Newsletter ·
04 Sept 2026 Planning Planet News
Dear Planning Planet Members,Welcome to the latest edition of Planning Planet — where the brightest ideas, sharpest tools, and boldest debates in project…
Dear Planning Planet Members,
Welcome to the latest edition of Planning Planet — where the brightest ideas, sharpest tools, and boldest debates in project controls come together in one place. Our new modern web portal is accelerating fast, powered by your feedback and contributions , and this issue showcases exactly what makes our global community unmatched: practical innovation, real‑world lessons, and insights that challenge how projects are planned, governed, and delivered.
From hidden disruption that quietly derails schedules, to the Phase‑Gate rethink that puts decision‑making where it belongs — at the front of the project lifecycle. As Chris Carson argues, the decisions that shape cost, schedule, quality, operations, and even future disputes are made — to the QRA debate reshaping how we interpret risk results, this edition is packed with ideas that push our profession forward.
Whether you’re here to sharpen your skills, explore new tools, join upcoming webinars, or simply stay ahead of the curve, this newsletter delivers the energy, expertise, and momentum that define the world’s largest project controls community.
It’s free, and it strengthens the collective knowledge of our global community.
The activities that matter, every update, one page - the variance heatmap
The variance heatmap in SMACT® takes the activities you decide are worth watching and lays them against every schedule update you have issued. Each cell carries the date and the variance since the update before it, shaded by how far it slipped, so the pattern lands before anyone reads a single number.
- Select what matters. Pick the activities worth watching, define and group them however you want, and pull them in from Excel if that is where they already live.
- Let the colour do the work. Pull ins sit plain, slips shade amber through red as they grow, and actuals are flagged so finished scope stops competing for attention.
- Put it straight in the report. Print or export the heatmap and drop it into your monthly pack as it is.
One slip is an excuse. Six in a row is a trend.
Build a variance heatmap free for 7 days. Bring your updates in as XER, MPP or XML, no credit card, no commitment, cancel any time.
Build a heatmap from your own updates...
SMACT® is a registered trademark of FSH Tech Solutions Pty Ltd, Perth, Western Australia. smact.com.au
This is why records matter: daily reports, production rates, idle time, RFIs, access restrictions etc
Hidden disruption is the silent assassin of project schedules — it doesn’t shout, it doesn’t stop the work, and it rarely appears dramatic in daily reports. Yet, as Mohamad Faiad shows, these small, persistent interruptions can quietly erode productivity, consume float, and push activities toward critical delay long before anyone realises what’s happening.
This post pulls back the curtain on the kind of disruption that looks harmless in isolation but becomes dangerous in repetition — the kind that only strong records, sharp analysis, and disciplined sequencing can truly reveal.
If you’ve ever battled “reasonable‑looking” daily reports while knowing the ground was shifting beneath the project, this insight will resonate deeply.
Get involved and have you say...
Source: Mohamad Faiad
Asta Powerproject - Showing Task Name next to Tasks
Tip #163 Name next to Tasks
Today’s tip is a recap from very early tip as I’ve been asked for this a few times recently.
A few weeks ago I was delivering a training course for a construction company in their site hut with print outs of Asta Powerproject sellotaped to the wall all around us. A complaint was raised that it is difficult to see which task in the bar chart corresponded with the description in the table, “you can put the task description next to the task if that helps” I said, “What! How long have you been able to do that” said he. This happens a lot, you use Asta Powerproject for years the same way not knowing that there could be shortcuts you didn’t know about.
Go to the ‘Format’ tab at the top of the screen and click the ‘Format Bar Chart’ button (far left). On the ‘Tasks’ tab look down to where it says ‘Task data display’, choose whether you want the description to the left, Right or inside the task. In the example picture below I have chosen Right data display. Left click on the drop down arrow, click the + next to Identification and click Name, click Close on the ‘Format Bar Chart’ box. The name will now appear to the right of the task. Change Name to Blank to remove the name.
