Real-World Applications of P6 in Construction Projects

Oracle Academy Tech Chat

In this episode host Lorna Juma speaks with recent construction management graduates, University of Nairobi, Lewis Miringa and Joyce Ojamong about real-world applications of P6 in construction projects. Learn how Primavera P6 has shaped the careers of two recent Construction Management and explore the increasing role of tech in construction. ----------------------------------------------------------- Episode Transcript:

00;00;09;02 - 00;00;36;01 Welcome to the Oracle Academy Tech Chat. This podcast provides educators and students in-depth discussions with thought leaders around computer science, cloud technologies, and software design to help students on their journey to becoming industry ready technology leaders of the future. Let's get started. Welcome to the Oracle Academy Tech Chat, where we discuss how Oracle Academy prepares the next generation's workforce.

00;00;36;03 - 00;01;13;20 I am your host, Lorna Juma. In this episode, I am joined by Lily Smearing and Jasper Jamal Rees, recent construction management graduates from the University of Nairobi. Join us as we hear their stories. Learn about, how Primavera P6 has shaped their careers and explore the increasing role of tech in construction project management. Whether you're a student, educator or professional in the construction field, this episode will offer valuable insights into the practical impact of P6 on construction projects and career growth.

00;01;13;22 - 00;01;40;16 Welcome Luis and Joyce. Now, to start off. Can you give me a bit about your background and the respective courses you undertook? Joyce, I'll start with you. Thank you. Lana. I'm so grateful to be here. My name is just a general environmental graduate and construction management graduate from the University of Nairobi. But until recently, where I am currently practicing as a scientist.

00;01;40;19 - 00;02;05;11 Data. So, I basically monitor on project site activities. Thank you. Luis. Thank you, Lorna. My name is Luis meeting. I am a graduate from the University of Nairobi on pursuing construction management. Currently working on Junior Challenge development at city. We also are developing a lot of seating data. Thank you so much. And Leo is just, to have that conversation.

00;02;05;14 - 00;02;31;29 How did you first hear about the Oracle Academy program and its inclusion of Primavera P6? Thank you. My first introduction when I came to learn about Oracle Academy was through creation. This is a student body in full construction real estate student association at the University of Nairobi. Faculty in the Built Environment and at the Department of Real Estate Construction Management and quantity serving.

00;02;32;01 - 00;02;59;12 So, I will part of the students conceived and then time which is the regression body. And the part of the initiative we had wanted to do is have also invited people who can be relevant when they graduate out in the industry. And how do you do this? Is, well, one of the ways is equipping these students with skills that actually in the industry.

00;02;59;16 - 00;03;30;12 So, part of what we're using construction is, Scheduling software. Scheduling software. So, we did that bridge broken. Think the country director. We need what I've been doing, which was well-received. They invite us a meeting them we this class with these. So, when we got there, it was like, let's get into what happened. We came to realize that these are being part of.

00;03;30;14 - 00;04;06;05 And there's a lot of an academy that offers these courses on products that Oracle offers. So, we got there, learned about. The curriculum they do offer and part of it was to have the university, partner with Oracle and get us to have account. So, though I will share the content. We were able to initiate this partnership. The university was already done was giving an account a member account where lecturers are able to sign up students.

00;04;06;07 - 00;04;36;06 Now students get to their own instances, but accounts for these accounts so they are able to access these curriculums. In on the afternoon. So, through this, I was able to learn more about D6, pretty much about the project management curriculum. Good. Even, attempts to download the BC software as a student version. Practically use it. New scenarios I need, which is really amazing.

00;04;36;09 - 00;05;10;09 And that was my first experience. And we the analytics and, thank you so much for that story. So just moving on to you. What motivated you to enroll and learn about this specific tool? And that is Primavera P6. Thank you, Lana. So, my first experience with P6 is from the Python version. So just talked about, with organized our actual training by P6, we were made aware that this is a tool that is widely used in the industry.

