Resources and roles

Up to now the Northgate schedule has been logic and durations. Resources and roles add the people, equipment and materials that do the work. In Oracle Primavera P6 they live in enterprise-wide dictionaries, not inside one project, and how a contractor sets them up decides whether a manpower histogram means anything. This lesson explains the difference between a resource and a role, the three resource types, the settings that matter, and what an owner should ask a contractor to load.

Learning outcomes

• Explain the difference between resources and roles, and between labour, nonlabour and material resources.
• Create a resource in P6 Professional with its type, calendar, Max Units/Time and Price/Unit, and create a role with proficiency levels.
• Assign resources and roles to activities using Add Resource, Add Role and Assign by Role, and choose the rate source.
• Decide what resource loading an owner should require in a contractor's baseline, and check it.

The lesson

Resources and roles are not the same thing

Resources are the personnel and equipment that do the work, reused across activities and projects [1]. P6 keeps them in one enterprise resource pool, arranged as a hierarchy, with resource codes for grouping across the organization [1]. Each resource has availability limits, unit prices and a calendar [1].

Roles are job titles or skills, such as inspector or carpenter. A role stands for a type of resource at a level of proficiency, not a named person [2]. You can assign roles to activities while planning, then replace them with resources who have that role once the team is known [2]. Roles can also be assigned to resources to record their skills, at one of five proficiency levels: Master, Expert, Skilled, Proficient and Inexperienced [2][3].

Expenses are different again. They are one-time costs for items that are not reused, and P6 leaves them out of resource levelling [1].

Three resource types

On the resource's Details tab, choose one of three types [4][5]:

• Labor: people. Measured in units of time.
• Nonlabor: equipment and other resources that do not perform labour. Also measured in units of time.
• Material: consumables measured in a unit of measure other than time, such as cubic metres. The units of measure are set up by an administrator [4][5].

Oracle's interface uses the American spelling, Labor and Nonlabor; this lesson uses labour in prose. Figure 1 shows how the pieces fit, with Northgate examples.

Building a resource

Choose Enterprise, Resources, select the parent node, and click Add on the Edit toolbar or choose Edit, Add; depending on your preferences, the New Resource wizard may start [6]. Then work through the tabs. The ones that change the schedule are:

• Details: resource type; currency; whether overtime is allowed and its factor, between 0 and 10; the calendar, either a shared resource calendar or a personal one; Default Units/Time; Auto Compute Actuals; and Calculate costs from units [4].
• Units & Prices: one row per effective date, each with a Max Units/Time and a Price/Unit [7].
• Roles: the roles this resource can fill, each with a proficiency, and which one is the primary role [8].

Max Units/Time is the resource's availability. Oracle's example: one person might be 8.00h/d, while a department of five might be 40.00h/d [7]. Price/Unit is the rate, such as $50.00/h [7]. Because both sit on effective-dated rows, you can change availability or price part way through the job without editing old assignments. Figure 2 shows an availability change of that kind.

The calendar matters as much as the numbers. Shared resource calendars are assigned on the Details tab [9], and Lesson 5 covers how a resource calendar interacts with the activity calendar. It matters most on Resource Dependent activities, which schedule each resource on its own calendar (Lesson 7).

View the data

Effective date	Max Units/Time	Reason (illustrative)
Mon Mar 1, 2027	40.00h/d	One crew of five at mobilization
Mon Apr 12, 2027	80.00h/d	Second crew for slab-on-grade
Mon May 17, 2027	40.00h/d	Back to one crew after M4

Building roles

Choose Enterprise, Roles, click Add, and give the role a unique ID and a name on the General tab [10]. On the Resources tab of the Roles dialog you set each resource's proficiency in that role; the five levels are predefined [3]. Roles can carry their own price/unit rates and their own limits over time, entered as Max Units/Time on effective dates [11]. By default, role limits are calculated from the limit of each role's primary resource, which may not match the planned allocation; a user preference lets you use only active resources or your own custom role limits instead [11].

You can also assign roles from the resource side: in Enterprise, Resources, open the resource's Roles tab, click Assign, pick the role, set the proficiency and mark Primary Role if it applies [8].

Putting them on activities

Assignments are made on the activity. In Project, Activities, select the activity, show Activity Details and open the Resources tab [12][13][14]:

• Add Resource assigns a named resource [12].
• Add Role assigns a role, or several, to state the activity's skill needs [13].
• Assign by Role opens the Assign Resources by Role dialog, which lists, for each role on the activity, the resources who can fill it, with their proficiency and Max Units/Time [14][15].

When a resource and a role share an assignment, the Rate Source column decides which price is used: Resource, Role or Override [16]. A user preference can make that choice automatic [16]. Figure 3 traces the path from a role on an activity to a staffed assignment. How the assigned units spread over the activity's duration is the subject of the next lesson.

In P6 EPPM

In the web application, resources are added from the Navigation Menu: expand Resources, click Administration, then Resources, and add a sibling or child resource with its ID, name and Units and Prices rows; resource data can also be imported from an Excel file [17]. Roles are assigned to a resource in its Roles detail window; a resource can hold many roles but only one primary role, and the first one added becomes primary [18].

Screenshot to come

Northgate worked example

Northgate Distribution Centre (fictional) is built under a CCDC 2-2020 stipulated price contract, so Halvorsen Builders Ltd. (fictional) carries its own labour and equipment costs (see the Northgate fact sheet). Northgate Logistics Inc. (fictional) does not need Halvorsen's rates. It does need to know whether the baseline NDC-BL00 is buildable with the people and equipment Halvorsen has, especially through the tight run from M4 foundations and slab (Fri May 14, 2027) to M5 panels erected (Fri Jun 25, 2027).

