Raymond Miller began building power plants for GE in 1978. At that time, the only computers were at GE headquarters in Schenectady, N.Y., and all data input was done via unreliable dial-up phone terminal interfaces with thermal printers. In the 1980s he began using Primavera construction project management software -- and has been using it ever since.

Over the years he has worked in a variety of industries and has also used MS Project, Harvard Project, Timeline and Open Plan, but he keeps returning to the Primavera software due to its "logical approach to building projects, detailed reporting structures and robust data analysis."

"Using Primavera I managed the construction and commissioning of a 612MW steam turbine generator project for Dayton Power and Light and completed the project three months ahead of schedule and saved DP&L over $100 million. I used (Primavera) P3 to manage multimillion dollar turbine overhauls in five to six weeks when these outages historically took eight or nine weeks. Missing a start-up date on an overhaul can incur $100,000/shift penalties."

The University of Cincinnati paid $3,000 for a licensed copy of P3e/c, and Miller currently uses the program for its simplicity of report writing, as well as its ease of use for building projects. In addition, it has a "robust hierarchical structure, cost, and resource allocation, and integrates with Timberline for ongoing process improvement."

Miller said the best feature is "the ability to rapidly lay out and develop a project schedule without a huge investment in time." This speed paid off on his most recent project as a "late start up would have cost UC approximately $5mil due to added energy and demand charges."

There isn't anything Miller would change about Primavera P3, and, as this version has been adequately serving his construction project management needs for four years, he has no plans to upgrade anytime soon. Overall, he rated the program a 9 out of 10, and concludes that: "Since I have started using Primavera and predecessor applications almost 30 years ago, I have developed projects with more detailed specifications for schedule, deliverables, and resources."