update the configuration settings.

1. Login to Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM (P6 Web).

2. Click Projects > EPS. Select the project.

3. Click on the Project Settings icon (small wheel) to the left of the Project ID field. Select

Set Project Preferences from the list of options.

General The General section should follow the same configuration as shown below.

NOTE: Under no circumstances should random changes be made to the configuration settings in the Defaults, Settings and Calculations tab without approved testing and prior approval from the Task Order COR / WFL Quality Assurance Lead / WFL Project Controls team.

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A necessary aspect for tracking Earned Value is to standardize schedules to use Fixed Duration & Units as the activity Duration Type, Physical as the Percent Complete Type, and Task Dependent as the Activity Type. Applying these preferences will ensure that activity Steps are used to calculate EV. Refer to the Earned Value (EV) section for additional details.

The Cost Account field should only be entered for special project cases where there are multiple Delphi Task Numbers (referred to as Cost Accounts in P6) that are simultaneously open to payroll for any one project. Refer to the Labor Cost Distribution (LCD) Report section for additional details.

The Rate Type field is defaulted to the Project Rate Type, except for Overhead projects that are set to the Overhead rate. This setting does not determine how employees charges are billed to Delphi, however, it will determine that employee rate that is used to calculate project labor costs.

If you suspect that the project Rate Type should be Overhead instead of Project, confirm it with the programmer or project manager.

Analytics & Services The Analytics & Services section should follow the same configuration as shown below.

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Calculations The Calculations section should follow the same configuration as shown below.

Subtract actual from at completion should be selected so that as Actual Units are charged via Team Member, the Remaining Units are automatically reduced once the Apply Actuals process has been performed. instead of Subtract actual from at completion because WFL activity resources are responsible for managing the Remaining Units field (which is presented as Time

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Left in P6 Team Member) and their Actual Units in the P6 Team Member Timesheets tab.

Intuitively, the software should be adding two user entered variables: Remaining Units = At Completion Units – Actual Units

Recalculate actual units and cost when Duration % Complete changes should not be checked, because WFL users enter their actual units via P6 Team Member. It is not preferred to recalculate these actual units based on the Duration % Complete variable.

The Link actual to date and actual this period units and costs option should be checked.

The Project Baseline option should be selected because WFLs Baseline procedure requires Project Controls to set and manage the Project Baseline. The Primary Baseline is not typically used.

The Reset Original Duration and Units to Remaining and the Reset Remaining Duration and Units to Original options determine how P6 will recalculate the Original Duration and Budgeted Units when an in-progress activity is changed to not-started. If Actuals have been applied and you are choosing to change an activity status from in-progress to not-started; you should not be taking this action, since the actual units are populated via Team Member. To explain this selection an understanding of Remaining Duration and At Completion Duration is provided:

𝑂𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑃 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠:𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐

Note: The Planned Start date is a calculated field and is retained even after the Actual Start date is entered. Therefore, the Planned Start, the Planned Finish and the Original Duration will remain the same, even if the Actual Start and Expected Finish dates cause the Remaining Duration and At Completion Duration to change.

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑃 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠:𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒

Note: 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑃 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠:𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑃 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠:𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ

Therefore, 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑃 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠:𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝐷𝑎𝑡𝑒

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐼𝑃 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠:𝑨𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡

In the rare circumstance that an activity is accidentally started and the scheduler needs to revert the activity to not-started, it’s preferred that the activity duration is calculated based on the remaining duration to avoid unintentionally changing the critical path duration.

The Calculate Activity % Complete from activity steps option should be selected, since WFL primarily uses Steps to calculate Earned Value.

Integrations

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There are currently no configurations for Primavera Gateway and Unifier applications so this section isn’t applicable and should be left blank.

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Team Member The Team Member tab should follow the same configuration as shown below for the Status Updates, Activity Updates and Status Reviews.

Status Updates The Status Updates section should follow the same configuration as shown below:

WFL relies on the Activity Owner to status their activity Expected Finish dates. Therefore, the Activity Level and As Owner options, and the Expected Finish field should be made available under the My Activity section.

The General selections should include Total Time Spent instead of Additional Time Spent.

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The Timesheets options should include Remaining Units instead of Percent Complete to enable resources to estimate their remaining work on activities, as this helps flag potential over/underruns.

Activity Updates The Activity Updates section should follow the same configuration as shown below.

