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THE 2026 STATE OF CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULING REPORT—YOUR INSIGHT MATTERS
Planning Planet community, we want to hear from YOU.
It’s that time of the year again. We're building the 2026 State of Construction Scheduling Report & your insight matters.
SmartPM is combining data from 100,000+ real project schedules with input from pros like you to create the industry’s most comprehensive scheduling benchmark. What’s working, what’s not, what's changed since 2025, and where scheduling is headed next.
The survey is short, anonymous, and takes less than 7 minutes.
Complete it by May 10th to:
- Get early access to the full report
- Be entered to win one of three $150 Amazon gift cards
Your input helps shape the future of scheduling!
BEYOND THE CRITICAL PATH: WHY PROJECTS NEED AN EXECUTION PERSPECTIVE
Anyone who has spent time in serious project planning meetings will recognise a particular moment.
The schedule is on the screen. The team is reviewing activities one by one. Engineers, construction managers, planners, operations representatives and project managers are gathered around the table, discussing how the project will unfold.
At first everything looks fine.
The logic flows correctly. Durations seem reasonable. The Critical Path is clearly visible.
From a scheduling perspective, the plan appears solid.
But then the discussion slows down around a particular part of the project....
Read the article....
Source: Dariusz Wołejszo & David Wallach
VALUE-ADD and FREE WEBINARS
- April 28 - P6 Auditor (Emerald Associates) - While Primavera P6 does an excellent job of auditing changes made to a P6 database by users, this data is not easy to get at for the typical P6 user or administrator. Emerald Associates created P6-Auditor to display the information from the P6 audit tables for reporting on Events, User Activity and Data Usage. This data is presented in our web application in simple inline tabular reports which can be tailored with filters and column customization and saved for reusing without the assistance of a DBA. P6-Auditor makes finding what has been added, changed and/or deleted from P6 and who did it very easy. This improves coaching moments and reduces wait time if you need to restore a database. Join us to see how P6-Auditor can enhance your administrative capabilities in P6.. Join the webinar...
- April 29 - Cut the Noise: Understand the Path to Substantial Completion (SmartPM) - A smarter approach to milestone tracking. Instead of relying on constraints, negative float, and manual workarounds, you'll learn how to isolate float paths, measure performance at key milestones, and turn your schedule into a data-driven decision-making tool. We'll also show how milestone reporting can be used across the organization – giving project teams clarity on what to focus on today while providing executives with high-level visibility into risk, progress, and outcomes across projects. Join the webinar...
- April 30 - Primavera P6 EPPM Overview (Emerald Associates) - Primavera P6 Web is the web-based, enterprise project portfolio management (EPPM) solution offered by Oracle. Unlike the traditional, installed P6 Professional client, the web version allows global teams to access, plan, manage, and update projects from any location using an internet browser. Primavera P6 Web is the industry-leading tool for planning, scheduling, and managing complex programs and portfolios. It provides a centralized, multi-user environment designed for enterprise collaboration. P6 Web allows teams to build and manage multi-project CPM schedules with advanced resource, cost, and performance management — all from a browser-based platform. Join our upcoming webinar to see how P6 Web’s multi-user and multi-project capabilities can streamline your project management and keep your teams aligned. Join the webinar...
- May 12 - P6-Scrubber - Import XERs and XMLs with Ease (Emerald Associates) - In P6-Scrubber v8, Emerald has added our P6-QA functionality into the XER and XML pre-importing of Primavera P6 project schedule files. Now, not only can you pre-scrub P6 project files from contractors and engineering firms, your team can also critique the schedule for industry standard requirements like DCMA 14 or contract specification requirements. Your team can build your own specific validation criteria such as Start and Finish milestones for Project Sanction or Construction Complete. P6-Scrubber v8 also allows your team to auto-scrub and auto-import files from your computer quickly. In addition, we’ve added new online drilldown reporting capabilities and improved notebook reporting. The P6-Scrubber is a custom Primavera P6 add-on tool developed by the team at Emerald Associates that gives you and your team the ability to easily modify, delete, or remap data in your XML or XER files prior to importing them into your database. Save yourself valuable time, keep your database clean, and prevent any unnecessary or incomplete data from being imported.. Join the webinar...
