Using Resource Leveling in Primavera P6 Scheduling Software

Effective resource planning is vital for cost optimization. If resources are not planned efficiently then the peak requirement of resources will most definitely increase. An increase in the number of direct workers will increase indirect costs or overheads because of an increase in the number of supervisors, engineers, managers, support staff, accommodations, transportation, other facilities, and other associated costs.
Controlling cost is one of the major areas of concern for any project manager. Every effort is made to optimize resources by evaluating various strategies and doing what-if analysis using Primavera P6 scheduling software.

Let us say we have a project with six activities. Resource R1, for example, is required for each activity and the maximum availability of resource R1 is 30 man-hours/day. If we look at the resource profile we see that the resource requirement is maximum (40 man-hours/day) between 08-Nov-2022 and 14-Nov-2022. Since maximum resource availability was fixed at 30 man-hours/day, red bars are indicating resource overload by 10 man-hours/day, in this case, because of activities overlapping.
Now let us try to optimize resources in order to optimize the costs. Resource leveling can be done automatically using Primavera P6 scheduling software or it can be done manually. For automatic leveling using the Primavera P6 scheduling software feature we need to proceed as follows:


In this window, various parameters are set that should be met during the leveling process. If the same resource is being shared among other projects, the checkbox for “Consider assignments in other projects with priority equal/higher than” should be checked and priority may be assigned.

You can fix the limit to maintain a minimum Free Float for activities and the maximum percent of resource over-allocation. Primavera P6 scheduling software will perform auto resource leveling when you press the Level button and the following screen will appear.

We see that resource was auto-leveled by Primavera P6 scheduling software maintaining the maximum availability limit of 30 man-hours/day. To see what changes Primavera P6 scheduling software made to the schedule, we need to view log record.

A report will appear. This report gives all information about the changes that Primavera P6 scheduling software made to your schedule during the auto-leveling process.

This report indicates that retained logic option has been maintained during resource leveling, Early and Late dates of the project have been preserved.


The Exceptions section shows vital information as follows:

1. List of critical activities
2. All activities are satisfying the applied constraints
3. All activities are satisfying the relationships applied
4. No activity was delayed due to a delay in the predecessor activity
5. Only Activity E was delayed (of course within available Free Float)
6. There are no activities that could not be leveled due to any reason

All the above stats are indicating that auto-leveling has been done satisfactorily without disturbing the project’s planned start and finish dates.
Note: Please remember if we schedule by pressing F9, all the activities will return back to their original position i.e. position before leveling because we have not checked the checkbox for “Automatically Level resources when scheduling”. If you want to link the resource leveling with the scheduling process then you need to click on this checkbox in the below-mentioned screen.

Some planners prefer manual resource leveling over automatic leveling because the former gives more control and requires well-thought decisions but it becomes more and more difficult with the increasing number of activities and resources.

Conclusion

Effective resource planning is a must for reaching optimum costs and is carried out through resource-leveling. Primavera P6 scheduling software gives you the facility for automatic leveling of resources which is very convenient and handy. Resource leveling can be done manually also but it takes much more time and effort. Contact Consult Leopard for construction scheduling consultants services now.