Status Reviews The Status Reviews section should follow the same configuration as shown below.

Click the Cancel button if there are no changes to any Project Preferences settings during this review and validation process. If any changes to Project Preferences are required, click OK and notify the Lead Project Controls Specialist via email at WFL_Project_Controls@dot.gov.

This notification would jumpstart the analysis to determine the reason why the approved project preferences in this project weren’t populated by the master template.P6 Professional (P6 Client) Project Detail Settings

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Client Project Settings

This section will focus on the General, Defaults, Settings and Calculations tabs within the Project Details section in the P6 Client application.

General In the General tab, values for the field Status = What-If (For SPEC projects) or Active (For other projects).

Defaults The Defaults tab configuration should be similar to the screenshot and table below.

Refer to P6 EPPM (P6 Web) Project Preferences for selection justifications.

Settings The Settings tab configuration should be similar to the screenshot and table below.

Calculations The Calculations tab configuration should match P6 EPPM (P6 Web) Project Preferences.

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Resources

Project Schedule Settings

This section provides recommended project Scheduling settings. This settings window is accessed in P6 EPPM > Projects > Activities > Schedule… and in P6 Client > Activities > Schedule.

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Below is a written explanation on the “When scheduling progressed activities use” settings:

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In some industries, out-of-sequence progress occurs more frequently than not. Nevertheless, it happens on even the best and most well thought out schedules created by the most experienced and skillful schedulers. The simple fact is that projects take on a life of their own once they get started, and people don’t necessarily follow schedules; rather they do what is most efficient, at that time, on the ground. So sooner or later the scheduler will be entering out-of-sequence actual dates.

In Primavera P6, an out-of-sequence event or progress occurs when an activity’s status is updated in a way that ignores the original planned network logic. The most common out-of-sequence event occurs when the successor in the finish-to-start (FS) relationship commences before the completion of the predecessor. See below.

In the FS relationship the predecessor activity (B) must be completely done before moving on to start the successor activity (C). If the successor (C) in the FS relationship occurs before the completion of the predecessor (B), it overrides the original network logic and is said to be out-of-sequence. What we want to ask here is; when we move the Data Date and recalculate the schedule, how do we want P6 to handle this out-of-sequence activity? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is another question. What option do we want P6 to use when scheduling progressed activities: ‘retained logic’, ‘progress override’, or ‘actual dates’?

This article explains the three available options for scheduling progressed and, in particular, out-of-sequence activities in Primavera P6 Professional.

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As displayed in Figure 1, Primavera P6 has three options for scheduling progressed activities:

‘retained logic’, ‘progress override’, and ‘actual dates’.

Figure 1

In Figure 1, the P6 schedule options is toggled to the ‘retain logic’ option (default in most systems). So let’s examine ‘retain logic’s effect on the schedule.

In Figure 2 we have our demonstration schedule, which is simply three five day tasks A, B, and C connected by FS relationships.

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Figure 2

As displayed in Figure 2, B has started even though A is not complete. When we recalculate the schedule with ‘retained logic’ the remainder of activity B schedules according to the natural network logic, i.e. in compliance with the FS relationship between activity A and B. The remainder of activity B therefore does not continue until activity A is done, which corresponds directly with what we see in Figure 2. As promised ‘retain logic’ will not violate the natural network logic. Now we toggle the ‘scheduling progressed activities’ to use ‘progress override’, Figure 3.

Figure 3

This time when we recalculate the schedule, Figure 4, activity B continues even though activity A is not complete.

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Figure 4

The FS relationship between activities A and B is completely ignored. Note that activity A is no longer on the critical path and has a total float of six days. Again, in ‘progress override’ P6 ignores the FS relationship between activity A and the out-of-sequence activity B. Activity A’s total float is therefore no longer measured in relation to predecessor activity B, but in relation to the end of the project. And activity A can be delayed six days before it affects the end date of the schedule. One more point to note, because the out-of-sequence activity B is allowed to continue before A completes, ‘progress override’ usually results in a shorter schedule. Thus efficiencies achieved on the ground are reflected in the schedule.

Finally, we toggle the progressed activities setting to ‘actual dates’, Figure 5, the last option.

Figure 5

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This time when we recalculate the schedule, our results, Figure 6, appear similar to the results for the retain logic option.

