AWP software is best evaluated against the jobs an AWP procedure gives it, which are building installation work packages (IWPs), tracking constraints, running the lookaheads, and staying aligned with the schedule and the document register. It is selected during FEED, alongside the AWP strategy and data requirements, and a trial on your own project data shows the most. These seven areas cover what matters on a live project.
IWPs Built from the Model
Workface planners build IWPs from the 3D model with the general foremen, each sized for one foreman and crew for 7 to 10 days. The software should build IWPs from model selections, hold them inside their construction work packages (CWPs), and keep them at Level 4, out of the Level 3 schedule.
Constraints and Release
A constraint is any condition that prevents a task from being executed. Good AWP software records each constraint against the package it blocks, holds a package out of release while any are open, and shows RFIs as constraints on the CWPs and IWPs they affect.
The Lookaheads
The procedure runs a 90 Day Look Ahead of CWPs and a 4 Week Look Ahead of IWPs. The software should run both and report whether the plan held, including IWPs open beyond 10 days, IWPs on HOLD, and IWPs completed on time.
Engineering Inputs Every Week
Engineering loads its packages into the AWP software each week. That includes documents through a connection to the document management system, material takeoffs with fabricator piece marks, and every model form, from engineering and vendor models to fabricator and spool files. Model conditioning for AWP covers what the model needs.
The Package Register and the Schedule
No package is created or split outside the AWP Matrix, and the AWP software is reconciled with it, the Level 3 schedule, and the document register every month. The software should follow the package register and stay aligned with Primavera P6, and how Primavera P6 carries an AWP program explains what that looks like.
Completion Without Spreadsheets
Late in construction, remaining work is packaged by system. Test work packages and system work packages belong in the same software, with the same lookaheads and constraint management, so completions stay out of spreadsheets.
Data Ownership and Cost
Where the software runs, who can access the data, and what stays with you at the end of the contract all matter on a multi-year program. How AWP software is priced covers the cost side.
A Trial on Real Data
A demo on a sample plant shows the interface. A trial on your own tag register, schedule, and model shows whether the tool handles your naming, your volumes, and your exceptions.
Comparing options for a program? Our AWP consulting team helps define the requirements, or try openAWP on your own models.