What an XER file is
XER is the exchange format Primavera P6 uses to move a project between databases. Unlike a spreadsheet it carries the full structure of a schedule: activities, calendars, relationships, resources and assignments. If a tool cannot write XER, its output has to be rebuilt by hand inside P6, which removes most of the time saved.
What is inside a generated export
| Element | Source | Detail |
|---|
| Activities | Sequenced item groups | Construction activities per unit and per process area |
| Relationships | Construction methodology | Predecessor and successor links, finish to start with lag where required |
| Durations | Project engineering data | Derived from calculated hours rather than assumed |
| Resources | Project staffing data | Crew sizes assigned at a 1:1 basis to the project's own data |
| Codes and structure | Process area assignment | Activities grouped by the physical area they belong to |
On the models processed so far the pipeline has generated 220 construction activities and 190 predecessor and successor relationships, from 264,101.9 engineering hours calculated out of the models.
Importing into P6
- Import the XER into Primavera P6 as a new project, or into an existing EPS node.
- Schedule the project so P6 calculates dates from the imported relationship network.
- Review the activity network by process area; gating means bulk work in an area follows the equipment in that area.
- Adjust calendars and resource curves to project standards, then baseline.
Planners keep full control. The generated schedule is a starting network built from the model and the methodology, not a locked black box output.
Why not a spreadsheet
Spreadsheet output loses relationships. A list of activities with durations still leaves the hardest part of planning, the dependency network, to be recreated manually. Writing XER means the logic survives the handover.
Upstream of the export
The export is the last of five stages. See Navisworks to Primavera P6 for the full pipeline and construction sequencing automation for the logic that builds the network.