Figure 6

Yes, activity B stays true to its FS relationship with activity A, and interrupts or suspends until A completes. However, note on the activity table that activity A now has a total float of negative four days, whereas, with ‘retain logic’, Figure 2, activity A’s total float was zero days. So, yes, there is a difference between ‘retain logic’ and ‘actual dates’. In the ‘actual dates’ option an “imaginary” ‘Finish On’ constraint is placed on Activity A at the point where the out-of-sequence activity B commences. P6 is saying that activity A should have finished before the commencement of activity B. It did not. So please note, according to the ‘Finish On’ constraint, that activity A is therefore four days behind schedule, as measured from the place on the timeline where activity B commences out-of-sequence, i.e. the location of the “imaginary” ‘Finish On’ constraint. I use the term “imaginary” ‘Finish On’ constraint because the constraint is not viewable or editable in the bottom layout details status tab, but definitely affects the total float calculation when the ‘actual dates’ option is selected.

Summary

Primavera P6 Professional has options for every inevitability, and, in particular, the occurrence of out-of-sequence activities. Here the first question to ask yourself is do you want P6 to stay true to the schedule’s network logic? If yes, ‘retain logic’ and ‘actual dates’ are your options of choice. If, on the other hand, a hard FS relationship is not really required, then your option of preference would probably be ‘progress override’. In ‘progress override’ P6 continues to allow the out-of-sequence activity to override network logic. And it normally results in a shorter schedule; so efficiencies achieved on the ground are reflected in your schedule.

If your first selection is to maintain network logic then ask do you want Primavera P6 to warn you of ‘days out-of-sequence’? If yes, then with ‘actual dates’ P6 measures predecessor’s negative total float on the timescale from the point of commencement of the out-of-sequence successor activity. If you want P6 to consider the out-of-sequence event as “water under the bridge” and only worry about total float as it relates to your activity’s remaining duration then the first option, ‘retain logic’, would be your preference. Note that ‘retain logic’ is the default setting for Primavera P6. But, again, if the FS relationship is not really necessary, then go with ‘progress override’, as this option provides a shorter schedule.

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Fixing the out-of-sequence activities is incumbent if the intent is to protect the integrity of the critical path and produce realistic forecasts, albeit deterministic. However, that cannot be done by selecting either the ‘Project Override’ or the ‘Actual Dates’ option as that would massively induce uncontrollable changes in the project, adversely affecting the intended logic.

Letting the software ‘decide’ how the out-of-sequence activities should be ‘fixed’ is not an option for the prudent scheduler/planner. All such tasks need to be assessed on a one by one basis. The criterion that finally specifies whether the initial relationship(s) need to be amended or left unchanged is the type of the physical correlation that ties two activities together. Then determining to what extent their initial driving relationship in the program should be maintained or that should be replaced by another relationship type governing their progression.

With regard to the ‘Actual Dates’ option, it is also worth mentioning that the successors of the out-of-sequence activities are scheduled differently depending on the status of the out-of-sequence tasks. If, an out-of-sequence activity has been completed, then Primavera P6 places its successors to start on the very first working day to the right of the Data Date, ignoring the predecessors of the out-of-sequence task, as it would do if the ‘Progress Override’ option was selected. If, however, an out-of-sequence activity is ‘In Progress’, then Primavera P6 behaves as if the ‘Retained Logic’ option was selected and all the predecessor tasks of the out-of-sequence activity are taking part in the path that drives its successors to take their place along the time axis.

Just one more point; check your contract language. Some more Primavera P6 savvy customers, particularly government agencies, will specify which schedule options you are to use when providing schedule update files.

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P6 Team Member Settings This section provides recommended P6 Team Member Application Settings.

P6 Enterprise Settings This section captures the Consolidated Database Enterprise setting recommendations made by the FLH Project Controls consultant.

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Overview of WFL Schedule Templates

Schedule Templates are used to standardize activity names and logic. Multiple Templates have been developed based on the project type and method for delivery. Templates are a starting point; it is the collective responsibility of PC, the PM, and the project team to refine templates based on project specific features and risks.

