Primavera P6 Calendars – Creating and Assigning

What is a Primavera P6 Calendars and how can I create Primavera P6 assign Calendar and modify a calendar in Primavera p6? Here below you can find how to create a default 10-hour per day and 6-day work week with holidays calendar in Primavera P6.

Before preparing a project schedule in Primavera P6, it is important to understand the functions of Calendars in Primavera P6. For a work schedule, the calendar must represent the real site conditions, weather conditions, non-work days and  public holidays, etc.

Did you know? Primavera P6 assign Calendar

The world’s largest calendar Long Now Calendar lasts for 10,000 years. It is a mechanical clock inside a mountain in Texas, USA. This monumental project aims to encourage long-term thinking and inspire future generations. So that, they will consider the impact of their actions over millennia. Rather than just years or decades.

Types of Calendar in Primavera P6

1. Standard Calendars

Standard calendars in Primavera P6 serve as the foundation upon project scheduling. They delineate the standard working hours. And these are usually spanning from Monday to Friday and from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Furthermore, they include standard holidays and non-working periods. This function is providing a baseline for project scheduling.

2. Resource Calendars

Resource calendars in Primavera P6 are for individualized needs of resources in the project. Whether it is accommodating in different working hours, shifts or days off, these calendars ensure maximum resource allocation.

3. Project Calendars

Project calendars are for unique requirements of each project. They define project-specific working hours, holidays and non-working periods. Hence, you can align project timelines with organizational or contractual obligations. In this way, these ideal project calendars creates a smooth project execution.

Importance of Calendars in Primavera P6

The significance of Primavera P6 calendars matter most for people working in industrial firms. They are the cornerstone of project scheduling, resource management and as well as obstacles. These calendars can tell activity duration, ensure resource availability and enforce project constraints to maintain project integrity.

Creating Calendars in Primavera P6

Step 1: Accessing the Calendars

If you wanna create calendars in Primavera P6, then, go to the Enterprise menu and select Calendars.

Step 2: Defining Calendar Properties

In this step, it is crucial to define calendar properties. These properties includes assigning a descriptive name, working hours as well as non-working days and accounting for exceptions.

Step 3: Applying Calendars

Now calendars should be applied in Primavera P6. They can be assigned at various levels. These are including global calendars  across multiple projects. As well as, project calendars specific to individual projects or resource calendars for individual resources.

Primavera P6 Modified Calendar: How To Use It?

Step 1: Accessing Calendars

If you want to start modification process, you must first access the Calendars section within Primavera P6. Also, you can do this in Enterprise menu. After that, you should select Calendars option. Once within the Calendars section, project managers access to all calendars associated.

Step 2: Selecting the Primavera P6 Calendars to Modify

With the Calendars section, project managers must identify the specific calendar they intend to modify. You can select relevant calendar from the list of available options. Also, project managers can set the stage for targeted adjustments to meet requirements and constraints.

Step 3: Modifying Calendar Properties

Working Hours Adjustment

Here, project managers may need to modify working hours within a calendar. If you wanna make changes in this area, you can a double-click action on the calendar.

Adding or Removing Holidays

Another critical aspect is holidays. You should go Holidays tab within the calendar properties window. In this way, project managers can add or remove holidays.

This action prompts the opening of the calendar’s properties window. Here, project managers can navigate to the Working Hours tab. And they can make nuanced adjustments.

Incorporating Exceptions

To accommodate unique circumstances or deviations from standard scheduling parameters, project managers can use Exceptions feature within Primavera P6 calendars. For this, you should go to Exceptions tab within the calendar properties window,.

Through the Add function, project managers can delineate the type of exception. They can also specify the date or period and provide details to ensure clarity and precision.

Step 4: Applying Modifications

After adjusting calendar properties to align with project requirements, project managers proceed to apply their modifications. By clicking the OK button within the calendar properties window, project managers confirm their changes and initiate the process.

Step 5: Verifying Modifications

Afterapplying modifications, project managers undertake a critical verification step to ensure the accuracy and efficacy. This verification process serves as a safeguard against discrepancies and reinforces the integrity of project scheduling.

Creating and Assigning, and Modifying Calendars in Primavera P6

We will select Enterprise | Calendars from the main top drop-down menu, Figure 1.

In the “Calendars” window, we will select the + Add button, Figure 2.

Now we will copy a default calendar of P6 and modify it. In the Select Calendar to Copy From window, we will select the 7 Days 10 Hours calendar.

You should here ensure Total work hours/day option is marked.

We will have a 6-day work week calendar.

Using Primavera P6 Calendars to Highlight Holidays

Now we will mark the holidays. Let’ s assume that December 13th, January 20th and April 7th is a holiday in our project. We will highlight them and select the Nonwork button.

Time Periods ın Primavera P6 Calendars

Make sure that the Hours/Day cell is set to 10.0 to match our 6-day 10-hrs/day work week, Figure 9.

If we leave it as 8-hrs/day then Primavera P6 will consider each 8-hour period of our 10-hour day as one day for the Original Duration calculation. This means, if it remains 8-hrs/day and we insert an activity original duration 3 days, it will calculate 3×8 = 24 hours.

Then if we change 8-hrs/day to 10-hrs/day, original duration of the activity will be 24/10 = 2 days. So it is important to set the working hours before to add activities in primavera p6.

Set Default Calendar and Primavera P6 assign Calendar

Now we will set our newly created 6×10 work week calendar to the default. We will select Enterprise | Projects from the main menu and select our newly created 6×10 work week calendar.

Summary

It is possible to create and modify different types of calendars in P6. Also, you can assign them to different activities. Different working types can use different calendars. For example, site calendar may be 10-hours per daya and a 6-day workweek calendar. While an office calendar may be 8-hour per day and 5-day work week calendar.

Creating and assigning a calendar in Primavera P6 is an important process. Because the assigned calendar must represent the real conditions of the project.

See Also

Primavera Project Planner

Download Primavera P6

External References

Calendars

FAQs

1. How do I change the calendar in Primavera P6?

   • If you wanna change the calendar in Primavera P6, you should follow below steps.
     1. First, you should go to the “Enterprise” menu.
     2. Then, you must select Calendars.
     3. Now, choose the calendar you want to change.
     4. Here on, you can modify the working hours, non-working days or other parameters.

2. Why is the calendar important in Primavera P6?

   • The calendar is important in Primavera P6. Because it defines the working and non-working hours/days for activities and resources. It also helps in scheduling project activities and managing resources’ availability.

3. What are the different types of calendars in Primavera P6?

   • Primavera P6 offers various types of calendars including:
     1. Standard calendar
     2. Resource calendar
     3. Project calendar
     4. Global calendar

With Primavera P6, you can create an unlimited number of calendars for different project requirements.

1. How do I change calendar options?

   •  If you wanna change calendar options in Primavera P6, you should go to the Enterprise menu. After that, you should select Calendars and then choose the calendar. From there, you can adjust working hours, non-working days and other settings.

2. How do I change calendar layout?

   • The specific steps may vary depending  Primavera P6 version. You can check the user manual or help documentations for  instructions.

3. How many different calendars do you need?

   • The number of calendars depends on the complexity of your project. And also variations in working hours and non-working days.  But it is common to have multiple calendars for various scenarios.

4. Can you make multiple calendars?

   • Yes, you can create multiple agendas for different project needs and resource schedules. Each calendar can have its own working hours, non-working days and other parameters.