When you are looking to integrate TimeControl with Primavera you have many possible options to employ to make sure you get the actuals you need into however you’ve configured Primavera. TimeControl has had a link with Primavera since 1997 and we are very familiar with both the technical architecture and functional specifications of the system. All versions of TimeControl: TimeControl, TimeControl Industrial and TimeControl Online include Primavera bi-directional integration. Here are some ways the integration can be configured.
Integration with either Primavera EPPM or Primavera Pro P6
First of all TimeControl includes the ability to integrate with either Primavera’s EPPM centralized system or Primavera Professional. Linking with EPPM is usually done using Primavera’s Web Services but can alternately be done directly with the database. Linking with Primavera Pro on a desktop or using a network file share for the data is done directly between the TimeControl and Primavera databases. This is set up in the Link Definition area of TimeControl.
Moving data into TimeControl
Once you’ve defined the link to your Primavera, data can be updated from selected Primavera projects into TimeControl either on demand or on a scheduled basis. You can even configure TimeControl to automatically update the TimeControl Project Table with new projects in Primavera which you flag there to be ready to be transferred to TimeControl. You have a number of options on updating the TimeControl project and charge code list with information from Primavera. This includes deciding whether or not to bring in the milestones, whether to bring in Activity Steps, whether to bring in tasks even if they haven’t had a change and whether to bring in tasks which are already closed. You can also decide if only the Primavera Primary Resource can update the ETC and TimeControl will respect that choice in the timesheet. You can decide whether to bring in Resource definitions, Role Definitions or both and even decide if you want to work in TimeControl at a more summarized level of the project than is in Primavera.
Moving data back to Primavera
Once data has gone through the Matrix Approval Process in TimeControl, it can be used to update the Primavera project. There are a lot of options here.
Link Configuration
First, decide if you want to send back the ETC as hours remaining, days remaining or percent complete. Then tell TimeControl if you’d like to send back actuals in days or hours and how many hours make up a day. Then decide if you’d like to group all the timesheet hours into one entry per timesheet period (handy for super long multi-decade projects) or on the date you did the work (much more common). If TimeControl can’t find an assignment for the work it is trying to update, decide if TimeControl should create an assignment with a budget of zero or create the assignment budget equal to whatever the timesheet data is.
Resource Assignment Options
TimeControl can determine what resource an employee should be counted as either in the employee definition or from each timesheet line. We call that line-item-resources. Not everyone configures TimeControl this way but this allows an employee to log their time as one type of resource for part of the day and as other types of resource for other parts of the day. So if you’re being an engineer in the morning and a project manager in the afternoon, TimeControl can update Primavera’s assignments and costs properly.
Rate Options
TimeControl allows an unlimited number of rates per employee and even multiple timesheet lines on one timesheet with different rates for each. For each possible rate code, there are multiple possible rate values. So, for example, an employees “Standard” rate code might have one value for actual salary, another for billing, another for average project value and so on. You can decide in this link definition, which of the Rate Values to transfer to Primavera if you elect to transfer costs. For more information on Rates, we recommend looking at the White Paper: Creating your Rate Structure in TimeControl on the TimeControl.com website.
Material Transfer Rate Option
If you are using TimeControl Industrial, you may be collecting more than timesheet hours and timesheet costs. If you are collecting material consumption, equipment usage or even production accomplished in TimeControl Industrial’s material entry module, then the same concept of rates and costs exist there. This means you might have an internal cost of purchase for materials along with a billing cost and a project committed price which are all distinct. The Materials Transfer Rate Option lets you decide which rate value to use when calculating the cost as it is transferred to Primvera.
PMV Transfer Options
TimeControl’s Project Manager Validation functionality lets the project manager execute a line-by-line approval once the overall timesheet is approved. This allows a project manager to hold back on transferring some data to Primavera due to project updating reasons even though it might be just fine on the timesheet for the individual. The PMV Transfer Options allows you to define whether all data is being pushed back to Primavera or only that data which the project manager has approved in the PMV screen.
Data Options
Finally, the data options has numerous options on what to send back to Primavera and how including.
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- Transfer Resource Actual Hours
- Transfer Resource Actual Cost
- Transfer Expenses. This refers to the expenses associated to each TimeControl timesheet.
- Transfer Resource ETC. This will transfer the assignment estimate to complete based on the definitions above.
- Transfer Resource Complete Indicator. This is the complete checkbox on the timesheet. When selected, TimeControl will mark the task as complete in Primavera with no remaining duration.
- Transfer Line Notes to P6. This transfers the notes from the TimeControl timesheet line item to notes in the Primavera activity.
- Transfer Activity ETC. This is the Activity Estimate to Complete that is on the Activity tab of the timesheet not the assignment estimate to complete.
- Transfer Activity Complete Indicator. This is the estimate to complete for the overall activity, not each assignment. This can be updated within the Project Manager Validation Screen when doing line item approvals.
- Transfer Project Steps. These are activity steps that can be updated in the timesheet. Updates to this may have been restricted to the (Primavera Primary Resource if you selected that option above).
- Transfer to Financial Periods. You can elect to move data into Primavera’s Financial Periods rather than to the task summary. There are implications to this which you’ll see discussed in the TimeControl Reference Guide.
- Transfer Materials. This moves the TimeControl Industrial Materials usage and costs.
- Transfer Expected Finish Date. This can be updated on the timesheet if you make the field visible.
Whew! It’s a lot right? If you’re using Primavera and are feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t worry. The important thing is that these options are all designed to allow you to adapt TimeControl’s integration to whatever elements of Primavera you are using however you have configured Primavera. When creating your link between TimeControl and Primavera, the TimeControl technical staff are always ready to help you figure out how to configure the system to suit you best and, once it’s configured most organizations don’t have to touch the link definition again.
For more information on the Link between TimeControl and Primavera, go to the TimeControl/Primavera solutions portal at: TimeControl.com/use-cases/linking-with-primavera-p6.
HMS has maintained links between TimeControl and Primavera since 1997 when we made the first link with P3. Since we never throw anything away here. We still have that link in TimeControl though P3 hasn’t been sold in some time.
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