Summary Duration Incorrect

Dave
It’s a typical misunderstanding for a beginner. Duration in activity line are based on the calendar assigned to that activity; on the summary lines based on the default calendar of your database. You can find it under Enterprise --> Calendars --> select "global" --> look for the calendar marked in the default column.
Regards
Dieter

Thanks for reply, I have set up a project calender which works 24 hours 7 days a week, however the default calender in the enterprise-calendar-global is only on a 37.5hour week. I have tried to change it but it wont let me. Do you know how i get around this as at the moment my summary bars are of no use.

The only work-around I can offer is that you create either LoE or WBS summary activities which span the timescale that you want. When you schedule the project these activities will have their duration back-calculated using the calender that you give each LoE or WBS activity.

Thats a good work around, but eventually some (Idiot) project managers do ask the need of this LoE activity and question ur abilities to make a simple plan.

U need to explain to ur admin guys this problem and ideally global calender should be 7 days a week with no holidays and u can assign project calender what u want. I tried to explain to my admin guys, but to of no use. She still uses 40 hour global calender, as she has to report to management and she dont have those guts to better explain to management.

All d best!!!

Gents,

I agree that this is a problem that can cause a fair bit of confussion even for the more experienced operators.

My work around involves assigning edit user preference authority to the planners in their idividual security profiles by selecting the "allow users to specify the number of work hours for each time period" & then getting them to adjusts the Hours per time period field to match the most dominate calender that is assigned to each project that they are displaying. This and all other project specific settings should be added as a project notebook topic so that all users can refer to the correct settings prior to configuring their idividual workspace.

Hope this helps & I will watch with interest any further ideas or debate that this comment may generate
Cheers
Mark

Thinking out loud...
Would a good enhancement be that you can assign a default calendar to each wbs element for the calculation of the summary level activity duration?
Mark

G’day Mark

Agreed, & in my opinion it would be nice to see this for float calculations at summary also...?

My two cents...

Cheers
Mark

Mark
Default calendar for each WBS for my opinion would be too difficult to maintain.
Recently most of the main German EPC contractors had a meeting and we made this an enhancement request for Primavera. It seems that there is a chance for Ver. 7.

Please write this request to Primavera.

Regards
Dieter

Gentleman
i am using a default calendar of 7 days a week and 8 hours
but my total calcutaion for the the level "show total" is not comming correct

my project starts from 11-sept-08 to 13-sept-10, duration equal to 548 days

but my summary bar shows 549 days

i have checked with hours per day they are same as 8 hurs and in default calendar there are no holidays

sorry project closing dat is 13-march-2010

i need soem urgent help on it

Bilal

If start is 8 am and end 5 pm (1h break) then it is 549.

Regards
Dieter

THANKS DIETER,

AS USUAL A PROMPT REPLY TO HELP FROM YOUR SIDE.

DEAR YOU ARE RIGHT I HAVE THE DETAILED WORKING HOURS LIKE THAT (8AM TO 5PM)

SO NOW WHAT I DO, CONSULTANT WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT

From Primavera calculation,

Sep 11 ’08 to Mar 13 ’10 equals 549

should be ok

why you need to deduct one day?

I DONT WANT TO CHANGE ... ITS JUST THAT MY MANAGEMNT
GET FROM ANA EXCEL SHEET 548 DAYS AND TEHY WANT TO SE IN THE SAME MANNER FROM PRIMAVERA ALSO

AND OTHER THING MY CONTRACT MENTINS LIKE TAHT
548 DAYS STARTING FROM 11-SEP-08 TO 13-03-09

SO WHATS THE REMEDY

you should explain to them that sep 11 2008 will be calculated immediately as the first day and not just the difference bet sep 11 2008 and mar 13 2010.

the calculation should be mar 13 2010 minus sep 11 2008 plus 1

In Simple words,

if u calculate from say 11th sep 08 to 12th sep 08, then it will show 1 day only, while p6 will show 2 days, as two days have been conumed.

Its basically, mistake in excel formula rather than p6

Bilal

Show him a calendar. Maybe you’ll explain to him that if you’ll start Sep 11 at 8am and stop at 5pm that is one day. Otherwise don’t pay him for that day. As Ravi wrote, the calculation of Excel is different.

In other words: let him work 549 days and pay 548.

Good luck!

Dieter

Hi All,

I have the same trouble with summary duration but it’s not just a 1 day difference it has an almost 1 year variance. My default calendar is thesame with my project calendar. Can anyone kind enough to list all possible causes of discrefancies of incorrect summary duration.Thanks.

Cheers
-Joel-

Heloo Joel
ur default calender shuold be 7 days working.
2nd check for ur hours per day of work
also check(in project calendar) how many leaves u have given like 5 days or 6 days

Joel

As Bilal wrote the reason for differences always should be the calendar.
The duration of activities is taken from the activity’s not from the project’s calendar.
Please explain, which durations you mean, by which criterion you summarize.

Regards
Dieter

Hi Guys,

I tried to check the calendars but to no avail they are exactly thesame.I just recently discovered overnight,that I have a planned finish date on several activities greater than the Project mandatory project finish milestone date. I pull back those planned dates to within the mandatory finsh constraint date(Project Finish milestone) and it corrected the problem. My only ordeal right now is I don’t get the correct actual duration on my top WBS roll up summary band to be equal to my uppermost WBS summary activity. Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers
-Joel-

Joel

Which calendar you assigned to the WBS-Summary?

Regards
Dieter

Hi Dieter,

I am using 1 calendar for all activities which is a calendar converted to global and this is also my default calendar,and directly assigned to each activity. Is there might be a possibility that relationship of activities have contributed on this incorrect actual duration? I have a lot of SS and FF relationship on this schedule... Thanks.

Regards,
-Joel-

Bilal,

With regard to your Post # 15:

Tell them that to have the same durations as Primavera Software, the Excel calculation should follow the correct formula for CPM calculations of duration which is:

Forward Pass: D = EF - ES + 1
Backward Pass: D = LF - LS + 1

The first day is read as 0, so you have to add 1.

Hope the above helps.

Regards,
R. Catalan

Joel

Which duration doesn’t follow your expectation?

Original, Actual, or the dates? or any other?

I assume a misunderstanding on the meaning of this data item. Switch on "Hint Help" (View-->Hint Help). Then move your mouse within that column. In the small window is an explanation of that field and how it’s summed up.

Regards
Dieter
(p.s.: I’ll leave PP for about six hours)

Hi Dieter,

It’s the Actual Duration, I found out that some activities have inconsistent time hour in Start & Finish dates. I revised it based on the 8hr/day work period and its shows now the correct actual duration in the roll up summary bar. Thanks a lot for the help.

Regards,
-Joel-