TILOS vs Primavera P6 for Linear Projects
TILOS and Primavera P6 answer different questions. P6 is a critical path method scheduler that shows when work happens; TILOS is a time–location (time–chainage) planning tool that shows when and where work happens along a linear alignment. On roads, rail, pipelines, tunnels and transmission lines the second question is the one that exposes clashes, so the two are usually used together rather than instead of each other.
Pioticon builds TILOS schedules linked to P6 on linear infrastructure programs and integrates mass haul and resource profiles into them. This page explains what each tool does well and how to combine them.
Side by side
TILOS vs P6 EPPM
| Criterion | TILOSTrimble | Primavera P6 EPPMOracle |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule model | Time–location diagram: chainage on one axis, time on the other; each activity is a line whose slope is its production rate. | CPM network shown as a Gantt chart; location is carried only through activity coding or naming. |
| Best suited to | Linear projects where crews move along a corridor: earthworks, pavements, track, pipelines, tunnels, overhead lines. | Any project type; the enterprise standard for contractual and portfolio scheduling. |
| Durations | Can be derived from quantity and production rate over a chainage range, so the plan changes when quantities or rates change. | Entered or derived from resource assignments; distance is not a native concept. |
| Clash detection | Crews working the same chainage at the same time overlap visibly on the diagram; access and sequencing conflicts are seen before they reach site. | Conflicts between crews in the same location are not visible unless the planner encodes location and checks it manually. |
| Mass haul | Integrates mass haul diagrams so cut, fill and haul strategy sit on the same picture as the program. | No native mass haul; earthworks balance is planned outside the schedule. |
| Resources and cost | Resource and production profiles along the alignment; cost by activity. | Full resource loading, levelling and cost loading; earned value reporting. |
| Contractual use | Rarely the contract schedule; used for planning, optimisation and communication. | Usually the contract schedule of record; XER submissions, baselines and claims are built on it. |
| Exchange | Import and export with P6 through native P6 XML files, and with Microsoft Project through MS Project XML, so the linear plan and the CPM schedule stay aligned. | P6 XML exchange with TILOS; XER and XML exchange with most other planning tools. |
| Communication | One page that site teams, designers and stakeholders read without training: where each crew is, and when. | Familiar to planners and contract administrators; long Gantt charts are hard for site teams to use. |
Which one
When to choose each
- Choose TILOS when
- The project is linear and sequencing along the alignment decides the program.
- You need to test staging, haul and access options quickly and show them to people who do not read Gantt charts.
- Earthworks balance and haul strategy have to be planned with the schedule, not after it.
- Choose P6 EPPM when
- The contract requires a P6 schedule, XER submissions and formal baselines.
- The program has large non-linear scope (stations, structures, systems, commissioning) that a time–location view does not represent well.
- You need resource levelling, earned value and portfolio reporting across many projects.
Together
How they are used side by side
The usual arrangement on a linear program: P6 holds the contract schedule and the enterprise logic; TILOS holds the linear plan for the corridor scope, linked to P6 so updates flow both ways. Planners optimise sequence, production rates and haul in TILOS and push the result back into the CPM schedule.
Pioticon sets up the link, the shared coding and the update cycle so the two never drift apart, and adds Mass Haul Viz where the earthworks strategy needs its own scenarios.
Pioticon's verdict
Not either/or. On linear infrastructure, TILOS is the planning and communication layer and P6 is the contractual and enterprise schedule. Programs that use only P6 discover corridor clashes on site; programs that use only TILOS struggle at contract and portfolio level.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to the questions clients ask before they engage us. If yours is not here, ask and we will answer it directly.
Ask a question
Does TILOS replace Primavera P6?
No. TILOS is the linear planning and communication layer; P6 is the contractual and enterprise schedule. On linear projects the two are linked so updates flow both ways.
What is a time–location diagram?
A schedule view with chainage on one axis and time on the other. Each activity is a line whose slope is its production rate, so crews working the same corridor, and any clash between them, are visible at a glance.
Which projects suit TILOS?
Linear infrastructure: roads and highways, rail, pipelines, tunnels, transmission lines and any earthworks corridor where sequencing along the alignment decides the program.