To review templates:

1. Login to Oracle Primavera P6 Professional (P6 Client) application.

2. Open the Project Layout W_P6 Master Templates.

Create New Project – General Approach Requests for new P6 projects (excluding Overhead & Speculation projects) typically originate via an email from the funding Program Manager to the Project Controls mailbox WFL_Project_Controls@dot.gov. The request includes a P6 New Project Request form and a Project Charter if one is available. These documents contain project specific information that is input into P6 as project codes, such as Project name, Project ID, Project location, Delivery method, etc.

STEP 1: Create the Project in P6

To create the new project, follow the steps below:

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) WFL Project Controls Page | 31

1. Open Project Layout W_01 All Projects by EPS.

2. Select the associated template to be copied into the appropriate EPS Node.

3. Copy and paste the appropriate Template into the appropriate EPS Node. The EPS nodes are broken down by Program. The values in the Primary Program field in the P6 New Project Request form received from the Program Manager contains the information needed to select the correct EPS node.

4. For the newly created project, update the Project ID field in P6 by copying and pasting the values contained in the Project Number field from the P6 New Project Request.

5. Update the Project Name field in P6 by copying and pasting the values contained in the

Project Name field in the P6 New Project Request.

STEP 2: Updating Project Codes and UDFs

6. Use information from the P6 New Project Request and the Project Charter (if provided) to update the P6 fields in the various tabs. The Project Layout W_Project Initiation contains all the fields required for the new project setup. The table below provides guidance for updating these project codes. Use the copy and paste method when applicable to avoid inconsistencies.

P6 Field Name Value

W_Charter Date Date on the Project Charter document (if provided). Leave blank if no Project Charter provided with the P6 New Project Request form.

Project Planned Start Date on the P6 New Project Request email.

Actual Start Do not populate (this will be automatically populated later)

A_Const_Type

Use Construction Type information from the P6 New Project Request.

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W_Project Description Use the information contained in the Project Description field in the P6 New Project Request Form.

W_Nearest Town A_State W_Congressional District A_Program Year

Enter information as shown in the corresponding fields of the P6 New Project Request form.

W_PS&E Delivery Year

Enter the year value contained in the Programmed Fiscal Year field in the P6 New Project Request form combined with the corresponding value below based on the matching criteria

Est for In House PS&E Delivered Projects SO for Partner Delivered Project

NA for Studies W_PSE Delivery Year Only Same as Program Year.

W_Program Amount (PE) W_Program Amount (CE) W_Program Amount (CN only) W_Program Amount (PE CE CN)

Enter information from the Project Charter Form if provided. If not provided, use information from the P6 New Project Request.

A_EE (base) A_EE (max)

Enter the same value as entered in the W_Program Amount (CN only) field above for both the Engineers Estimate (base) and Engineers Estimate (max) fields.

W_Eng Est on ____ PSE (30%, 50%, etc.)

Select PRGM$

W_EE last revised Use Today’s Date (Date project is created in P6) W_Latitude W_Longitude W_Lane miles with improved condition W_# of Bridges improved

Enter information as contained in the corresponding fields of the P6 New Project Request form.

W_Product/Service Provided

Select the value:

PSE_CON for Full House Award and

Construction Projects PSE_Only for projects with design funds only S_O for Partner Delivered Projects Studies for Studies and general support projects OVHD for overhead and statewide planning accounts

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W_ProjectPhase

Select the value:

0-Spec if no Project Charter Form is provided.

1-Charter if Project Charter Form is provided NA for S&O Partner Delivered Projects OVST for Study Projects

Responsible Manager

Select appropriate Responsible Manager.

W_FLH Delivered Projects W_Partner Delivered Projects W_Overhead Projects W_Planning Projects

W_Program Manager Select the Name of Program Manager who sent the P6 New Project Request form

A_PM

Select W_TBD unless:

The PM Branch Chief has assigned a PM PM was copied in the email distribution list for the new project request The project is a partner delivered S&O projects in which case, the PM = Program Manager

W_Project Controls POC Select Project Controls POC value. Based on which PCA supports which PM

A_DesignTeam

Select W_TBD. Design Team will be determined later.

A_COE

Select W_TBD. COE will be determined at a later date.

A_FLH_Office Select the value WFL

A_Delivery Method

Select the value:

TBD for Construction Projects NA for Studies and Partner Delivered S&O

Projects

W_RPO

Select the value:

TBD for Construction Projects NA for Studies and Partner Delivered S&O

Projects W_IIJA Funding Enter TBD W_Project Count Enter the value 1.