00;05;10;12 - 00;05;33;01 So, that motivated me to learn more about putting my video pieces as well as the resources that you provided, that Oracle provided. You were able to get tutorials from the student home and it able also be gained a certificate after the training sessions. And, just having the available resources for you to go through was motivation enough.

00;05;33;02 - 00;05;57;07 And I'm so grateful for that opportunity. How has gaining, Primavera P6 skills given you a competitive edge during your job search? So, during my job, such, there was an opportunity of, site coordinator in a construction site, and I was called for an interview, and they were looking for someone with a vast, project management skills, in particular.

00;05;57;07 - 00;06;23;09 Skills. Link. And since Primavera P6 is a skills link tool. I got to be. I was asked more about it. And the skills that I had and the knowledge that I was able to explain the cost aspects, there's considering aspects, the resource management aspects and that, let me get the job opportunity. And now, Lois, moving over to you.

00;06;23;11 - 00;06;54;04 Can you share specific examples where these skills helped you stand out or secure an opportunity? See what I can mentioning. And it's really nice when somebody asks you something that you are really conversant about. So, when I was actually attending the interview, I was asked, to give a scenario on how you would allocate resources to an activity and how will you know you, and I'm not, resources already located.

00;06;54;09 - 00;07;21;20 This is the kind of questions where you, you actually see deadlines and, and answer them because, but back in school. Oh, we interacted in the P6 till about scheduling. And so, and you are really, really conversant about it. So, it's, it's, it's a question that we answer in confidence. You even give a practical scenario of how you will schedule unit, which is actually what I need.

00;07;21;22 - 00;07;46;15 And I know it pretty much. And I am employed and another scenario, after working there for some, some time, we were actually sent to an did it for a crash program, which is also a concept in P6 when you are really lagging behind in the in, in, in in the scheduling in in addition, you know, the credit, you have to come up with a crash program.

00;07;46;20 - 00;08;19;10 Are you interested in activities and catch up with the lost time. So, part of what we were tasked to do is come up with a crash program. And if, we were given timelines when given due process and asked to come up with a schedule of how you are going to complete these tasks, which was handing over units, but 48 of them in in a period of three months, something you interact with it, you do it.

00;08;19;12 - 00;08;51;22 Because you understand it, which is actually what I need. And, turned out to be successful. So, it is it is something that is applicable out here. As much as you learn, it is good. So, what I'm hearing is a lot of, importance of academia, industry collaboration, which, you know, gives you access to industry tools. And once you are conversant with them, you know, you get a lot of confidence, gives you a differentiating factor, even when you're applying for jobs, even when you're undertaking the interview.

00;08;51;25 - 00;09;20;04 Great. Thank you so much. Now, Joyce, now that you started working in the construction industry, how are you applying Primavera P6 skills in your daily task? You learned so much that, you find that in large construction projects you have multiple contractors, multiple contractors with different tasks that, they have we have to schedule them in a way that we don't lose time as we go along the projects.

00;09;20;06 - 00;09;45;23 So daily, we schedule activities. Primavera P6 provides a work on structure. So, you want to group your activities into smaller tasks and then to be able to schedule them appropriately, allocating enough time for all the contractors. The other thing is you can monitor progress as you go along. So, you monitor progress against what was planned.

00;09;45;25 - 00;10;13;01 And that way you're able to manage time along that project. You manage cost, you know, when you extend your time plans, it comes in extra extrapolate. So, management of the project items is made using the Primavera P6. And Lois, moving over to you. Can you share, specific projects where you've used, P6 to manage timelines, resources or budgets?

00;10;13;06 - 00;10;52;04 Okay. And as I've mentioned before, it was vital, fresh program. Vital was a project that was apparently pain changing and we had to put some good input, some efforts to be able to catch up with time. So about, P6 it's a software that involves a long-term planning, budgeting and even risk analysis when it comes to, the planning aspect itself and the scheduling you get to, you get to when your activities, what breakdown structure you sequence activities inside that.

00;10;52;08 - 00;11;15;20 Then in these activities you want to assign resources to them. Once you assign resources, you are able to track at any given specific time. Is the project actually running behind schedule? And if it is and running behind schedule, which activities are, making it lag behind? And in terms of cost, at least you can budget at any given specific time you can do to pinpoint these projects as of budget.

