PLANNING PLANET NEWS FEBRUARY 2012...

Dear Planners, Schedulers and Project Controls Professionals...

Welcome to Februarys information update... 

Things at Planning Planet (PP) are moving along very nicely.  So many of you are getting involved in so many ways, it is amazing.  It also shows what a wonderful profession we all work in.  Everyone is willing to share some information and time.

We also have some great news of new partnerships we have forged so watch this space.

If you have some comments or suggestions on how our community site should be changed, new functions implemented, or for us to simply improve, let us know at PPAdmin@planningplanet.com

Be proud of your planning.  We hope you find some value in the following text.  If not, do tell us!

Regards... Planning Planet Team

 THE GUILD OF PROJECT CONTROLS (GPC); Edition 2

Foreword  (provided by the Guild Management)...
We have dedicated this month’s newsletter to the phase 2 launch of the GPC and the upcoming Project Challenge event being held in London on the 21st & 22nd March.

Planning Planet is one of the main sponsors of the Project Challenge and lucky for us one of the main sponsors of the Guild. With this in mind we felt it appropriate to launch the start of phase 2 at this event.

More on Project Challenge...
Planning Planet (PP) is once again sponsoring a zone at Project Challenge; an event that we feel caters well for our industry and the needs of the community especially in its current format.

PP will run a comprehensive timetable of events that includes Industry leaders, Trade Partners and GPC speakers.  For more information on the show timetable please visit here.

The Guild presentations; what you can expect to hear / see at the show can be summarised as follows:

• Various Standards of Practice which will be launched and a selection, made available for a wider peer-review
• A Guild question and answer session hosted by a panel of Officers of the Guild
• Corporate Guild sponsors will also be present; why did they become involved? How do they hope to benefit?
• Dedicated team of people on the PP stand to answer your Planning Planet and / or Guild questions

Guild Phase 2 Launch...
As we mentioned, phase 2 of the Guild will be officially launched at the Project Challenge event in March. During phase 2 you can expect to see the following developments:

• Our very own Guild website – www.theguild.net
• Confirmation of Membership Levels and Titles
• Publication of the Guild Management Structure
• Publication of the Guild Constitution, a revised Officer of the Guild application process and terms of reference, regional council terms of reference and updated member Code of Conduct
• An update on corporate Guild Sponsors
• Confirmation of yearly Membership Fee
• Update on knowledge and capability validation / examination strategy
• The ability to join using existing professional qualifications

Get involved...
We need your continued support, so please come and see us at Project Challenge or if you can’t make it please visit our Guild pages to see how you can get involved.  Read more here.

 PROJECT CHALLENGE SPRING 2012 LONDON ENGLAND...

You will have read above that Planning Planet (and the Guild) will be supporting Project Challenge...

With leading exhibiting organisations, and 40 inspiring FREE high quality presentations to choose from this unmissable event provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn from leading industry experts. You will get right up to date with the latest tools, solutions and services at the UK's biggest and most important project event.

Download the Seminar Guide here.

Register here.

 QUESTION & ANSWER...

Hello, we have been asked our opinions on these issues and we'd value your thoughts, opinion and direction on which way we should go...

• Would you like to see an independent examining board to be used by the Guild organisation?
• Do any of you work for a global organisation which you think should get involved with the Guild; the Guild Management has given us the OK to reward members in this respect.
• Would you like the Guild to have a separate website from Planning Planet?
• Do you have any suggestion on Guild Yearly fees? 0-50, 50-100, 100-150 (GBP and factored up / down by region)?
• Do you see value in the Guild, if not why not?
• Do you like that we have Trade Partners on the PP website?  (has this 'commercialisation' put you off?)
• Can you recommend a favourite vendor, or skill provider and why?
• Would you like PP to be more involved in (independent) recruitment, following strict methods of business?
• If you felt PP needed changing, what would you do and why?
• Would you like more PP-organised events?  If so where? (would you like to organise one?)
• Would you like to read more professional-articles on PP?
• The Guild is a Centre of Excellence founded by members of the PP community.  Do you think we should succeed in our mission?
• Have you any ideas for the site for PP or the Guild.  Are there other sites you favour more?