DP_Project_Number_01 Enter the value in the DELPHI Project Number field in the P6 New Project Request form.

DP_Project_Org_Number Leave this field blank except for Overhead projects.

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STEP 3: Update Additional Project Details Information

7. In the General tab, the Status field should be set to Active unless the project is a 0- Speculative Project in which case the Status should be equal to What-If.

8. In the Notebook tab, add the “Project Scope” Notebook Topic. Modify Project Scope by copying the project description text from the Project Charter and paste into the “Project Scope” section of the notebook topic. If no Project Charter has been submitted, add a note stating that the project’s project charter is pending. (Note: Most spec projects do not have a charter yet) The Project initiation notes should be formatted as shown below:

STEP 4: Calculate Initial Project Resource Needs and Activity Duration (This Step will be performed by the WFL PMIS Specialist along with the Lead Project Controls Specialist.)

9. Add a Finish On or After constraint to the M090 PS&E Approval Milestone. Constraint date should be the same quarter of project setup but within the same CN Program Year.

10. Add Program Manager Name to Program Manager role on Activity PE010. There should be 10 hours loaded on this resource from the Scoping template.

NOTE: Project settings should automatically be set correctly when copying the P6 Template to the new project. However, please reference Section 2.3 to ensure settings conform to information as described in that section.

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11. Open the Resource Utilization Dashboard at the following by clicking on the URL Resource

Dashboard

12. Using the data from the Project Request Form and the Project Charter (if submitted) apply filters to the dashboard to find projects similar in nature to the newly created project. The suggested fields to use include CN Amount (Average Award Range), Construction Type and Delivery Method.

13. Utilizing information from the Dashboard, resource load the Activity PH010 Portfolio

Hours with calculated hours for each resource role (See “Average PE” on Dashboard).

14. Open Activity Layout BL0-All Activities.

15. Using the date from the P6 New Project Request form, mark the Milestone M010 “Initial

Project Charter (for scoping) as complete.

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16. Using the same date from the P6 New Project Request form, start Activity CH0100 CH:

Period between initial charter and scoping kick-off. Schedule the project by pressing the F9 button.

17. Update Expected Finish Date to correlate with the duration of the activity in the template.

18. Schedule and summarize the project. [Note: Summarize Open Projects Only]

19. Validate the consistency of the data in P6 and the Portfolio Calculator.

a. Confirm that the Actual Start and the Charter Date are the same.

b. Confirm Duration, Estimate Hours, Finish Date is in within the Program Year.

STEP 5: Confirm the Project Preferences in P6 Client and P6 EPPM (P6 Web) are correct. [See Section 2.3]

STEP 6: Notify Program Manager and other Stakeholders of the New Project Creation in P6.

20. Send an email reply to the Program Manager’s original P6 New Project Request email informing the Program Manager that the new project has been created in P6. All original recipients of the request email should be included in this email.

If a Project Manager was identified, the body of the email should read as follows:

Hi [first name of Project Manager], The above referenced project has been created in P6. Project Controls took a first cut at resource loading the portfolio hours activity and duration.

Please review and update the portfolio hours and duration as necessary. Thanks.

Please, contact our Project Controls team at WFL_Project_Controls@dot.gov if you have any questions. Thanks, If a Project Manager wasn’t identified, no email action necessary.

21. Send a follow up email to the Quality Assurance Lead, [Dan Slanina] as a reply to the previous email notifying stakeholders of the new project creation in which you request a review of the first take on the portfolio hours and duration for the new project. The body of the email should read as follows.

Hi [Insert first name of Quality Assurance Lead], Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) WFL Project Controls Page | 37

Project Controls took a first cut at resource loading the portfolio hours activity and duration.

Please review and update the portfolio hours and duration as necessary. Thanks.

22. If a Project Manager is identified, the Project Controls Specialist assigned to the Project

Manager should contact the PM to schedule a review of the schedule and resource data.

23. Close the project to end the process.

Speculative Projects (Phase 0)

During Spring or Fall there may be requests to enter projects into P6 that are not yet programmed. These are call Speculation “Spec” projects. Such project requests may not come with a P6 New Project Request form nor a Project Charter but instead, data to be inputted into P6 will be provided in an Excel spreadsheet.