00;11;15;27 - 00;11;35;03 And if this is its budget and if it's not, if it's not by budget, what is bringing the total to the cost? I was able to pinpoint and say these and these activities are the ones which are costing us. And what can we do to be able to, to, to keep that amount that has been brought about as an overall.

00;11;35;05 - 00;12;25;21 So these are some of these schemes, some of the things that a business does when it comes to the part of the risk analysis, it is something, really amazing because, for the other or many, scheduling software, the interacting with the impact of risk analysis actually fall into this things, which is really amazing in, in a case where you can be able to identify, risk even as an it's really amazing, an instance I can give these thing, we go the procurement department and we have, we have the procurement department, we have the engagement to work to anybody, the procurement department to get materials for the guys and see we have

00;12;25;23 - 00;12;49;20 some materials, some inputs that are supposed to arrive. And this month. But no procurement gets a message but realize or they get some idea that this content is not going to arrive this month due to delays expected and whatever achieved in that month. This information is very critical not to procurement, but to the guys in the field. This comes as a risk.

00;12;49;27 - 00;13;14;16 So, in P6 you're able to raise this risk because in the field this is you guys able to identify each stage. Just be able to know which does depend on this risk. And what is the impact of this risk to the overall schedule. How is it going to impact our delivery. These are some of the skills that you get to practically engage with during you interact with P6.

00;13;14;19 - 00;13;43;17 And as you can see now when you come out in the field, they are quite applicable. So, my experience we in Primavera P6, we are able to generate a procurement schedule. So, in a program. Excuse me, let's take an example of Alto for example. And so, we have two good time games for certain tasks. So, for example we need like the latest bid for active technical submittal the latest date for that submittal to be approved by consultants.

00;13;43;19 - 00;14;09;02 We have the latest date for example delivery to site and its approval. And after that now after the approval of the sample, then we do now go to manufacture. And you find that some are important. So, they have like a long-time leading period. So, the Primavera you're able to check these durations and able to serve and able to know where the risk is.

00;14;09;02 - 00;14;34;26 And so, you want to serve them at the right time. So, we are also Primavera B6. You like schedule? Adjusting time delivery for installation so that we won't have problems of storage issues on site, for example. And so, this is just more of a scheduling tool helping to solve the procurement issues on site. The other item I wanted to talk about is health and safety risks.

00;14;34;29 - 00;15;08;00 So, scheduling again, you know, able to serve any health and safety risks that, you see that the project might face. So, for example, a high-risk activity might be working on tight. So, you do want to schedule another activity and, what, work on tight activity. So, when someone is working at a scaffold at a height in the event scheduling and you us just below it because that is a ready and safe for their work.

00;15;08;09 - 00;15;33;26 So, with B6, you want to know, and you want to tell this and schedule it appropriately. And then things would be like, vehicle movement on time, you know, and teenagers where it's not safe working on a particular road, for example, at eight on the construction site. So, you could do lead to when there are no deliveries on site, for example.

00;15;34;20 - 00;16;03;02 So, it's more of a scheduling, thing that serves the risks of the project, helps you identify the risks and be able to come up with mitigation measures. The other thing I wanted to talk about is how because you can get customizable components from P6 so that to you want to present presented, in meetings. And you're able to make decisions so you can just track the project as you go along.

00;16;03;04 - 00;16;46;18 Yeah. Just quick mention about a mode that are driven decision making for even for the part of the resource. When you are allocating resources to activities, P6 is able to be somewhere you can be able to actually view this resource is actually over utilized. And you cannot assign another, another, another task. They're not assign this resource to another task at this moment, even in in in the in the concept of portfolio management, you can be running a project and say you need to accompany running three projects that I will and the assignment be shared services that a company uses to it's able to detect tell you that this resource is seems to

00;16;46;18 - 00;17;12;13 be available, but it is overly utilized in order to able to even be able to allocate resources. Space means able to know anything. You need to add more resources without issue. So, you have enough and, and also the aspect of collaboration and teamwork. When you look at, other scheduling software. It's such a feature that is widely available.