- May 19 - Cleopatra Enterprise x AACE International Live Webinar | Earn 0.1 CEUs (AACE) - Most organizations have project data, but struggle to turn it into structured, usable insight. When properly standardized, project data becomes a strong foundation for more accurate estimates, effective benchmarking, and continuous improvement. In this live webinar, you will learn how to turn fragmented data into actionable project intelligence. Join the webinar...
Contact us to get your event here - [email protected]
RESOURCE CRITICAL PATH IS NOT CRITICAL PATH WITH A FEW RESOURCE LINKS ADDED.
In Resource Critical Path analysis, activity durations are calculated through automatic resource assignments, and the model explicitly accounts for technological variability (conditional scheduling), as well as financial and supply constraints.
Among all the scheduling analysis methods, the Resource Critical Path Method (RCPM) is the top-maturity approach.
Compared to algorithmic CPM, RCPM is based on advanced data modelling and meta-heuristic analysis, also known as 'AI scheduling'.
It helps projects answer very important questions like:
- "When can the project be delivered, considering expected technological, financial and resource limitations?"
- "What is the best resource allocation to maximise project benefits?"
- "Where are schedule accelerations possible?"
Source: Alex Lyaschenko, Program & Portfolio Planning & Delivery
SHARE PROJECT XER / MPP NO INSTALLATION, LOGIN, OR REGISTRATION – JUST A SIMPLE LINK
XER Reader
Share your project schedules in XER and MPP format. No installation, no login, no email registration – just a simple link.
You have updated your schedule. Moved the data date and applied actuals. Adjusted milestones and progress on activities. You have calculated baseline variances and earned value values. You have gone and done all this work. All that effort. Why not share it.
- Share with the project team
- Share with steering group
- Share with suppliers
- Share with sponsor
- Share with partners
- Share with clients
- Share with owner
Try now and get 50% off using PlanningPlanet discount code PP50
Take a look...
COULD YOUR P6 DO WITH A SCRUB?!
P6-Scrubber v8 New Release Article: - import P6 without polluting your data
In version 8.0, we have introduced quality assurance checks, data analysis and auto-scrubbing. Choose from pre-defined validations and create your own to match your company's needs with configurable warn/fail checks. Peruse sleek and responsive reports to see any potential issues in your projects or activities, all bundled together with regular scrubbing capabilities. Dig into schedule details with our project statistics dashboards.
New Features:
- QA Validations - Include quality assurance checks when you scrub your files, ensuring that your projects and activities meet your company's specifications. Create your own specific validations.
- Real-Time Reporting - Enjoy clear and responsive graphs and charts with your QA reports. See any potential issues at a glance, and delve into more detailed reporting with a click of your mouse.
- Auto-Scrub - Drop a file into your folder and allow P6-Scrubber to auto-scrub and auto-import without having to lift a finger. Apply pre-configured rules to save your team time.
- Project Statistics - The first phase of project data and statistics graphics in P6-Scrubber. See the details in your schedule in relation to activities and resources. Full blown comparisons are coming soon.
For more information or to schedule a demo, please reach out to us at [email protected].
PROJECT CONTROLS and PMO WORKING TOGETHER
We are inclduing this again as we had such a number of positive questions and views coming in. We hope it adds some value...
In recent conversations across the industry, I’ve noticed there is still no clear, shared understanding of the distinction between PMO and Project Controls — often leading to confusion in roles, expectations, and value.
As a simple way to frame it: PMO sets the rules, and Project Controls tells you how well you are performing against them — and what to do next. The PMO focuses on governance, standardisation, and alignment, while Project Controls provides the data-driven insight, forecasting, and decision support needed to deliver successfully.
