Streamlining Planning and Accountability: How Mortenson Boosted Their Schedule Performance Using XER Schedule Toolkit
Streamlining Planning and Accountability: How Mortenson Boosted Their Schedule Performance Using XER Schedule Toolkit
About DJ Anderson & Mortenson
Name: DJ Anderson
Job Title: Director of Planning and Scheduling
Industry: Construction
How Scheduling and Project Planning Fit into My Daily Work
In my role, I work closely with our scheduling teams to analyse schedule quality, compare project files, and identify roadblocks that affect delivery performance. My focus is on improving the reliability, accuracy, and execution of schedules so that projects stay aligned, realistic, and achievable.
Before Using XER Schedule Toolkit
Challenges Faced
Before adopting XER Schedule Toolkit, one of the biggest challenges I faced was efficiently assessing schedule integrity across multiple projects. I needed a quick way to view a schedule integrity score for all projects in one place and generate clear, actionable reports to help teams resolve issues that impacted schedule quality.
Another challenge was ensuring the entire project team understood the logic behind each schedule. Not everyone has access to Primavera P6 — it’s expensive, complex, and can appear intimidating to non-schedulers. This often created a gap between those building the schedules and those responsible for executing them.
Limitations of Previous Solutions
We relied solely on Primavera P6, which, while powerful, was not ideal for quick analysis or reporting across multiple projects. Running reports was slow and cumbersome, and switching between projects took more time than necessary. The lack of accessibility for non-P6 users further limited collaboration and understanding across the team.
Your Experience with XER Schedule Toolkit
How I First Heard About the Toolkit
I first came across XER Schedule Toolkit while searching online for a fast, reliable way to perform schedule integrity checks.
Why We Chose XER Schedule Toolkit
I chose XER Schedule Toolkit for its simplicity, affordability, and ability to directly address the two main challenges I was facing — multi-project visibility and accessible schedule insights. It’s intuitive, powerful, and cost-effective compared to other available options.
Getting Started
The onboarding process was seamless. From the start, Chris and his team provided excellent support, answering questions promptly and helping us integrate the tool effectively. The setup was quick, and the system’s intuitive design meant we were up and running almost immediately.
What I Like Most
I love how easy XER Schedule Toolkit is to use — you simply upload a XER file, and it does the heavy lifting. The ability to customise dashboards, create integrity checks, and share insights across the team has been a major advantage. It’s an incredibly user-friendly tool that brings clarity to what was once a time-consuming process.
The Impact & Results
Key Improvements
Since adopting XER Schedule Toolkit, we’ve seen a noticeable improvement in both schedule quality and team engagement. One of our superintendents now uses the integrity score each week to hold his team accountable for maintaining sound schedule logic, turning scheduling into a proactive planning tool rather than just a reporting exercise.
Team members who previously didn’t have visibility into P6 are now engaged with the schedule logic, identifying roadblocks and contributing to problem-solving within their scopes of work.
Efficiency Gains
Personally, I’ve saved at least one to two hours per week checking schedule integrity across multiple projects. The automation and consolidated reporting have drastically reduced the time spent running reports in P6.
Measured Benefits
- Improved Schedule Integrity: Consistently higher integrity scores across projects.
- Increased Collaboration: More team members involved in understanding and improving schedule logic.
- Time Savings: 1–2 hours per week saved on schedule analysis and reporting.
- Enhanced Accountability: Superintendents and teams now use integrity scores to drive schedule ownership and discipline.
Recommendation
Would I Recommend XER Schedule Toolkit?
Absolutely. I would recommend XER Schedule Toolkit to anyone managing multiple schedules or looking to improve schedule quality and team collaboration. It’s simple, effective, and packed with features that make scheduling analysis far less time-consuming.
What I’d Say to Someone Who’s Unsure
Try it — explore the features and see how it fits your workflow. XER Schedule Toolkit allows you to customise checks, dashboards, and reports to suit your needs. For us, it’s made a significant impact on how we manage, analyse, and communicate schedule performance across our business.
Summary
DJ Anderson, Director of Planning and Scheduling in the construction industry, introduced XER Schedule Toolkit to simplify schedule integrity checks and improve collaboration across his project teams. Before implementation, manual analysis in Primavera P6 was slow, complex, and inaccessible to many team members. With XER Schedule Toolkit, DJ and his teams can now quickly assess schedule health, generate custom reports, and engage the entire project team in improving logic and delivery. The tool has saved DJ up to two hours per week, boosted schedule integrity, and enhanced accountability across projects. DJ highly recommends XER Schedule Toolkit for its simplicity, flexibility, and measurable impact on efficiency and team performance.