Scheduler

Haydan Consultants, Inc. is looking to hire a talented Scheduler to support our partners on the Propel Transmission Infrastructure Program.

Engagement Overview

Our client maintains the Primavera P6 Integrated Master Schedule for the Propel program and produces monthly schedule reports, XER file submissions, and schedule narratives. These deliverables go directly to the Project Director and Construction Director — often preceded by informal verbal updates from client leadership. There is currently no independent owner’s review of client’s schedule products.

This consultant serves as the owner’s independent schedule analyst, embedded alongside the Director of Project Controls and the Propel team. The role has two priorities:

Priority 1 (Ongoing): Independent review and verification of client’s schedule deliverables, and hands-on schedule analysis support to the Propel team — including what-if scenarios, schedule recovery planning, and acceleration/crashing analysis.

Priority 2 (Build and Transfer): Develop schedule reporting tools and templates that operate from XER file uploads outside of P6, enabling the core Project Controls team to independently produce executive schedule summaries, milestone dashboards, and other schedule reports after the consultant engagement concludes.

Priority 1 — Independent Schedule Review & Analysis (Ongoing)

This is the consultant’s primary, day-to-day function. It is not a deliverable-based engagement — it is an ongoing analytical role supporting the Director of Project Controls and the Propel team.

Client Schedule Deliverable Review

For each client schedule submission (monthly P6 update, XER file, schedule narrative report), the consultant will:

• Review the XER file for data integrity: logic errors, open-ended activities, missing predecessors/successors, out-of-sequence progress, unreasonable durations, negative float, and constraint usage
• Verify that the critical path is valid and has not been artificially manipulated through constraints, lags, or calendar adjustments
• Perform float analysis by package: identify which activities are consuming float and at what rate, flag activities where float has dropped below agreed thresholds
• Compare the current schedule against the previous submission: what changed, what slipped, what improved, and whether changes are explained in client’s narrative
• Assess whether client’s schedule narrative accurately reflects what the P6 data actually shows — flag instances where the narrative is more optimistic than the data supports
• Produce a concise schedule review memo for the Director of Project Controls summarizing findings, discrepancies, and questions that should be raised with the client

What-If Scenario Analysis
On an as-needed basis, directed by the Director of Project Controls:

• Model what-if scenarios in P6 to test contractor recovery claims (e.g., “Contractor X says they will recover a 3-week slip — is that feasible given the logic and resources?”)
• Analyze schedule acceleration and crashing options: what activities can be accelerated, at what cost, and what is the impact on the critical path and downstream packages
• Assess the impact of delays on cross-package interfaces (e.g., if submarine cable installation slips, what is the compound effect on substation commissioning?)
• Quantify schedule risk scenarios to support the Director of Project Controls’ risk management responsibilities — provide schedule impact inputs for the quantified risk exposure model
• Document each scenario with assumptions, methodology, results, and recommended action

Schedule Recovery Support

When a package falls behind schedule:

• Develop schedule recovery options with the Propel team and contractor: re-sequencing, acceleration, additional resources, scope phasing
• Model each recovery option in P6 with cost and duration trade-offs
• Present recovery analysis to the Director of Project Controls for discussion with the Project Director, Construction Director, or contractor as appropriate
• Monitor recovery plan execution against the recovery schedule in subsequent months

Ongoing Schedule Support to the Propel Team

• Attend package progress meetings as the schedule analysis resource alongside the Director of Project Controls
• Provide schedule-based input to monthly risk reviews (milestone risks, float erosion trends, interface risks)
• Support the Director of Project Controls in preparing schedule-related content for the Monthly Project Health Review
• Answer ad-hoc schedule questions from the Propel team as they arise

Priority 2 — Schedule Reporting Tools (Build and Transfer)

As a secondary priority — without displacing Priority 1 work — the consultant will develop schedule reporting tools designed for long-term use by the core Project Controls team. The critical design requirement: all tools must work from XER file uploads processed outside of P6, so that the team does not need a P6 license or P6 expertise to produce schedule reports after the consultant’s engagement ends.