Thanks for your time in completing this survey.  We will publish the answers in PP.  As ever, please keep sending in your thoughts and feedback to PPAdmin@planningplanet.com

 SYNCHRO NEWS...

Performance, Passion, Potential: Thinking Differently

The 2012 Synchro Inaugural User Conference Leads to A New Level in the BIM Journey

Birmingham, England, February 1st, 2012 – The benefits of bringing together 8 top industry speakers, more than 60 attendees including a wide range of users and the representatives from Oracle Primavera, Design Data Inc. and Bentley Systems, most of the Synchro team from both the United Kingdom and the United States, plus over 70 attendees of our webinar broadcast of the individual sessions for the Synchro Inaugural User Conference on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 in Walt Disney World Swan Resort, Orlando, Florida were seen as very positive.

From start-up history and a demonstration of the latest Synchro functionality, to prominent case study presentations, to a recap of the Synchro University Software Program, the conference exhibited a broad vision of Synchro’s performance, passion and potential.  Read more here.

 ASTA NEWS...

New white paper on resourcing from Asta Development...
As the economic squeeze continues, it is time for companies to put their project resources firmly under scrutiny. This white paper will help you identify the steps you need to take To download visit here.

Project Challenge...
Asta will be exhibiting at Project Challenge, Olympia, London on 21-22 March and presenting in the Planning Planet Zone and the Solutions Zone.   Come along and see the latest version of Asta Powerproject and the full range of the product suite.

Junior Planner of the Year...
Asta will be sponsoring an award for Junior Planner of the Year at the Planning and Scheduling Symposium event in London on 12 July. For information on how to enter the award visit here.

 TILOS NEWS...

Oil & Gas: Energy sector...
TILOS has been used as a planning and controlling system on a number of international pipeline projects such as the Keystone project through North America, Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan-Pipeline and many other big international pipeline projects. Recently a study about the usage of TILOS in pipeline building was published in the February issue of the World Pipeline Magazine and can be viewed on the TILOS web site here.

Copenhagen Metro Extension built with TILOS...
The new Copenhagen City Circle Line is 15.5 km long and will service 17 stations and will open in 2018.Steen Nielsen (Head of Planning):

“TILOS is being used as the strategic planning tool for the Copenhagen Cityring Project. Early in the project it was used to assess the impact of different TBM sequences and number of TBM’s on both the overall program and the interfaces with the individual station construction. As the project has developed the tool has been invaluable in quickly assessing the effects of changes, possible delays and determining suitable mitigation measures, for both the TBM drives and the station constructions. Not only has TILOS been great as an analysis tool, but the easy to understand graphical output provides a simple tool for explaining the planning to all members of the project team.”

View the plan here.

Demo videos of TILOS...
TILOS is a graphical planning tool which creates a time distance diagram or time chainage diagram simply by drawing the tasks into prepared templates containing all geometric constraints of your projects: Elevation, crossings, environmental restriction and land access issues. Take a few minutes to watch the new demo showing how quickly a schedule can be created here.

 PROJECT RESOURCE FEBRUARY MARKET WATCH...

Good morning and welcome to the February edition of the planning recruitment watch, brought to you by Project Resource Ltd. We bring you the latest trends in planning recruitment across the UK, helping you plot your next career move.

• Demand for planners has boomed since the start of the year with some of our offices reporting as a high as a 150% increase in the number of planning vacancies registered with them compared to the average in 2011.
• This surge is particularly noticeable in the North of England where we’re receiving frequent and urgent request for Planners of all levels of experience who have worked on new build Nuclear projects.
• Planners with general build experience are being sought across the UK and especially in the South West where we’re seeing a previously unmatched level of recruitment.
• In London demand is starting to come through for planners with rail experience now that the design framework for HS2 has been put in place.

If you are a planner and are considering your next career move, please visit our website today, we may have the perfect role for your experience and requirements. We also offer a referral scheme that rewards you for your recommendations, click here for details.

That's all from us here at PlanningPlanet HQ.  Please do keep your emails coming in and tell where we are doing well and where we need to improve etc.

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