Source: Anthony Ward
P6ETL for BI Reporting – Automate and Modernize your P6 and OPC Reporting Systems
Accessing Primavera P6 and Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) data for Business Intelligence reporting can be challenging, especially when your databases are hosted by Oracle, Loadspring, or another cloud provider. P6ETL® eliminates these obstacles by automatically extracting and organizing your data into a reporting database optimized for Microsoft Power BI and other BI tools. In this webcast, we'll demonstrate how P6ETL simplifies data access and explore the key features and benefits that make it the fastest way to build powerful Primavera dashboards and reports.
When: Tuesday September 22nd at 10am US Central Time
Duration: 1 hour
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: SHARE XER / MPP NO INSTALLATION, OR REGISTRATION – A SIMPLE LINK
XER Reader — Share Your Schedules Instantly
Share your project schedules in XER and MPP format with anyone — instantly. No installation. No login. No email registration. Just upload and share a simple link.
Why keep your schedule locked away?
You’ve updated your programme. You’ve moved the data date, applied actuals, adjusted milestones, updated progress, checked variances, and calculated earned value. You’ve done all the hard work.
Now make it easy for others to see it.
Share your schedule with: - Your project team, Steering groups, Suppliers, Sponsors, Delivery partners, Clients or Owners
One link. Zero friction. Full visibility.
Try it now — and get 50% off
Use the Planning Planet discount code: PP50
Take a look...
How to Build a WBS That Actually Controls Scope, Cost, Schedule, Resources and Risk
A Work Breakdown Structure is one of those project-management tools that almost every construction professional has seen. It is also one of the most commonly misunderstood.
Open a contractor's baseline programme and you may find a neat hierarchy: Project → Building → Discipline → Floor → Activity. Open the cost report and you may find another structure. Open the BOQ and there is another.
Procurement uses package numbers. Document control uses different codes. The risk register is arranged by risk category. Site engineers manage work by zones. Commercial staff report by cost codes.
Technically, the project has a WBS. Operationally, it may have several disconnected versions of the project. That misses the real purpose.
A good construction WBS is not simply a set of headings inserted above Primavera P6 activities. It is the common structure through which the project scope is broken into manageable pieces and then connected to planning, estimating, procurement, responsibility, risk and performance control.
PMI describes the WBS as a hierarchical decomposition that organizes the project's total scope. Its current practice standard also identifies the WBS as an important input to schedule, budget, risk and performance tracking.
The distinction matters. A schedule can exist without a strong WBS. A BOQ can exist without a strong WBS. A risk register can exist without a strong WBS. But when those systems are built around a common breakdown of the work, project control becomes considerably more coherent. That is where the WBS earns its value.
Source: Mohammad Khalifa Talafha, MSc, PMP
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: IAMTECH KNOWLEDGE: TWO PLANNERS. SAME JOB. TWO ESTIMATES
IAMTech 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 jonswift@iamtech.com.
VALUE-ADD and FREE WEBINARS
- 09 Sep - 5 Keys to Boost Your AI Transformation (Alice Technologies) - Did you know that less than 20% of construction companies are leveraging AI to improve workflows and processes This means most firms are stuck in the stage of scattered AI usage without a coherent strategy, which equates to a lot of wasted time and money. ALICE created the Playbook for Accelerating AI Transformation to help organizations define their AI objectives, prove ROI quickly, and ensure enterprise-wide adoption. It’s based on years of experience helping our customers effectively deploy AI, enhance workflows, and track business outcomes. Now, we’re bringing these insights to the big (and small) screen. Register now...
- 22 Sep - P6ETL for BI Reporting – a utility to extract P6/OPC data from any hosted environment (Mustang Technologies) - Accessing Primavera P6 and Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) data for Business Intelligence reporting can be challenging, especially when your databases are hosted by Oracle, Loadspring, or another cloud provider. P6ETL® eliminates these obstacles by automatically extracting and organizing your data into a reporting database optimized for Microsoft Power BI and other BI tools. In this webcast, we'll demonstrate how P6ETL simplifies data access and explore the key features and benefits that make it the fastest way to build powerful Primavera dashboards and reports. Register now...
