Tag Archives: primavera eppm

The TimeControl / Primavera Link continues to evolve

The Link between TimeControl and Primavera comes from a long partnership.  In 1997, HMS and Primavera worked together to make the first link between TimeControl 2.1 and Primavera P3.  As each product has evolved, the TimeControl Link has too.  In virtually every version of TimeControl there has been some improvement or some extension of the Primavera Link.

There are numerous advantages of blending the TimeControl auditable timesheet functionality with the power of Oracle-Primavera’s project management functionality.  Key features of the link include:

  • TimeControl’s Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals™
  • Uploading not only hours but also Material consumption, Equipment Usage and Progress achieved (using TimeControl Industrial)
  • Missing timesheet management
  • Automated business validation rules
  • Extensive rate management with unlimited rates per resource
  • Management of vacation, sick leave, and personal time banks
  • Management of banked overtime and;
  • The free TimeControl Mobile App.

The TimeControl Link can support multiple Primavera editions and even multiple versions at one time including Primavera EPPM and Primavera Pro.  The integration to and from Primavera can be run on demand or on your own schedule.

There are numerous resources on the TimeControl.com website talking about how to integrate with Primavera and the benefits of combining Primavera with TimeControl.  Start at primavera.timecontrol.com to discover white papers, slide presentations, webcasts and more.

The integration of TimeControl timesheets to Primavera is highly configurable

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.

    • 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.

The TimeControl / Primavera Alliance continues as Oracle names HMS a Gold Partner for the 21st year of their partnership!

Our technical alliance relationship with Primavera started back in 1997 when TimeControl 3 was about to enter the market.  HMS and Primavera had known each other well since the mid 1980s but as competitors selling project management software.  Now we had an opportunity to collaborate together as partners instead of adversaries and the president’s of HMS and Primavera struck the deal in a short phone call.

We’ve never looked back.

TimeControl 3 was released that year with a bi-directional integration with Primavera P3 and HMS has maintained the integration with Primavera since that time.

In 2008 Oracle would purchase Primavera but for HMS that only served to draw the two firms closer.  HMS already had a partnership with Oracle to enable integration of TimeControl with Oracle Financials and to support the Oracle database.

Now Oracle and HMS have extended their relationship and the relationship has never been stronger.  There are so many technical facets to the two firms working together that we’ve had to create a portal to keep track of them all.  The TimeControl integration now works in two ways, direct from database-to-datebase or through the Oracle-Primavera Web Services link.  The link works with multiple versions of Primavera including Primavera Professional and Primavera EPPM.

There are more Oracle products of course.  TimeControl has been configured to work with many different Oracle tools including Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and, MySQL.

Some of the many TimeControl’s value-added benefits when linking with Oracle-Primavera include:

  • Support for Multiple rates per employee
  • Automated business rule validations
  • Automated workflow
  • Auditable timesheet records suitable for Finance, HR, Invoicing or Payroll
  • Missing timesheet notification
  • Simultaneous support for multiple versions of Primavera
  • The free TimeControl Mobile App for smartphones and tablets supporting both iOS and Android
  • matrix timesheet approvals with HMS’s unique Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals™
  • With TimeControl Industrial, the Crew Timesheet and Materials and Equipment field data collection

HMS is proud of our long standing relationship with Oracle and particularly with the Oracle-Primavera teams.  We look forward to a productive year working together as a Gold Partner.

For more information about TimeControl and how it links to Oracle technologies, visit the TimeControl Oracle Solution Portal at: http://www.timecontrol.com/use-cases/oracle-portalor contact HMS at info@hms.ca.

What’s new with TimeControl’s link with Oracle-Primavera?

Version 7.1 of TimeControl includes an additional link type that will be of great interest to those who use Primavera’s Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management (EPPM) system.

integration_puzzlepieceHMS 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.

The newer versions of Oracle-Primavera come in two flavors:

Primavera Professional

This version is designed to work in a stand-alone fashion for those users who must strap on a laptop and work in the field.  We often say that these Primavera users might not have access to the Internet because they’re building the internet out in the wilderness but, for whatever your reason, if you need to work independent of the corporate network, this is the version to install on your computer.  Primavera Professional installs with its own optional database system.

Primavera EPPM

This server-based version installs on a web server and is then accessed via your browser.  The server-based software integrates with the web server and corporate database to deliver integrated project management and portfolio management functionality.

TimeControl already includes links to both Primavera Professional and Primavera EPPM which work at the database level.  These existing links are highly effective and have been used by many organizations for years but the new version of TimeControl brings a level of capability that is beyond what is possible with older versions.

With the Web Services link, TimeControl will be able to make a link with Primavera EPPM using the Web Services provided by Primavera EPPM.  This link is highly configurable, just like the database-based link but because it using Web Services, it will also work just fine when your Primavera EPPM is not implemented on premises.  When organizations use TimeControl Online or subscribe to Primavera EPPM from an in-the-cloud service, TimeControl will still be able to create and maintain an automated link.

The availability of the TimeControl Web Services Link to Primavera EPPM does not mean we will be abandoning the database-to-database link.  This will be kept in the product for the foreseeable future to ensure we have a working link to Primavera Professional and to be used when TimeControl and Primavera EPPM are implemented together on premises and large volumes of data will be transferred.  A database to database link is always going to be a little faster.

So the TimeControl Web Services Link is a new extension to our many system links and one which holds great promise for those looking to work more with subscription service enterprise systems.

For more information on TimeControl’s links with external system, see the TimeControl Use-Case pages.