PULL PLANNING SOFTWARE

Pull planning is a collaborative scheduling method rooted in Lean construction principles. Rather than project managers pushing a schedule down to field teams, pull planning works backward from a target completion date. Construction teams, trade contractors and other stakeholders map out the required steps together, identifying tasks and assigning responsible parties based on what can actually be delivered. Everyone involved helps build the plan from the beginning, so you get genuine buy-in and a clear understanding of what needs to happen before work starts.  

The critical path method (CPM), used in tools like Oracle Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project, builds a project timeline from the top down. Project managers set milestones and assign work based on what the master schedule says should happen, but a schedule developed during preconstruction can’t account for unexpected delays, trade coordination issues and site realities that emerge once construction is underway. Pull planning works backward from the completion date, with construction teams building the schedule themselves, so potential issues get surfaced at the planning meeting rather than discovered on site.  

The Last Planner System (LPS) is a proven Lean construction framework that bridges the gap between a contractual master schedule and the real-world progression of work at the jobsite. It organizes construction planning into connected layers: milestone planning, phase pull planning, lookahead planning and weekly work plans, each feeding into the next. Nialli Visual Planner supports every phase of the Last Planner System in a single Lean pull planning software platform, so your construction teams can run pull planning sessions, build a phase plan, manage lookahead planning and commit to weekly work plans on one canvas that automatically captures data for continuous improvement.  

Pull planning software provides construction teams with a shared digital workspace for collaborative planning sessions. Starting from project milestones or a target completion date, your full team works backward to map out every required step, with trade contractors and the general contractor assigning responsible parties and flagging dependencies before work begins. Nialli Visual Planner replicates the familiar feel of sticky notes on a construction pull planning board, with drag-and-drop cards and a visual canvas your whole team can access from any device, so everyone stays informed whether they’re on-site, in the office or joining remotely.  

A phase plan maps all the tasks required to complete a major section of a construction project, translating high-level project milestones from your master schedule into a detailed work sequence with assigned responsible parties for each step. Lookahead planning then zooms into the next 3 to 6 weeks of that phase plan, giving construction teams enough lead time to identify potential delays before they hit the schedule. Weekly work plans pull from the lookahead, turning upcoming commitments into specific tasks with clear completion targets. In Nialli Visual Planner, all three layers connect on the same canvas, so nothing falls through the gaps between planning horizons.  

Every time a task is marked complete in Nialli Visual Planner, the platform automatically captures that data, with no manual transcription after the meeting. Field teams get instant field reporting on Percent Plan Complete (PPC) and the specific reasons tasks weren’t finished on time, giving project managers and superintendents a live view of the project’s status. More detailed data can be extracted using Nialli’s integration with Microsoft Power BI, allowing for deeper analysis across time or a portfolio of projects.  

Over time, that data drives continuous improvement: You can identify where the planning process breaks down, adjust how your teams approach planning on the next project and use real project progress data to track the positive impact that Lean principles are having on project outcomes.  

Nialli Visual Planner works alongside your master schedule rather than replacing it. During preconstruction or at the start of a phase, you can import contractual obligations and project milestones directly from your CPM schedule (Oracle Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project), anchoring your pull planning canvas to the commitments already in place. The pull planning process then translates those high-level milestones into ground-level task plans that reflect what your construction teams can actually deliver, while your master schedule remains intact for contractual reporting.  

Physical construction pull planning boards run out of wall space on larger projects, can’t include remote participants and require someone to transcribe everything after every planning session. Using Nialli Visual Planner on interactive displays gives your construction teams the same hands-on experience of working with sticky notes, including drag-and-drop cards and a twist gesture to mark tasks complete, on an infinite digital canvas. Dependency indicators flag potential delays the moment a task falls behind. Data is captured automatically as your teams plan, and project managers get a live construction project dashboard showing project progress without manual effort.  

Pull planning reduces waste by uncovering problems early rather than discovering mistakes afterward. When trade contractors build the schedule themselves by working backward from the completion date, they identify conflicts and dependencies before they cause delays, meaning fewer workers arriving to find prerequisite work isn’t done and fewer last-minute schedule changes. Tracking the reasons tasks don’t get completed, a core part of the Last Planner System and built into Nialli Visual Planner automatically, feeds continuous improvement across construction projects so your teams identify areas to improve the construction process on every project.  

Trade contractors join a Nialli planning session by creating an account over email. No app download or IT setup is required. We offer role-based access so anyone on your project can work within the plan from a phone, tablet or laptop to contribute tasks to the staging area, update their work status and participate in pull planning sessions from any location. Because access is instant, your general contractor and trade contractors are all working from the same live plan from the beginning of the project, which is the foundation of coordination that keeps construction teams fully informed.