--- title: 'Scheduling' url: 'https://piper-ai.com/use-cases/scheduling' description: 'Draft a CPM preconstruction schedule from the project documents, every activity linked to its source. Check the logic, then export to P6 or Microsoft Project.' updatedAt: '2026-10-18T10:57:14.952Z' --- # AI Preconstruction Scheduling for General Contractors Build the preconstruction schedule from the project, not from a blank page. Piper drafts a CPM schedule from the drawings, specifications, and project documents, links every activity to its source, and checks the logic before you export it to Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project. Piper drafts preconstruction schedules from drawings, specifications, and project documents, using one evolving understanding of the project. It is not a replacement for Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project: it builds and checks the preconstruction schedule, then exports it to them. It is for general contractor preconstruction teams, especially estimators and preconstruction managers. Every activity stays linked to its source in the project documents, and the schedule logic is checked before it is exported. ## Precon needs a schedule. Someone still has to build it In preconstruction, the schedule shapes the estimate: general conditions, phasing, long-lead procurement, and the dates the owner holds you to. The logic behind it lives in the same documents as the scope: milestones in the owner requirements, phasing on the drawings, submittal and commissioning requirements in the specifications. Someone has to read all of that, turn it into activities and logic, and get it into the format the owner asks for, usually on the same deadline as the estimate. ### Today A schedule built late, after the estimate is mostly done. Milestones and phasing pulled from the documents by hand. Waiting on a scheduler or PM who is already on other work. Excel workarounds that P6 rejects on import. ### With Piper A first draft built from the project documents. Every activity linked to the page it came from. Questions asked where the documents are silent, not guessed. Native P6 and Microsoft Project files, ready to open. ## How scheduling works in Piper From the project documents to a schedule your scheduler can stand behind ### 01. Read the project: Find what drives the schedule Piper reviews the drawings, specifications, addenda, and owner requirements for milestones, phasing, required durations, long-lead items, submittals, commissioning, and other constraints on the work. ### 02. Ask before assuming: Fill the gaps with your team, not with guesses Where the documents do not say, such as the start date, the work week, or how a phase should sequence, Piper asks instead of inventing an answer. ### 03. Draft the schedule: Build activities, logic, and a WBS with sources Piper drafts the WBS, activities, durations, and relationships, calculates the critical path and float, and links each activity to the document and page it came from. ### 04. Check and export: Review the logic, then hand it off in your format Run quality checks based on the DCMA 14-point assessment, edit in the activity table and Gantt, and export to Primavera P6 (XER or XML) or Microsoft Project XML. ## Check a schedule before it carries your name ### Schedule logic Open ends Missing logic Relationship types ### Leads, lags, and constraints Leads Lags Hard constraints ### Float and durations Negative float High float Long durations Critical path ### Schedules from others Primavera P6 XER Primavera P6 XML Microsoft Project XML Every finding points to the activity behind it ## Plan the job with a schedule you can defend ### Start from this project's documents Milestones, phasing, and requirements come from the current project documents, not from a schedule copied from a similar job and edited until it looks right. ### Answer the reviewer with a source When the owner or a teammate asks why an activity is there or why a milestone falls where it does, the source document is one click away. ### Keep the scheduler on judgment Piper does the reading and the first draft, so the person who owns the schedule spends their time on sequence, durations, and risk: the decisions that need experience. ### Hand it off in the format the owner asks for The schedule opens in Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project with its activities and logic intact, ready for your scheduling team or the owner. Put a schedule behind the estimate, not just a number ## Build a preconstruction schedule with Piper Bring the project documents from a current or recent project. See how Piper drafts the schedule, links every activity to its source, checks the logic, and hands it off in P6 or Microsoft Project format. ## What preconstruction teams ask ### Does Piper replace Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project? No. Piper builds and checks the preconstruction schedule, then hands it to the tools your schedulers already use. It imports and exports P6 XER, P6 XML, and Microsoft Project XML. It works with Microsoft Project XML rather than .mpp files. ### Will Piper make up dates or durations? Piper does not invent a start date or a milestone the documents do not state; it asks. Durations are a proposed starting point for your team to review and adjust, and every activity shows the source behind it. ### Can Piper review a schedule we didn't build? Yes. Import a P6 or Microsoft Project file and run the same logic checks on it. ### Does Piper run the full DCMA 14-point assessment? It runs the checks that apply to a preconstruction schedule. Checks that need progress data or a baseline, such as the baseline execution index, apply once a project is underway. ### Can we edit the schedule in Piper? Yes. Change activities, logic, calendars, and constraints in the activity table or the Gantt, recalculate to see the critical path, or ask Piper to make the change in plain language. ### Does this replace our scheduler? No. Piper drafts and checks; the scheduler owns the logic, the durations, and the final schedule. ## Related workflows - [Scope Generation](https://piper-ai.com/use-cases/scope-generation) - [Final Bid Review](https://piper-ai.com/use-cases/final-bid-review)