00;17;12;13 - 00;17;33;08 And then when it comes to P6 especially, you know, with the adverse mix to what happens in other cloud, you're able to work as a team if you're working on the same file but different people. Construction project is all about stakeholders. You have the design team, you know, the quality control team. You have those guys executing the tasks in the field.

00;17;33;13 - 00;18;00;16 But these people have to work on the same sort of one affects the job. So having a schedule in a centralized place where all these people get to play, but access is given depending on the level. And rather than having a file that is locally saved in the, in the, in the, in my computer where I need it, if I need some input from another person, I share it with him.

00;18;00;18 - 00;18;26;22 Then he does his own things. She has. It would be it's kind of an outdated thing now, which comes to an end to get we find out. You find like now it's kind of a beam environment. We are all working together, working on the same platform, scheduling. There, happy anything out there and information is readily available. It's something which is a practical and you, I'm using it.

00;18;26;22 - 00;18;57;03 I'm using about P6 joints. I feel like you have one additional point. Yes. How P6 helps in contact management. So, you find that, when multiple projects, they be in need of creating and integrated skills. And so, it would be important to tell all the other conductors at the, beginning of the project that the P6 selected by the integrated program created by P6 is the main point of reference.

00;18;57;10 - 00;19;26;09 So, if any contractor deviates from whatever it's in the scheduling, then they would, do they billable on that on, issues that they may have raised there. So, any notices can be tracked, notices can be tracked. And also considering the dependencies that you create using the notebooks where you actually do the activities to, be carried out at the same time or one after the other.

00;19;26;10 - 00;20;05;18 That's a very great tool with P6. So, with that being clean so you can manage big claims. Well and it helps in contact management, music and sort thinking. Thank you, Joyce Lewis. When, when we come to predicting what will happen in the future. This is something known as what if analysis. See, we are doing, a projection of we would like to bring these resources, and we would like to move in this direction, but we don't actually know what the impact of it would be to like we need to take this direction.

00;20;05;20 - 00;20;29;21 But now we want to know what the impact of will be taking this direction, something that somebody could analyze for many weeks. But when it comes to P6, because that that's what the analysis feature, we, if you have what was asked to tell you, you said they're going to complete in three months, but now he wants you to complete it in two months.

00;20;30;01 - 00;20;55;10 The big question is what you want me to do for you to complete in three months? It's a big question. Which is? Which has an answer. But now you need to analyze and know what needs to happen for you to calculate. Do they have so in P6 you can basically put us in that scenario or without creating a different file, you can be able to do this line.

00;20;55;13 - 00;21;15;05 You, schedule say and now create a create a scenario of if I add these resources, what will be the impact in the original stage, you'll be able to visualize each and even printed as I thought. So. So we know you can start. You say I need you to add meetings and this you can give me that, report generated from these for deep analysis.

00;21;15;10 - 00;21;37;21 You tell me that you can even answer like from a meeting. So, if you said I need you to add me, like, say it. If this plot and these plans to be to be added to my project, or I need these number of parcels and given to me for me to complete something, you've only done it. The what if analysis have seen these will be the impact on the project.

00;21;37;25 - 00;22;04;24 Something that is really amazing in in P6 and you're able to even create as many of this as you want. It's not limited on this. It is just so impressive. To hear how you gave a speaking, you know, and how conversant you are, with P6 and maybe I should just ask you guys when you graduated because, you, you studied, like, professionals who have been in the field for quite a while.

00;22;06;04 - 00;22;31;27 You know, is when did you graduate? Actually, I graduated the last year. September. That is 2020. Well, thank you, thank you. So that is September 2023. And, Joyce, what about you that did you graduate at the same time? Thanks to me, actually. Let me see also benefited in 2020 3rd September. We blend the experience how in the field.