XER-Based (or other format) Reporting Engine

Develop a process (Excel-based, Python script, or similar tool approved by the Director of Project Controls) that:

Ingests a standard XER file (or other format) export from client’s P6 schedule

• Extracts the key data needed for all downstream reports: activity names, durations, dates (baseline, planned, actual), float, percent complete, WBS structure, milestone flags, and predecessor/successor logic
• Produces a structured data table that feeds all reporting templates below
• Includes documentation so the Project Controls Specialist can run the extraction independently

Executive Schedule Summary

One-page (maximum two-page) visual summary of the program schedule produced from the XER extraction:

• Key milestones for all 13 packages displayed on a program-level timeline or Gantt
• Critical path highlighted
• Cross-package dependencies and interface milestones visible
• 90-day look-ahead section showing near-term milestones with status
• Readable by the Project Director and Construction Director in under 3 minutes
• Updated monthly from fresh XER file upload (or other format)

Milestone Dashboard

Dashboard produced from the XER extraction showing all upcoming payment and contractual milestones (90-day rolling window):

• Package name, milestone description, contract value (manual input), baseline date, current forecast date, float remaining, status indicator (on track / at risk / behind), estimated cost exposure if delayed (manual input from Director of Project Controls)
• Auto-sorts by risk severity
• Summary counts: X on track, Y at risk, Z behind
• Updated monthly from fresh XER upload with manual status overlay

Schedule Health Metrics Report

Automated report from XER data showing:

• Number of activities by package with status (not started / in progress / complete)
• Number of activities with negative float, by package
• Number of open-ended activities (missing predecessors or successors)
• Number of activities with constraints, by constraint type
• Float distribution summary (histogram or categorized counts)
• Month-over-month comparison showing schedule quality trends
• This report serves dual purposes: it informs the Director of Project Controls’ client review, and it provides objective schedule quality metrics for the Monthly Project Health Review.

Additional Tools (As Time Permits)

• Critical path visualization extracted from XER data
• Float trend charts by package (showing float erosion over multiple monthly submissions)
• Schedule variance report: baseline vs. current for key milestones with trend arrows

Integration Points

• Risk Management: What-if scenario results feed into the quantified risk exposure model maintained by the Risk & Cost Controls Consultant. Schedule milestone risks identified by the Scheduler are added to the risk register through the Director of Project Controls.
• Cost Reporting: Milestone status data from the Milestone Dashboard feeds into the Executive Snapshot and Package Health Scorecards produced by the Risk & Cost Controls Consultant. Schedule-driven cost exposure estimates (from what-if scenarios) feed into cost forecasting.
• WSP Review: The Scheduler’s review findings feed into the Director of Project Controls’ client Independent Commentary Memos. The Scheduler does not communicate findings directly to client — all client communication goes through the Director of Project Controls.

Acceptance Criteria

All Priority 2 reporting tools must operate from XER file (or another format) uploads without requiring a P6 license or P6 expertise from the core team. The Project Controls Specialist must be able to use XER file (or other format) and produce updated reports independently after a training session. All tools include documentation covering: data source, update process, and troubleshooting. The Executive Schedule Summary must be readable by a non-scheduling audience without explanation. What-if scenarios must produce quantified schedule and cost impact estimates with documented assumptions — not qualitative assessments. Schedule review memos must independently verify or challenge client’s narrative using actual P6 data, not simply restate client’s conclusions.

Handover

When the engagement concludes, the consultant delivers: all XER-based (or other format) reporting tools in final operational state, all P6 layouts and filters used during the engagement, user documentation for every tool, and training sessions (minimum 2 hours with Director of Project Controls on schedule analysis methodology, minimum 1 hour with Project Controls Specialist on report generation). The success test: the core team can produce the next month’s Executive Schedule Summary and Milestone Dashboard from a fresh XER file (or other format) without consultant input.