2014 was the best year ever for Primavera Scheduling and our parent company, Construction Science. But while higher revenues are always welcome it was really the range of clients and training experiences that made 2014 very special. Here are just a few of the highlights:
- We provided Primavera P6 training to a NASA contractor working on the Orion space program. Orion is the first deep-space program initiated by NASA since Apollo. As someone who well remembers landing on the moon – I was 11 years old when it happened – the idea of going back to deep space is very exciting. No decision has been made by NASA on a destination, but Mars or an asteroid seem like distinct possibilities.
- We provided Primavera P6 training to Disney’s Creative Costuming at Disneyland. Yes, Disney uses Primavera P6 to schedule the making of costumes for all of their major theme-park characters. We spent one day at Disney University (!) teaching class and another day teaching at the actual location where the costumes are made. The effort that goes into making these costumes is quite extraordinary.
- We provided Primavera P6 training to the U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego. One of the interesting tidbits that came out of this training is that the Admiral of the Navy does not like red bars on the Gantt charts. He apparently believes that “red” means the project is behind schedule. And you definitely do not want to make the guy in charge of the Navy’s weaponry mad. So we showed the SPAWAR team how to make the critical path bars another color.
- We provided Primavera P6 training to a general contractor in Chicago who is renovating Wrigley Field. This $575M project represents the most extensive renovations ever made to Wrigley Field, one of America’s oldest ballparks. This will be an incredibly difficult project due to the historic status of Wrigley Field – even the ivy that covers the outfield walls is a protected landmark. ESPN has posted some great high-resolution photos of what the renovated ballpark will look like.
- I was selected by Lorman Seminars to be a presenter and moderator of its “Tricks, Traps and Ploys Used in Construction Scheduling” seminar in Sacramento, CA. After 31 years as a professional scheduler it was fun to talk about all the sneaky stuff that is sometimes part of CPM scheduling. An audio recording of the seminar and the training manual can be obtained at a 50% discount by using this link.
- Our Primavera software sales nearly doubled compared to 2013. We have always offered very competitive pricing but we firmly believe that our personal attention to clients is really the deciding factor. With the various versions of Primavera software that are available (Contractor, P6 Professional and P6 EPPM) we try very hard to steer our clients to the right product for their needs.
On a more personal note, the partners in our firm attended Game 4 of the 2014 World Series in San Francisco. What an amazing experience! Attending a World Series game is, in my opinion, a “bucket-list” item. Winning the World Series? Priceless! Actually, this was a very special World Series for me as my first baseball love was the Kansas City Royals and now I root for the San Francisco Giants. Given how I feel about both teams maybe this should count as two bucket-list items!
To all of our clients we send our heartfelt thanks and gratitude. And we wish all of you a great 2015.