Oracle Primavera Specialists

Bespoke Training Solution for Ongoing Rollout

RPC was engaged by a large civil aviation engine manufacturer to support them in a programme of implementing Oracle Primavera P6 to manage all their resources across the business. A key element of the initial scope of the 2–3-year staged programme was to train around 300 users, using behaviour-based courses tailored to the client’s specific business processes and activities. The roll-out has stretched over 8 years now, with 6,500 delegates trained so far in multiple locations across 5 countries, and ongoing bookings of two courses a month continuing to add around 200 more trained delegates every year.

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Business Sector

Aerospace Engine Systems

Services Provided

  • Training Needs Analysis 
  • Bespoke Course Creation 
  • Training 
  • Documentation 
  • Support to Training Rollout  

Technologies Used

Oracle Primavera P6

Approach

Understanding the client’s needs 

A thorough training needs analysis was performed to fully understand the client’s requirements and business processes. This programme of P6 training was the final stage in the design and implementation of a Primavera P6 solution provided by RPC, and we were able to build on the knowledge gained throughout the project to create highly tailored courseware centred around industry-specific examples.

Tailoring courses to meet the requirements 

Our training consultants worked closely with the customer to scope the training requirements and create bespoke course material for a suite of 6 behaviour-based, custom courses focused on processes and milestones that were to be managed in Primavera P6:

  • P6 Web for Schedulers 
  • P6 Pro for Schedulers 
  • P6 Web for Resource Managers 
  • P6 Web for Resource Owners 
  • P6 Web Overview 
  • P6 Web – Scheduling and Resourcing (combined course)

Achieving successful training outcomes  

Courses included content built around the client’s specific business processes so that it was accurately aligned with the delegates’ own experiences and needs. Introductory modules showing how to use the software were created using example data relevant to the client’s specific industry sector to ensure that terms and processes were familiar to the delegates, even though the software itself would be new. This helped to create a safe and comfortable environment for delegates who may have felt apprehensive about a major change to their working practices and improved the training outcomes across the board.

Training delivery 

The training delivery needed to be flexible to accommodate the client’s training and business needs and also staged functionality releases throughout the programme, which created peaks and troughs in training demand. During busy periods, we ran multiple courses, morning and afternoon. Training was initially delivered at the client’s premises in dedicated training rooms, but moved online during the Covid-19 pandemic and has remained online, as it presents a very versatile and easily accessible option.

Support for process change   

Completing the necessary training was a client requisite before staff could access the new resource management P6 tool. It was the first exposure to the new processes for most staff and represented a major change to their working processes. Ahead of new functionality releases, RPC visited client offices with a P6 Roadshow, meeting staff who would be impacted by the new processes, explaining to them what was coming and the wider business benefits and allowing them the opportunity to air concerns and ask questions. A team of Superusers was identified in-house to further spread the word and champion the benefits of the change in order to encourage uptake of training and allay apprehension of the change.

Main Challenges

A long engagement such as this – spanning years, not months – presents the challenge of ensuring that the custom training courses and materials keep pace with software updates implemented during the period of work. Because the training was being delivered by the consultants who had created the courses, they were able to respond quickly and easily to modify and update course materials and content as new features were introduced to the software. 

 

A major resource management roll-out created a requirement to train several thousands of people in a concentrated time period, necessitating back-to-back training courses, morning and afternoon, and rigorous administrative tracking to ensure that all required delegates could be accommodated without detriment to their day-to-day work schedule. At one point in the implementation we were required to train hundreds of schedulers prior to a functionality release; by running morning and afternoon courses in multiple locations, we were able to process the required number of delegates in just three weeks. 

 

Initially, the courses were delivered in a dedicated training room at the client’s own facility, but the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic made this in-house training temporarily impossible. We were able to switch over to online training delivered via Microsoft Teams to delegates in their own homes in a wide variety of locations and this was so successful that all training has moved online going forward, enabling easy access for delegates in client locations around the world. 

 

Implementing a major process change such as this is challenging to a business. RPC supported the client in winning hearts and minds for the new resource management approach within the staff base by running ‘roadshow’ events prior to major functionality releases to give staff the opportunity to air concerns, ask questions and understand the processes and benefits in the new solution.

Benefits

  • Tailored course material maximised training outcomes by making learning relevant and specific 
  • Concentrated delivery of training upskilled a large number of users in a short period of time to expedite successful implementation of the new resource management process 
  • Improved schedule planning, management and reporting for projects and programmes across the business through the adoption of new processes 
  • Upskilling of staff to enable roll out of a new solution, bringing all resource management into one 1 tool rather than the previous solution of using 15,000 Excel spreadsheets each month to track the necessary data 

Testimonials

“The training approach was not only very clear and structured, but also made it engaging and easy to follow (not easy on online, full-day training).” 

 

“The practical aspects of the course were really good. It helped a lot to be able to do it all in real time along with the trainer to understand the different steps. Really useful course, I wasn’t expecting a P6 course to be that interesting.” 

 

“Interesting and engaging.”

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