I’m sharing my article as an attempt to bring more clarity to the discussion — and would be keen to hear your views. How do you see the relationship between PMO and Project Controls in your organisation?
Join the discussion, have your say...
Source: Anil Godhawale, IEng, CCP, PSP, CEO ProjCon Group
CAN I SEE YOUR RISK TO SCHEDULE LINKAGE?
Can I see your risk-to-schedule link?
That is one of the fastest ways to test whether a project is truly under control.
Because almost every project can show you:
- a risk register,
- a schedule,
- and a status report.
Far fewer can show you the link between them.
And that is where false confidence starts.
GAO is very clear on this point: schedule risk analysis is supposed to connect a good CPM schedule with schedule threats and opportunities to estimate confidence in the completion date. In other words, risk is not supposed to sit beside the schedule. It is supposed to shape it.
Yet in many projects, risk lives in workshops.
The schedule lives in planning software.
And the forecast lives in PowerPoint.
Three parallel universes. One delayed project. The problem is not theoretical.
Source: Bertrand GUERARD
MAINTAINING ACCURATE SCHEDULE UPDATES DURING UNAPPROVED PROSPECTIVE TIME IMPACT ANALYSES (TIAS)
Construction projects rarely run exactly as planned. When prospective Time Impact Analyses (TIAs) sit unresolved, schedulers face a familiar dilemma: either ignore the pending impacts (losing valuable forecast visibility) or keep them embedded (cluttering the schedule and undermining its usefulness for monitoring and forecasting).
In this paper presented at the 2026 Project Control Summit, I outline a practical, unified methodology that integrates AACE Recommended Practice 52R-06 (Prospective Time Impact Analysis) with forensic schedule analysis principles from RP 29R-03. The result is a disciplined transition process that preserves forecast integrity, maintains transparency, and supports faster, more defensible extensions of time (EoT) negotiations.
The full paper—including detailed step-by-step procedures, activity-coding examples, layout configurations, implementation considerations, and references—is now available.
I’d welcome your comments and experiences with managing unresolved TIAs in your projects.
Source: Chris Carson FRICS, FAACE, FGPC, PSP, DRMP, CEP, CCM, PMP
IAMTECH KNOWLEDGE: TWO PLANNERS. SAME JOB. TWO DIFFERENT ESTIMATES.
AMTech Knowledge: Two planners. Same job. Two different estimates.
It happens on every shutdown planning team, in every industry. Not because planners don’t know their craft — but because every experienced planner carries their own norms, their own assumptions, their own bias.
AI doesn’t replace the planner’s judgement. It standardises the baseline.
When every work order is estimated against the same decades of industrial maintenance norms, the inconsistency disappears — and the schedule becomes something leadership can actually plan around READ MORE.
Wish your planning team all planned consistently? First look at iPlanSTO AI-Enhanced Planning: WATCH VIDEO — or VIEW BROCHURE. How would this transform planning in your world?
To arrange your demonstration, contact [email protected].
WHEN THE CRITICAL PATH IS NOT THE REAL CRITICAL PATH !!!! IT’S NOT BECAUSE THE LOGIC…
When the Critical Path Is Not the Real Critical Path !!!! It’s not because the logic…
I remember sitting in a review where the schedule looked… solid.
The critical path was clear.
Everyone knew where the focus should be.
There was confidence in the room.
Then execution started. A few weeks in, things didn’t feel right.
Some activities that were supposed to be “safe” started slipping.
Teams were waiting longer than expected.
Certain work fronts just couldn’t move.
At first, it didn’t make sense. “These activities are not critical,” someone said.
And they were right.
At least… according to the schedule.
But when we looked closer, the issue wasn’t logic.
It was resources.
Read the story, have your say...
Source: Mohamed Rami TMAR PMP® Primavera P6 OCS
BEHAVIOUR OVER CONVENIENCE: MODELLING SCENARIO RISKS IN QCRA
Many project risks do not behave like a smooth range. They either do not occur at all, or they occur and land in one of a few discrete outcomes. Yet, we routinely force these scenario-style risks into three-point estimates because the template expects it. That is not simplification, it is a distortion of behaviour, especially in the tail where P90 decisions are made.
