Primavera P6 construction schedules from 3D models.
Sensali extracts engineering data from 3D plant models (including Navisworks NWD), normalises project information, applies construction sequencing methodology and exports a Primavera P6 construction schedule ready for planning teams.
- ✓Tested on multiple combined plant models
- ✓Primavera P6 XER export
- ✓Engineering-driven sequencing
- ✓Generates real predecessor relationships
The model is digital.
The schedule is still handmade.
EPC project teams build detailed 3D models of a plant. The construction sequence and P6 schedule are still assembled by hand, one facility and one system at a time, by an engineer reading drawings and deciding what depends on what.
Manual sequencing takes weeks per facility and is repeated for every system.
Two planners working from the same model produce two different schedules.
Every model revision requires the schedule to be reworked by hand.
Six stages, one continuous pipeline
Each stage reads the output of the stage before it. Nothing is re-keyed by hand.
- 01
Extract
Reads the 3D plant model directly. Geometry, object properties, equipment hierarchy and metadata are extracted without manual re-entry of tags or quantities.
- Input
- 3D plant model
- Output
- Equipment hierarchy, properties, geometry, metadata
3D MODELGEOMETRYHIERARCHY - 02
Standardize
Creates one canonical equipment inventory by combining engineering spreadsheets, model properties and project metadata. Coverage spans structural steel, piping, electrical and instrumentation, cross-validated against the project's own cost and schedule data.
- Input
- Model properties, engineering spreadsheets, project cost and schedule data
- Output
- Canonical equipment master and item-level inventory
STRUCTURALPIPINGELECTRICALINSTRUMENTATION - 03
Identify process areas
Groups every item into its physical process system using model containment and connectivity data together with the project's engineering documentation.
- Input
- Inventory, model containment and connectivity, engineering documentation
- Output
- Item-to-process-area assignment across the facility
INLET RECEIVALACID GAS REMOVALMERCURY REMOVALValidated at 98.8% accuracy - 04
Sequence
Applies construction sequencing logic derived from real project methodology rather than generating activities from prompts. Equipment is sequenced per physical unit through erection and grouting. Piping, electrical and instrumentation are sequenced per process area, gated on every piece of equipment in that area being ready first.
- Input
- Process areas, equipment inventory, construction methodology
- Output
- Dependency-correct activity sequence with area gating
ERECTIONGROUTINGAREA GATING - 05
Schedule
Relationships, durations, crew sizing and resource logic are generated from project engineering data. Delivery dates, relationship type, lag and finish-to-start logic are applied across the full activity set.
- Input
- Activity sequence, delivery dates, project staffing data
- Output
- Durations, crew sizes, resources, predecessor and successor logic
FSLAGCREW SIZE - 06
Export
Writes a Primavera P6 XER file containing activities, relationships and resources, ready to import directly into P6. Not a spreadsheet export.
- Input
- Scheduled activity network
- Output
- Primavera P6 XER file, ready to import
.XERACTIVITIESRELATIONSHIPSRESOURCES
Built on engineering logic.
Most systems generate schedules from text prompts. Sensali generates schedules from engineering models, project data and construction methodology.
Current system output
Measured output of the pipeline as it stands today.
Engineering logic, not prompt engineering.
Construction methodology is encoded using engineering knowledge rather than relying on large language models to invent sequencing. The rules define what depends on what, and why, and are applied consistently across an entire model instead of being rebuilt by hand for every facility.
Designed for confidential engineering data
Plant models and project schedules are commercially sensitive. Sensali is set up to handle them on those terms.
NDA available before any model or project data is shared.
Customer project data remains confidential and is used only for that customer's work.
Enterprise deployment supported, including customer-controlled environments.
No project data is shared or reused between customers.
Planning and project controls teams
EPC contractors and owner's engineering teams running planning and project controls on oil & gas, LNG and industrial gas plant construction, where the P6 schedule has to stay connected to the engineering model.
Straight answers
The questions planning and project controls teams ask first.
How do you generate a Primavera P6 schedule from a Navisworks model?
Sensali extracts the equipment hierarchy, properties and geometry from the NWD file, reconciles it with the project engineering data into one inventory, assigns every item to a process area, applies construction sequencing logic per unit and per area, then writes a P6 XER file with activities, relationships and resources.
Is the output a spreadsheet?
No. The output is a Primavera P6 XER file containing 220 generated activities and 190 predecessor and successor relationships across the models processed so far, ready to import directly into P6.
Is this a large language model writing a schedule?
No. Construction methodology is encoded as explicit rules applied to model geometry, hierarchy, containment and connectivity, so every dependency traces back to a physical fact about the plant and the same model always produces the same sequence.
Is this 4D BIM?
No. 4D tools attach an existing schedule to model geometry for visualisation. Sensali produces the schedule itself, which can then be linked back into a 4D simulation.
How accurate is process area detection?
98.8% measured accuracy across the facility models processed, derived from model containment and connectivity data combined with project engineering documentation.
Will you work under NDA?
Yes. An NDA is available before any model or project data is shared, project data is never reused between customers, and enterprise deployment inside customer-controlled environments is supported.
Become a design partner
We are working with a small number of EPC and project controls teams to validate Sensali on completed projects. If you are interested in shaping how engineering planning is done, we would like to speak.
Based in Perth, Western Australia. Working with EPC and project controls teams globally.
Book a 30 minute session →