What the specification asks for

Northgate's schedule specification takes a middle path, which the owner can adjust project by project:

• Labour loading in hours for the critical trades: concrete, tilt-up erection, structural steel, roofing, and mechanical, electrical and fire protection.
• Roles acceptable at baseline where subtrades are not yet named, replaced by resources once the subcontracts are let.
• Nonlabour resources for the cranes on the tilt-up and steel activities, so crane conflicts show up.
• No prices required. Price/Unit may be left at zero, and the rate source is not reviewed.
• Resource IDs with a fixed prefix (HB. for Halvorsen) and a calendar on every resource.

The owner's check

The owner's scheduler groups the Resources window by type and reads it in a few minutes:

• Types. The crane is Nonlabor and ready-mix concrete is Material in m³. A crane entered as Labor would inflate the labour histogram.
• Max Units/Time. A crew of five should read about 40h/d. An unlimited or blank limit hides overallocation.
• Calendars. Every resource on a Resource Dependent activity has a resource calendar that observes Ontario statutory holidays, as set in Lesson 5.
• Roles. Roles still on activities after the subtrade is named are flagged for the next update.

Only then does she look at the shape of the labour curve, which is where the next lesson picks up.

Screenshot to come

Screenshot to come

Owner's move

• Decide what you need before you ask. Hours for critical trades and key equipment are usually enough under a stipulated price. Cost loading is a separate decision.
• Write the resource rules into the specification. Types, ID prefixes, calendars, and when roles must be replaced by resources.
• Check the dictionary before the histogram. Wrong types, blank limits and missing calendars make any histogram meaningless.
• Treat roles as a planning stage. A baseline with only roles is acceptable early; an update six months in with only roles is not.
• Keep the contractor's resources out of the owner's pool. After importing an XER, check where its resources landed in the dictionary and keep them under their own node.

Common mistakes

1. Equipment loaded as labour. It belongs under Nonlabor, or the labour totals are wrong.
2. Material resources measured in hours. Material uses a unit of measure such as m³ [5].
3. Editing the Max Units/Time row instead of adding a new effective date. The history of availability is lost.
4. Forgetting the resource calendar. On Resource Dependent activities it moves dates; elsewhere it distorts availability.
5. Treating expenses as resources. Expenses are one-time costs and are not levelled [1].

Quick quiz

1. A mobile crane should be set up in P6 as which resource type?

   1. Labor
   2. Nonlabor
   3. Material
   4. Expense

2. Which statement about roles is correct?

   1. A role is a named person
   2. A role is a job title or skill, not a specific individual
   3. Roles cannot be assigned to activities
   4. Roles replace calendars

3. A department of five people working 8 hours a day would typically have a Max Units/Time of:

   1. 8.00h/d
   2. 5.00h/d
   3. 40.00h/d
   4. 400.00h/d

4. On the Resources tab of Activity Details, which button lists resources that can fill the activity's roles?

   1. Add Resource
   2. Add Role
   3. Assign by Role
   4. Rate Source

5. Which is not one of P6's role proficiency levels?

   1. Master
   2. Skilled
   3. Journeyperson
   4. Inexperienced

Show answers and explanations

1. B. Equipment that does not perform labour is a nonlabour resource, measured in time [5].
2. B. Roles represent a type of resource with a level of proficiency, not an individual [2].
3. C. Oracle's example gives a five-person department 40.00h/d [7].
4. C. Assign by Role opens a dialog listing resources who can fulfil each role [14].
5. C. The five levels are Master, Expert, Skilled, Proficient and Inexperienced [2].

Key terms

Resource

A person, piece of equipment or material that does or supports work, held in the enterprise resource dictionary.

Role

A job title or skill that stands for a type of resource at a proficiency level.

Labor / Nonlabor / Material

P6's three resource types: people and equipment in time units; materials in a unit of measure.

Max Units/Time

A resource's or role's availability, such as 8.00h/d, set by effective date.

Price/Unit

The rate used to cost an assignment, such as $50.00/h.

Primary resource

The resource responsible for coordinating an activity's work.

Rate Source

Whether an assignment is costed from the resource's price, the role's price or an override.

References

1. Oracle. Resources. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
2. Oracle. Roles. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
3. Oracle. Change the proficiency of a role. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
4. Oracle. Details tab - Resource Details. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
5. Oracle. Specify the resource type for resources. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
6. Oracle. Add a resource. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
7. Oracle. Enter multiple resource prices over time. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
8. Oracle. Assign roles to resources from the Resources window. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
9. Oracle. Assign shared resource calendars to resources. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
10. Oracle. Add a role. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
11. Oracle. Define role limits over time. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
12. Oracle. Assign resources to activities. Primavera P6 Professional User's Guide, Version 26.
13. Oracle. Assign roles to activities. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
14. Oracle. Assign resources to activities by role. Primavera P6 Professional User's Guide, Version 26.
15. Oracle. Assign Resources by Role dialog box. Primavera P6 Professional Help, Version 26.
16. Oracle. Choose the rate source for an assignment. Primavera P6 Professional User's Guide, Version 26.
17. Oracle. Adding Resources. Primavera P6 EPPM Help, Version 26.
18. Oracle. Assigning a Role to a Resource. Primavera P6 EPPM Help, Version 26.

Verified on November 6, 2026.

Next lesson in this trackResource assignments and curves (coming soon)