This is the 3rd article in a short series on modelling uncertainty based on how risks actually behave in complex projects.
Source: Amin Jalili
WHAT PROBABILITY SHOULD YOU ASSIGN TO IT OCCURRING NEXT YEAR?
Get involved...
Source: Alex Sidorenko
ALICE TECHNOLOGIES AND MCKINSEY & COMPANY ANNOUNCE ALLIANCE
Last week, ALICE Technologies and McKinsey & Company announced a strategic alliance built on over five years of close collaboration to bring generative construction technology to capital project planning and delivery.
By combining McKinsey’s capital project expertise with ALICE’s generative scheduling platform, organizations can build, test, and optimize construction plans using advanced analytics. This approach has already been applied across 35+ projects, helping improve timelines and reduce inefficiencies on complex programs.
Learn more about this collaboration here...
ASTA Tip #145 A ‘View’ is a personalised window onto your project
A ‘View’ is a personalised window onto your project. Asta Powerproject is easily configurable and can display a multitude of outputs via its tables, bar chart, graphs, filters, sorts and histograms. If you spend a bit of time configuring your output, choosing the columns you want, deciding what to display in your bar chart, configuring your histograms, running sorts and filters, there is a feature in Asta Powerproject which remembers these configurations and saves them collectively as a named ‘View’. You can then simply toggle between your default ‘Bar Chart View’ and your new ‘View’ without having to apply all the individual configurations every time.
Source: Anthony Ward, Asta Powerproject Training / Trainer / Consultant
Cleopatra Enterprise x AACE International Live Webinar | Earn 0.1 CEUs
Most organizations have project data, but struggle to turn it into structured, usable insight.
When properly standardized, project data becomes a strong foundation for more accurate estimates, effective benchmarking, and continuous improvement. In this live webinar, you will learn how to turn fragmented data into actionable project intelligence.
What is a cost baseline and why does it matter for project performance? | Blog article
Many teams focus on building a solid estimate, but without a cost baseline, it’s hard to know if your project is actually on track.
A cost baseline translates your budget into a time-phased plan, showing when and where costs should occur. This gives you the context to track performance, spot deviations early, and make better decisions throughout the project lifecycle.
LET'S OPEN UP OPPORTUNITIES TOGETHER
To support every practitioner, employer, consultant, and recruiter in our network, we’re opening up free job postings for everyone. Whether you’re:
- An employer with a vacancy
- A regular practitioner looking to strengthen your team
- A consultant searching for standout talent
- A recruiter with a role to fill
…you’re invited to share your opportunities with the entire Planning Planet community.
No charge. Simply contact [email protected] and we’ll help you get your role in front of thousands of committed project controls professionals.
Let’s make this a space where opportunities flow freely, careers grow, and our community continues to lift one another. View Jobs... Post Jobs...
MAX10714: Senior Scheduler / Toronto & Ontario / CAD $95,000 to $120,000 per annum
Permanent Employment Ontario (NA.CA.ON) CAD $95,000 to $120,000 per annum
Contract or Permanent London (EU.UK.LON) £100,000 – £150,000
Contract or Permanent London (EU.UK.LON) £45,000 – £60,000
Contract or Permanent United Kingdom (EU.UK) £50,000–£75,000
Risk Consultant (QSRA) | All Cities
Contract or Permanent Europe (EU) £50,000–£80,000
P6 Planning Engineer | Major Infrastructure Opportunities
Contract or Permanent United Kingdom (EU.UK) Salary: £50,000–£75,000
Planning Engineer - Plymouth (Hybrid) -:£50-70,000 + car allowance + package
Permanent Employment Dorset (EU.UK.DOR) £50-70,000 + car allowance + package
Senior Planning Engineer - Cardiff (Hybrid) - £70-85,000 + package
Permanent Employment Wales (Region) £70-85,000 basis salary plus package
Construction Planner - Asta - Central London - £55-75,000 + package
Permanent Employment London (EU.UK.LON) £55-75,000 per annum plus package
Senior Tender Planner - Manchester (Hybrid) - £80-90,000 + car allowance + package
Permanent Employment Cheshire (EU.UK.CHS) £80-90,000 per annum plus package
Permanent Employment West Sussex (EU.UK.WSX) £85-95,000 per annum plus package
Senior Planner - Cardiff (3 Days Site / 2 Remote) - £70-90,000 + package
Permanent Employment Wales (Region) £70000 - £90000 per annum + + car allowance + package
Permanent Employment London (EU.UK.LON) £60,000 + car allowance + full benefits.