- 22 Sep - Cleaning Up Your Primavera P6 Database with P6-Loader (Emerald Associates) - Consolidating code types in bulk is an important and time-saving measure that is not supported in Primavera P6. When you've had the same database for years at a time, you often end up with the same code/UDF type repeated several times over, with a copy per project. You can also encounter two code/UDF types that mean the same thing, but have slightly different names. This leads to an exercise in frustration where you have to merge each by hand, re-coding every activity, resource, or role that carries a value from the type that you want to retire. In the latest version of P6-Loader, we have added six worksheets that do this work for you. Activity Code Rollup, Activity Code Type Merge, Project Code Type Merge, Resource Code Type Merge, Role Code Type Merge and Resource Assignment Code Type Merge have been added to our already existing Activity Code Rolldown and UDF Type Merge utilities. Register now...
- 21 to 24 Sep - Managing Risk in Safran Risk training course (Emerald Associates) - Safran Risk has been designed to be the next generation of probabilistic analysis tools - one with the unique ability to create both cost and schedule risk models and map the two together. Safran Risk is developed by the same team that developed Pertmaster, long the industry standard. This software has been developed with a visually appealing and accessible user friendly interface, with a fully integrated scheduling environment. Safran has developed its software to integrate seamlessly with Oracle Primavera (P6) and Microsoft Project tools. Online Training / Live virtual course where attendees can join from anywhere / Participants will be able to communicate with the instructor and engage with peers through an online training platform. Register now...
- 14 Oct - The Administration side of Oracle Primavera Cloud (Emerald Associates) - Join us for Administration in Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) v26, a live, interactive virtual course where you’ll gain hands‑on experience with OPC’s most powerful administration tools — from mastering Global Admin Apps to creating new users and assigning them to the right groups . With real‑time access to an expert trainer, peer engagement, a comprehensive PDF manual, and a certificate upon completion. Online training details PDF manual Live virtual trainer based in Canada or the United States Training runs from 8:30am M..., this advanced session is ideal for anyone looking to deepen their Primavera expertise and confidently manage OPC environments. Led by one of Emerald’s most sought‑after instructors with decades of project controls experience across major industries, this webinar delivers practical knowledge you can apply immediately — making it a must‑attend for professionals ready to elevate their project management capabilities. Register now...
- 14 Oct - EVA34 High Performance Resourcing, 34% Discount HPRESOURCE34, London (Steve Wake) - The theme is High Performance Resourcing. Forget AI for the minute or at least put it in the toolkit until you've decided what you want it to do for you. Now think about High Performance Resourcing. And the people doing the work. Where are they? How well are they doing? What can you do to help them? Do you know what they are working on. Do you know what they did today? How do connect the people not just on one project but all the people on all the projects. How's the whole organisation doing? How could AI help? Really help or just automate chaos? Is it about Controls or Skills? Or both? Register now...
- 23 Nov - Primavera advanced topics of dashboarding and reporting including templates, filters, views, formatting (Emerald Associates) - Join us for a focused, high‑value webinar on Dashboarding and Reporting in Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC), where you’ll learn how to turn complex project data into clear, actionable insights using OPC’s powerful templates, filters, configured fields, views, and formatting tools. Whether you’re a program manager, project manager, planner, scheduler, or simply moving to OPC, this session will give you practical techniques for comparing baselines vs actuals, standardizing workspaces, managing cost breakdown structures, and building dashboards that elevate decision‑making across your projects. It’s an ideal opportunity to sharpen your skills and get ahead with OPC’s latest capabilities. Register now...
