The schedule in Tekla PowerFab is one of the most under-appreciated areas of the software. Many will not spend the time to understand its capabilities, which leads to its under-utilization. Because of this, I want to explain the benefits of the schedule, which hopefully encourages further usage.
Templates
Time is always of the essence, and those creating a schedule need a means of quickly entering information. Tekla PowerFab allows you to create schedule templates so that the tasks in the schedule can automatically be inserted. In addition, links between the tasks (predecessors/successors) can be built into the template so they can be included automatically as well. This means that you can create the base of your schedule in a couple clicks.
You also have the added benefit of being able to create multiple templates. For example, it may be necessary to create a more detailed and complex schedule for larger projects. Conversely, smaller projects may not require as much detail. You have the ability to create a schedule for larger projects and a separate template for smaller projects. You might even want to create a schedule specific to a client that requires specific information on a schedule. Suffice it to say that you can create as many templates as needed so that you can quickly insert the needed items into your schedule.
You might even want to create a schedule specific to a client that requires specific information on a schedule.
Lastly, templates also help enforce consistency of the schedules across multiple projects. What do I mean by that? Management can set the tasks that it needs to see on schedules and enforce its usage by requiring that a certain template be used. This keeps various individuals from creating their own format that is entirely different from other individuals in the organization. This means you will be familiar with the layout and content of every schedule rather than trying to interpret someone’s very unique format!
