MS Project for Beginners, Add Resources, Costs, and Review Work Usage

In this video #5 Part 2 on Adding Resources and Cost loading in MS Project. I use easy to follow examples so you can best see the impacts and results of your work. If you wish to see the other videos in this series review my playlists on my channel, click subscribe and the notification icon. If you have questions leave them in the comments section. Previous videos in this series are listed below.
MS Project Beginners Series
Lesson 1 Activities • MS Project for Beginne...
Lesson 2 WBS CPM Linking • MS Project For Beginne...
Lesson 3 Calendars • How to setup a calenda...
Lesson 4 Resources Part 1 • How to Create and Appl...
Some sample videos from MS Project Made Easy playlist (more are on my playlists, click my channel to review):
Tutorial 1 Introduction • MS Project Made Easy T...
Tutorial 2 Calendars • MS Project Made Easy T...
Tutorial 3 5 things to improve • MS Project Made Easy T...
Tutorial 4 Resources • 8 Things & More on How...
Tutorial 5 Filter • MS Project Made Easy T...
Tutorial 6 Updating • MS Project Made Easy T...
Tutorial 7 Revisions • How to Update & Revise...
Tutorial 8 Change Orders • Update and Insert Chan...
Tutorial 9 Timeline scale • Make professional pres...
Tutorial 10 Work, Duration, Units, Effort • Learn Work, Units, Dur...
Tom Stephenson is a national award-winning professor (George Brown College, University of Toronto) and best-selling author whose background in education spans nearly three decades. His diverse teaching disciplines include construction project management, business management, human resource management, architecture, carpentry, and brick and stone masonry. As a dual-professional, Tom is called upon by industry leaders to translate knowledge, reinvigorate corporate culture, and inspire innovation in emerging and established companies across Canada. Before breaking into the academic realm, Tom acquired more than a decade of practical project-management experience, operating a mid-sized Toronto-based general contracting firm. He is also the author of the newly released Planning, Scheduling, and Control of Construction Projects with American Technical Publishers and the four best-selling editions of Understanding Construction Drawings for Housing and Small Buildings with Nelson Publishing Canada. Tom most recently received the Toronto Construction Association’s 2020 Chancellor’s Award for “helping his peers become more ethical, knowledgeable and professional.” A champion of change management, Tom takes pride in helping students and businesses navigate uncharted territories, take calculated risks and rise above the status quo. Some of the companies he’s worked with include Mattamy Homes, EllisDon, BIRD Construction, MCA, Maple Reinders, and Tucker HiRise, University of Toronto Project Managers.

[@TylerSmith-dx8pb]

Came across you just today Tom and I already feel so much more competent using MS Project, thanks so much! PM from UK.

[@TomStephensontraining]

Great Tyler! Check my Ms Project the course playlist as I provide download links for file to follow along with. Greetings from Toronto

[@sanazn4470]

Many thanks Tom, it was really useful :)

[@TomStephensontraining]

Great to hear! My newer videos that allow you to download start point files are on my MSProject the course playlist.

[@erivera2275]

Tom, Thank for spending time making these videos. They have been helpful.

[@TomStephensontraining]

Glad you like them!

[@mattb4624]

Tom, thank you so much for the wealth of knowledge you’re providing. I do have a question regarding assigning costs to resources and perhaps there’s simply no way to do this - but I will ask regardless. As I’m sure you know, depending on the size of a construction project subcontract contracts are not entirely broken down by individual tasks or activities. They are assigned on the total project scope. For instance, if my total project value is $20m, my sitework contract (for the total SOW) may be $2m, my framer may be $500k and the plumbers contract may be $1.2m. These values are not broken out by activity or task. How best, in this case, would you suggest assigning cost to these resources? Can MS Project simply not accommodate this style of resource cost loading or is there a nifty way to accomplish this? Thanks so much Tom!!

[@TomStephensontraining]

Hi Matt, the simplest is to break the cost down to roughly how you intend to pay it out and assign only to those activities. The sum should add up to the total contract amount for each trade. If you check my playlists and look at msproject made easy I should have some resource videos that indicate this in more detail to help, also check the cashflow video.

[@JCBrownVideos]

Hi Tom. Are you using MS Project Standard or Pro? Does Standard have the same Resource Sheet with costs, etc., as Pro or close to it? I have been using Pro but want to switch to Standard. Pro costs to much for what I do, which isn't much. Thanks, John

[@nickralph2190]

Hi Tom, Thanks for the content. I have a question, when you are allocating resources, is this to match the baseline budgeted labour hours or is this to track the actual hours onsite? Thanks Nick

[@TomStephensontraining]

Well you can set to your budgeted hours and then when hours change you can see the variance in time and money depending where you are looking.

[@taiwoemmanuel2220]

Good day sir. How do I change dollar sigh in the cost to Naira sign to be able to control my budget cost in Naira because am from Nigeria. Thanks waiting for your reply.

[@TomStephensontraining]

Have you tried going to File then options and where it says currency does it show the Naira as a choice?

[@bomar9479]

I tried applying the resources to my own project, a simple 4 group tasks, any idea why on resource graph it says 'unavailable for cost resources'? Not showing even the allocated ones

[@TomStephensontraining]

Did you set them as a cost In the resource sheet or does it say worker?

[@ravindrankrishnan2964]

I have a specific request from you. Pls put video.where BOQ is available with qty and rates are also available. Already mentioned in details.

[@TomStephensontraining]

Hi Ravindran, I don’t have something specific for that. You should be able to figure out what you need to do based on the resource and cost loading videos ive done. Just remember MSPROJECT is not meant to be a detailed estimating or cost accounting program.

[@ravindrankrishnan2964]

@@TomStephensontraining Thanks for your prompt reply ...

[@MDKHAN-od1hk]

@@ravindrankrishnan2964 rates and quantities vary from countries....are you currently in Canada??

[@ravindrankrishnan2964]

@@MDKHAN-od1hk No, I am from india. My requirement is where BOQ is available with Qty and Rates are also available on per Cum, per Sqm basis. How to load the cost and generate the cash flow and etc - Post Civil works on item rate contracts..

[@MDKHAN-od1hk]

@@ravindrankrishnan2964 it's vary from country to country....if I give you BOQ of Canada,,it may not be useful for you....alsoo,here construction is generally of wood unlike thrid world countries like India..

[@HariKrishnan-le2gr]

never saw a video on how to have a simple kanban board on ms project.. could you pls help me with this

[@TomStephensontraining]

I’ll put it on my list

[@HariKrishnan-le2gr]

@@TomStephensontraining thank you, this helps a lot

[@sabastianmolefe9617]

Critical path not shown ❤

[@TomStephensontraining]

Oh Just go to format tab and click critical path box and it should show. Thanks for watching

[@sabastianmolefe9617]

Critical path not shown

[@TomStephensontraining]

Not sure of the context but if you want to display critical path under the format tab about center screen select critical path