- 14 Dec - Primavera advanced features of baselines and comparing them to the current file (Emerald Associates) - Unlock the full power of Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) by joining this focused webinar on Baselines and Baseline Comparison, where you’ll learn how to create, categorize, display, and compare baselines with confidence, turning raw project data into meaningful insights that drive better decisions. We’ll walk through essential OPC capabilities—from project and cost breakdown structures to schedule scenarios, progress updates, and portfolio KPIs—giving program managers, project managers, planners, schedulers, and anyone moving to OPC the practical skills they need to manage multiple projects with clarity and precision. If you want to sharpen your OPC expertise and elevate your reporting, this session is the perfect opportunity. Register now...
Contact us to get your event here - PPAdmin@planningplanet.com
Proving ROI Fast: 5 Keys to Boost Your AI Transformation
With less than 20% of construction companies leveraging AI effectively, most firms remain stuck in scattered usage that wastes time and money. Join ALICE Technologies on Wednesday, September 9th for an exclusive webinar. Learn the true cost of getting AI wrong and walk away with five actionable strategies to define your AI objectives, accelerate enterprise-wide adoption, and prove tangible ROI quickly.
Beyond "Preconstruction Services": A "Phase-Gate" Approach to Projects
In this edition, we spotlight a powerful challenge to one of the industry’s most persistent misconceptions: that the real work begins only after design. As Chris Carson argues, the decisions that shape cost, schedule, quality, operations, and even future disputes are made long before construction starts — and treating project controls as an afterthought is a costly mistake. His Phase‑Gate approach reframes design as a series of disciplined decision points, where scope, cost, schedule, risk, constructability, commissioning, and operational readiness mature together rather than in isolation.
With document quality repeatedly identified as a leading cause of disputes , and major risks often locked in early, this perspective is more than a methodology — it’s a wake‑up call. The message is clear: better outcomes demand better decisions, and better decisions require integrating project controls into design from the very start Current pageCurrent page. Perhaps it needs better integration of project controls into design..
This post is a must‑read for anyone committed to raising project maturity, strengthening governance, and ensuring readiness before committing time, cost, and risk.
Read the post, have your say...
Source: Chris Carson FRICS, FAACE, FGPC, PSP, DRMP, CEP, CCM, PMP
For every planner who’s ever been blamed for simply reporting reality, this one will hit home
Ever had that moment where your schedule tells the brutal truth… and suddenly you’re the villain of the story? One minute you’re connecting logic, risks, and assumptions — the next you’re being treated like you personally delayed the project by sheer force of Gantt chart.
This post is for every planner who’s been blamed for nothing more than having the audacity to make reality visible. Grab a coffee, have a laugh, and share your war stories — because apparently “bad news early” is still a radical concept in some organisations.
Source: Dariusz Wołejszo, DBA, MBA, MSc
The QRA Decision Trap: When the Best Number Is Not the Best Decision
This month, we cut straight to the heart of a growing debate in project controls: when the “best number” isn’t the best decision. Amin Jalili’s recent post has sparked conversations across the community about resilience, optionality, and why Monte Carlo outputs alone can mislead teams.
If you care about decisions that survive reality — not just look good in a model — this issue is for you.
Source: Amin Jalili
Calling All Government Professionals!
Project Controls Expo UK 2026 — The Home of Delivery Certainty, Predictability & Accountability
Here’s an exclusive opportunity to join Project Controls Expo UK 2026 with a COMPLIMENTARY 1-Day Delegate Pass.
As a thank you for the vital role government professionals play in delivering major infrastructure and capital programmes, 50 complimentary passes are available — first come, first served.
Who can apply? Government professionals
How to verify? Simply provide your official work email address.
What’s on the programme?
Get practical insights from leading organisations, including:
- Arcadis — Lessons Learned from Procuring & Mobilising Major Capital Works
- Mace — Deliverability by Design: Why Infrastructure Strategy Needs Delivery Logic
- Microsoft — AI-Driven Digital Transformation in Programme & Project Management: The Next Leadership Frontier
- RPC UK & Sizewell C — Implementing Contract Management at Mega-Project Scale
…and many more sessions exploring the latest thinking across project controls, infrastructure delivery, AI & technology, governance, commercial management, risk and more.