1. Follow instructions has described in Section 2.2.1 “Create New Project – General Approach”

Chartered Projects (Phase 1)

A Chartered project is a project whose charter has been approved by the FLH and/or its partners and has received specific program funding. During this stage, resources are authorized to start charging to the project to gather details needed to move the project forward to the Planning Phase (Phase 2).

For instructions on how to create a new chartered project, see Section 2.2.1 Create new Project

– General Approach. All steps in Section 2.2.1. should be followed to successfully create a new project, with the following exceptions:

Ensure extra details contained on the Project Request form is entered into P6.

Ensure the Final Project Charter Milestone is actualized as of the date of the Project

Charter.

Update W_Charter Date Project Code with Date of Charter Update DP_Project_Org_Number Confirm PE (Preliminary Engineering) WBS is set to Active.

Pavement Preservation Projects

Pavement Preservation projects are typically A/E projects that follow the same standard scheduling approach. Such projects will always have “Pavement Preservation” in the project name. Since these projects follow the same scheduling approach, a standard template has been created which outlines activities and resource requirements which takes this project directly into the 2-Planning Phase.

For instructions on how to create a new Pavement Preservation project, see Section 2.2.1 Create new Project – General Approach. All steps in Section 2.2.1. should be followed to successfully create a new project, with the following exceptions:

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) WFL Project Controls Page | 38

Ensure copy and pasting of Pavement Preservation Master Template Update W_ProjectPhase from 0-Speculation phase to 2-Planning Phase Ignore entry of Portfolio Hours

Email to Project Manager should read as follows:

The above referenced project has been created in P6. The Pavement Preservation Master Template has been applied to the project and is ready for review and updating by Project Manager and Functional Managers in preparation for baselining.

Thanks.

Defense Access Roads (DAR) Projects

Defense Access Roads projects are typically A/E projects that follow the same standard scheduling approach. Such projects will always have “Defense Access Roads” in the project name. Since these projects follow the same scheduling approach, a standard template has been created which outlines activities and resource requirements which takes this project directly into the 2-Planning Phase.

For instructions on how to create a new Defense Access Roads project, see Section 2.2.1 Create new Project – General Approach. All steps in Section 2.2.1. should be followed to successfully create a new project, with the following exceptions:

Ensure copy and pasting of Defense Access Roads Master Template Update W_ProjectPhase from 0-Speculation phase to 2-Planning Phase Ignore entry of Portfolio Hours

Email to Project Manager should read as follows:

The above referenced project has been created in P6. The Defense Access Roads Master Template has been applied to the project and is ready for review and updating by Project Manager and Functional Managers in preparation for baselining.

Thanks.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) WFL Project Controls Page | 39

S&O Projects and Studies

These projects typically do not have a CPM schedule, but instead have one activity with a start and finish date along with resources and estimated hours for staff to charge their time. For instructions on how to create a new project, see Section 2.2.1 Create new Project – General Approach [Except Step 4]

STEP 5: Confirm the Project Preferences in P6 Client and P6 EPPM (P6 Web) are correct. [See Section 2.3]

STEP 6: Notify Program Manager and other Stakeholders of the New Project Creation in P6.

1. Send an email reply to the Program Manager’s original P6 New Project Request email informing the Program Manager that the new project has been created in P6. All original recipients of the request email should be included in this email.

Hi [first name of Project Manager],[NOTE: if PM not assigned, Program Manager will be PM]

The above referenced project has been created in P6. Please provide the following information to Project Controls in order to complete setting up the project in P6:

Project Start Date Project Finish Date Resources to assign to the project and the number of hours for each resource

2. Assigned Project Controls Specialist will update the schedule with the information provided by the Project Manager or will reach out to Project Manager to acquire such data.

3. Close the project and end process

Overhead Project Overhead Projects are used to budget and manage resource overhead costs. Each category of overhead expense has a specific account created for it in the FHWA financial and project accounting system, Delphi to track that cost. At WFL, every employee is required at the end of each pay period to enter their time in Oracle Primavera P6 Team Member, the Engineering Operations timekeeping system as well in Castle, the FHWA time reporting system. To accommodate this requirement, Overhead projects are created in P6 for employees to charge to.

The overhead projects are mapped to the corresponding account in the Delphi account system for

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) WFL Project Controls Page | 40 that expense and/or activity so all time and expense charges from that overhead project flow directly to the specific corresponding account in Delphi.

Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, a new set of overhead projects and accounts are created. The new Overhead Projects will replace the previous fiscal year’s projects. The events and detailed activities that occur as part of this procedure are detailed in this section.

The activities listed in the sequence of activities below are the responsibilities of the Project Controls Specialists:

Review list of new accounts Ensure new account numbers match the information in the Finance Accounts table Ensure that the appropriate personnel are assigned to the correct cost account(s) Create the project(s) and activities for each account in Oracle P6 Professional (P6 Client) Activate the WBS elements for the projects Close and archive the old projects from the previous Fiscal Year (FY) Review employee timesheets for the current pay period to ensure that the current FY overhead accounts are utilized and that the previous FY cost accounts are not utilized for charging

The timeline for the execution of these activities is as follows:

Activity Description Expected Timeline Planning with Finance Early August Creating new FY Overhead Projects in P6 Mid-August Preparing for Announcement Mid-August Assisting Staff Mid-August to Mid-September Printing Reports Mid-August to Mid-September Going live with new OVHD accounts and projects Late September - Early October Closing last year’s accounts and projects Late September - Early October

STEP 1: Planning with Finance

1. Finance will create the new FY accounts in Delphi accounting system

a. Finance will send Project Controls a list of the new FY accounts in early August. For

FY 21 and FY 22 Dyan Van Brunt sent the list.

b. Finance Support Specialist [Genise Dance] uses the spreadsheet to create the OVHD cost accounts in the Finance Accounts Table.

2. Review and validate the accounts to ensure that they compare to the accounts used in for the current FY

a. Compare the open OVHD Project/accounts in P6 to the Project/accounts for the upcoming FY.

NOTE: This step takes a lot more time than expected due to the back and forth communication with finance to resolve any identified discrepancies.

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b. Validate and ensure all OVHD accounts/projects are created in the appropriate organizational grouping structure.

c. Review all changes with Finance in preparation for Finance’s meeting with the WFL leadership team.

3. Discuss any changes identified by Branch personnel with Finance

a. Addition of new expense items e.g. IT expenses, Capitalized vs. Noncapitalized costs, Labor vs Expense codes or both codes, new reports and formats etc.

4. Discuss and confirm timelines and approaches for execution of tasks

a. Establish deadlines for the following

i. Receipt of cost accounts from finance to project controls

ii. Projects set up in P6 by Project Controls

iii. Instructions from Project Controls

iv. Email announcement to staff from finance to start inputting budgets (typically late

August)

v. Cutoff for staff to input budgets (typically early September)

vi. When to open the new accounts for next FY (typically first day of the Pay Period of new FY)

vii. When budget is approved by leadership (typically late September to early October)

b. When to run reports, who can run reports, who to ask for reports

c. Do Mangers need special P6 rights to make changes to budgets?

d. Will financial manger make markups for project controls to change/make adjustments?

e. Will financial manager be distributing guidance on overhead budgeting via email?

Should Project Controls include guidance in our instructions to managers?

STEP 2: Creating new FY Overhead Projects in P6

5. Login to the Oracle Primavera P6 Professional Client (P6 Client).

6. Create a new project for each new overhead account. Each account is a WBS with the cost account as the name of the overhead project.

7. Group the cost account WBS elements by WFL Branch so that the branch totals roll up.

8. Set the Milestone to start on the first day of the new FY Period and the Finish Milestone to the last day of the new FY Period. All activities are set to Level of Effort (LOE).

NOTE: When creating a new overhead project, it is recommended to copy the previous year’s overhead project if possible and modify as needed. New overhead projects should be grouped into as few categories as possible so users can see all projects together when entering their budgets.

NOTE: Although the Fiscal Year begins on October 1, the start date for the Fiscal Year Overhead Projects rarely start on October 1 and end on September 30. The reason is that October 1 is usually somewhere in the middle of a pay period. To avoid having people charging to two different FY Projects in the same pay period, the start date is the first day of the pay period starting just before October 1. For example, if Pay Period 21 starts on September 26 and ends on October 9, and Pay Period 22 starts on October 10, the start date for the Overhead Projects would be September 26.

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9. The new Overhead Projects will start out having the same Activity ID’s and Activity Names as the previous year. If activities need to be added or removed the account owner will do that.

10. No Resource Assignments or expenses should…