00;22;31;29 - 00;22;54;12 That's really amazing. Thank you. Thank you all. And now, just moving over to the final question. If you could give one piece of advice, to faculty or even to your fellow students or, you know, I know you now graduates. So, it could be advice to faculty, students, or recent graduates, what would it be? Think you know what I'm really advice, advice.

00;22;54;12 - 00;23;22;11 My fellow students. Okay. My former students behind me who are still in school and who would really want to be in the industry, there's an analogy that goes on around people saying they are not jobs in the market. It's something which is not really true. What is really lacking the market is competent people who can actually do what the industry demands they do, and it is what will teach you the duty, but it's going to teach you.

00;23;22;14 - 00;23;54;16 So, what needs to be done? But now you need the practical bit of it. You need to understand Oracle is in the industry. They are offering so many solutions widely in it in, in in construction all over the they are offering solutions, and they are going and explain why Oracle Academy that is now willing to give resources to students, teach them about the solutions that are being offered in the construction in the aid industry.

00;23;54;18 - 00;24;16;26 So, it is an opportunity that students should take and run, and the University of Nairobi has, I mean by a country, but I don't I know there are other universities that do have it. So those listening to me or those students, well, who really wants to be in this industry, they should take it. Sign up to Oracle student.

00;24;16;26 - 00;24;43;12 Have get access to these materials. But that is how about an interaction. You know so yeah. And for those who made some not have it in their school, it is upon you as a student to take it up. As I have told you, Oracle feels like. So, it is people who are willing to say, yeah and you need to engage with you.

00;24;43;14 - 00;25;07;18 Yeah, they are even ready to give you resources free on this platform to be able to learn. So, students should really universities and faculty should really take up this opportunity to give students in these games and I think they will not be a better place even now if you as a student. Yeah, they will learn these things as teachers.

00;25;07;21 - 00;25;31;10 And so, this this student will be able to access the student tab. And that is through the institutions, just like you did through, the University of Nairobi and being available to you through your faculty members. Right? Yes. And so, as part of our final question, I would like us to touch on breaking, gender stereotypes in construction.

00;25;31;24 - 00;25;59;20 Joyce, as a woman in the construction industry, how has acquiring technical skills like chemotherapy six influenced your confidence and opportunities? In a traditionally male dominated field? And if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring, female students who would like to work in the construction industry, what would it be? Thank you. Nana.

00;25;59;22 - 00;26;26;03 So, acquiring the P6 skills has been a game changer for me. So, this create the skills as equip me with the ability to manage complex projects as I had mentioned. So, with multiple contractors, you would be scared to win the progress integral to get risks. So, it has been a game changer. And I think skills, especially being a male dominated, field.

00;26;26;06 - 00;26;59;29 So, it has helped me stand out proving that you just require the right skills and knowledge, regardless of gender. And additionally, to that, as, work as I said, coordinator, I'm also missing my second degree at the University of Nairobi, being Master of Arts in construction management. And that the university has also provided me an opportunity to assist in next hiring and, able to monitor my, the arrested identity that I'm currently working with.

00;27;00;04 - 00;27;27;07 So, I Shamli insights from the industry. I share my experience and, able to inform the students to build their confidence with the abilities that they have. They should not shy away being a male dominated field. They should, pursue more technical courses, acquire more skills on the technical bits of their industry. And there's also room for everyone in the industry.

00;27;27;07 - 00;27;54;03 So, guys should come join us in the construction industry then, which in my way, I think, improve your skills and definitely trying to thrive in the construction field. Yes. Thank. All right. Thank you both so much. Honestly, this has been, you know, we've had a very interesting discussion, on just real-world applications of P6, in the construction industry.

00;27;54;20 - 00;28;26;28 You know, to our listeners, I encourage you to visit our website, academy.oracle.com to learn more about Oracle Academy's, you know, learning resources for faculty members as well. We have teaching, resources available to you as well. So, I also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. Feel free to share this with your friends as well. And also, please follow Oracle Academy on X, Instagram and Facebook just to keep up, with all our activities, with our members.

00;28;27;00 - 00;28;35;17 Thank you so much. That wraps up this episode. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for the next Oracle Academy Tech Chat podcast.