Wembley Stadium, London 2–4 November 2026
Only 50 complimentary passes available. Don’t miss out.
Secure your pass now...
CONSTRUCTION CPM CONFERENCE 2027
We’re finalizing plans to bring the Construction CPM Conference back in 2027 at the Hilton Palacio del Rio on San Antonio’s River Walk.
Mark your calendar for February 23–25 and get ready to register your team, as we continue building a conference for Constructors, by Constructors.
Our focus will be strengthening Planning to drive Performance—so every attendee leaves with practical takeaways they can use right away. We will be continuing the legacy that Fred has built since 2011.
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: P6 CALCULATOR - BUILT FOR PLANNERS
When working in Primavera P6, databases are often used for years at a time, resulting in an ever-increasing amount of projects in those databases.
When you take codes and dictionaries into account on top of all of these projects, your database ends up handling a lot of data, which can slow performance and cause a lot of frustration. This is where archiving older projects can come in useful.
With P6-Calculator, archiving projects is easier than ever before with automatic migration of data between databases.
Take a look at this short video demonstrating how Emerald's P6-Calculator tool can be used to quickly and easily archive your Primavera P6 projects.
Read more...
For more information or to schedule a demo, please reach out to us at emerald@emerald-associates.com
Project Dashboarding with Cleopatra Enterprise
Across our global Planning & Project Controls community, few capabilities are transforming project performance as rapidly as modern dashboarding — and Cleopatra Enterprise’s approach shows exactly why. Their Project Dashboarding solution enables teams to visualize, analyze, and report live project data with clarity and confidence , offering customizable dashboards that adapt to the needs of executives, project managers, and field teams alike.
All of this, with customizable dashboards to meet the information requirements of different stakeholders.. With rich visualization options — from S‑curves and bubble charts to pivot tables and waterfall charts — practitioners can track KPIs such as CPI, SPI, planned vs actual spending, and resource utilization in real time.
Cleopatra’s project controls software makes it easy to track the KPIs that project managers rely on most, including cost.... Seamless integration with ERP, scheduling tools, and BI platforms like Power BI ensures data stays current, consistent, and aligned with corporate reporting standards .
For anyone seeking to reduce surprises, strengthen coordination, and elevate decision‑making across projects, this is a powerful example of how dashboarding can reshape project outcomes.
Read more...
EVA34 HIGH PERFORMANCE RESOURCING
EVA34 High Performance Resourcing
Wednesday 14 October
Armourers Hall
34% discount
Its on Wednesday 14 October at the Armourers Hall as usual. ONE day and optional dinner. The programme is coming together rapidly. A few slots are available for Speakers Sponsors Supporters and Exhibitors.
My gift to you is a 34 % discount for 34 days until Monday 3 August which as everybody knows is National Clean Your Floors Day.
The theme is High Performance Resourcing. This is where the improvements in efficiency and benefits are. Huge and significant for Controls and PMO people.
Forget AI for the minute or at least put it in the toolkit until you've decided what you want it to do for you. Now think about High Performance Resourcing. And the people doing the work. Where are they? How well are they doing? What can you do to help them? Do you know what they are working on. Do you know what they did today? How do connect the people not just on one project but all the people on all the projects. How's the whole organisation doing? How could AI help? Really help or just automate chaos? Is it about Controls or Skills? Or both?
www.stevewake.com
34% Discount HPRESOURCE34
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 PPAdmin@PlanningPlanet.com 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...
- Senior Project Controls Manager Permanent Employment London (EU.UK.LON)
- Senior Project Controls Manager (Change Baseline) Permanent Employment London (EU.UK.LON)
- Senior Planner Contract Employment Warwickshire (EU.UK.WAR) £690 per day
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE TO "MOST POPULAR" SOFTWARE FOR US 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...
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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 ppadmin@planningplanet.com. 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