Scheduling transportation projects using Primavera Project Planner as part of the software series in civil engineering technology independent learning experiment at Fairmont State College

Journal of Engineering Technology, Spring 2001 by Stilgenbauer, Ted M, Nicholas, Thomas, Brizendine, Anthony

An excerpt of information provided to students for the final project is as follows:

Fairmont State College and the West Virginia Department of Highways have agreed to participate in a project to determine and assess the cost effectiveness and performance of a CON/SPAN Arch Bridge Systems used in lieu of a short steel-girder bridge.14 You have been chosen by Fairmont State College and the WVDOH to manage this project. Fairmont State College will provide the engi- neering and contract plans, while the WVDOH will provide project management and funding for construction. As the project manager, you must create a schedule using P3 to manage the project and assess the construction costs at various construction stages.

Adaptation for Industry Training

The West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH) Standards and Specification for Roads and Bridges requires the use of a Primavera(R) CPM schedule for all projects of five million dollars or more.15 Similarly, for projects valued between one and five million dollars a Primavera(R) schedule is strongly encouraged. When this standard was adopted in 2000, both consultants and DOH employees were in need of training in the use of project scheduling and Primavera.(R) To meet this need, Fairmont State College adapted our academic course to provide training specific to the transportation industry.16 Engineers and Technicians earn professional or technician development hours upon successful completion of the training modules.

Training occurs in three two-day sessions spaced approximately one month apart. Each two-day session contains one of the three modules described previously. Trainees receive one section of the manual during each training course. At the end of the third training course the student has a complete manual including a detailed table of contents, a hard copy and diskette of the schedules for each workspace in Primavera(R), and the final student project.

The training program is structured to move the students through the training courses utilizing a typical DOH project for each class exercise, such that the trainee has a completed example project at the completion of the third training session.

To optimize the learning experience and ensure that everyone learns the material, two instructors are utilized in each class. While the first instructor provides instruction and demonstrates the software, the second instructor floats around the room monitoring the class to keep everyone on task so that no one is left behind. Instructors rotate periodically between teaching and assisting students.

The backgrounds of the students often vary with graduate engineers and technicians in the same classroom; obviously, this presents challenges that must be addressed. With significant variation in student abilities and knowledge level, it is imperative to control the flow of the class so that the training course will not be too fast for some and too slow for others.

The final project is also utilized for the training programs. Completion of the final project results in increased confidence; students leave the training with two completed projects that attest to their ability to create, manage, and present schedules using the software. The final project is presented to the students at the end of the third training module. The student is required to add a project, create calendars, add activities, link activities, and so on, so that all material from the three courses is covered. Information provided on the project includes project name, start date, list of activities, network logic, etc. After the project has been calculated and a target schedule is completed, each student receives a change order or another task such as creating a resource dictionary or cost accounts. The projects serve as a familiar project to the trainee, so that he/she has a reference for working with schedules back in the district offices.