Senior Planner – London (Construction / Build)
Permanent Employment London (EU.UK.LON) £95,000 + car allowance and package
Senior Planner – Power & Energy (Southwest Dublin, Ireland)
Permanent Employment Ireland (EU.IE) €85,000–€90,000 + €7,000 car allowance + benefits
Permanent Employment United Kingdom (EU.UK) £75,000 – £90,000 + car or allowance (circa £6,500) + staff benefits
London – Lead Planner (Main Contractor, Permanent)
Permanent Employment London (EU.UK.LON) £85,000 + car or allowance (circa £6,500) + excellent staff benefits
Permanent Employment UK-North West (Region) Negotiable, Heathcare
Planning Engineer – Rail (Permanent)
Permanent Employment UK-South East (Region) £80,000 + Pension + Healthcare + Benefits
Contract Employment Warwickshire (EU.UK.WAR) £690 per day
Permanent Employment Surrey (EU.UK.SRY) Initial salary £65,000 to £76,000
SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE TO THE "MOST POPULAR" SOFTWARE FOR US AS PLANNERS?
A superior alternative to the "most popular" software for us as planners?
Spider Project Team is a group of project management consulting and training companies. With headquarters in Moscow, Russia, we have branches, partners and representatives in other Russian cities, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Romania, USA. We develop professional PM software Spider Project that is the most powerful and functional tool for project, program, and portfolio management.
We develop advanced approaches and methods of project management that are widely used by our customers in 37 countries. We provide training on project management and Spider Project software for our customers around the world.
We manage projects for our customers and implement corporate project management systems in companies of different industries. We believe that good project management can improve our world and are happy to provide the best services and tools to our customers.
We are proud of our achievements. The current version is used in 37 countries. Spider Project offers numerous unique functional features and is the only PM software that optimizes resource, cost, and material constrained schedules and budgets for projects and portfolios.
Spider Project offers numerous unique functional features and is the only PM software that optimizes resource, cost, and material constrained schedules and budgets for projects and portfolios.
Check it out here... Ask questions here...
THE BEST CONTROLS CONFERENCE TIL EVA 34
A first glimpse at the complete lineup for EVA33.
There will be no stronger lineup and no better price than at the Armourers this year. I hope you can make it and get other people along too to share the enriching experience. Above all you will hear the most compelling case for use of the new BSI Project Controls Specification Standard. The need for this was requested at a Conversation Club. It has been delivered and tested. It works! Paving the way for further transformative improvement and change wherever the word Organisation is used and collaboration is embraced. We must become ever more connected and ever less parochial.
REMEMBER: If 2 days is not easy because of travel then just come to one. They are both have a strong programme. Go for day 2 if you are really interested in Estimating.
The focus is on Controls and Skills behavioural, technical, psychological, and cultural that people need to make what they do happen with purpose.
20% discount til end April 27
Use FINALSCORE
The full programme is on Eventbrite now...
Source: Steve Wake, Thought Leader and Organiser
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THANK YOU FOR READING OUR MESSAGES
If you’d like to lend a hand to the small but enthusiastic team behind this newsletter, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. We know there’s still a lot of work ahead to make this an informative and eagerly anticipated bi-weekly read, so get in touch and be part of the journey.
Regards...
The Planning Planet Team