A collaboration spanning more than five years between McKinsey & Company and ALICE Technologies, a construction scheduling software company based in the US, has been formalised as an alliance.
The companies have introduced generative scheduling to more than 35 clients in infrastructure, data centres, energy, mining and manufacturing. They report schedule acceleration of up to 20%, along with cost savings.
The alliance combines McKinsey’s capital-project expertise with ALICE’s AI and advanced analytics-enabled scheduling software. It is intended to help owners and contractors plan complex projects, compare scheduling options and manage cost, time and risk.
How generative scheduling works
Generative scheduling allows project teams to create and compare different construction programmes.
ALICE builds a parametric model of a project plan in which labour, equipment, materials, space and sequencing can be adjusted. Its analytics engine then evaluates millions of sequencing and resource-loading scenarios.
Project teams can use the models to test alternatives and examine their effects on cost, duration and risk. The software can ingest building information modelling models and Primavera P6 schedules.
“Building more robust, analytics-driven schedules is a critical opportunity for the industry, and one that can drive significant improvements in cost and schedule performance,” said Mark Pitcher, a partner in McKinsey’s Capital Excellence Practice.
Data centre schedule shortened by about 40%
The companies cited their work with an unnamed global data centre provider. Generative scheduling was used to simplify the schedule, identify inefficiencies and revise sequencing and resource allocation.
McKinsey and ALICE said the work identified more than 13 optimisation opportunities and enabled a reported reduction of about 40% in the baseline construction schedule. They did not identify the project or disclose the length of its original programme.
ALICE founder and chief executive René Morkos said the companies were helping organisations introduce the technology as part of broader changes to project planning and delivery.
McKinsey said software alone would not be sufficient to close the gap in project performance. It identified staff training, project controls, integration with existing planning processes and the continued use of project data as important parts of implementation.
