Consultant| Timely Nexus Project LLPGreater NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh, India
Has anyone successfully used AI or digital tools (like 4D BIM or predictive analytics) to improve construction scheduling accuracy? What has been your real-world experience?
Thanks for the question, Sanjeet. I’ve used 4D BIM across several projects, and it’s been valuable for visualizing sequencing, identifying constraints, and testing opportunities such as concurrent works.
In my experience, “schedule accuracy” is quite subjective — it depends on project objectives, key milestones, and how the work is intended to be delivered. Scenario-based simulations help test assumptions and refine design and sequencing, but the output is only as strong as the inputs. The real value is in improving understanding and supporting better decisions, rather than expecting precise prediction.
Eager to hear what Rami has to share. Saving Changes...
I second everything that Aung Sint shared. For many years, contractors on public works projects approached BIM as an afterthought, because it was merely a "tick-the-box" contractual requirement. As such, most shop drawings were developed outside of BIM, and the model that would eventually be turned over to the project owner would be considered an as-built model--at best.
Now, however, I am seeing more projects with BIM execution plans that not only mandate that all shop drawings are developed from a trade-coordinated model but explicitly forbid developing any shop drawings independent of the model. The issue, as Aung put it, is that the outputs are only as strong as the inputs, and even though the BIM requirements have moved from a "tick-the-box" requirement to a real requirement with real-world consequences, so many management teams seem unaware of the shifting BIM focus and completely oblivious to their own contractual obligations.
No doubt some of that disconnect stems from a great reluctance to invest in BIM--or anything, for that matter--at the outset of a project. And that is a shame, because BIM is not only capable of producing 3D and 4D models (time) but also 5D models (cost) and beyond.
But getting back to Aung's key point: the true value in such a tool as it applies to schedules is in testing assumptions, refining design, and resequencing. For the majority of users, our current CPM schedule tools are woefully inadequate for that task. Do you know how many billion-dollar projects I have been on where the CPM schedule is a fantasy completely divorced from reality?
To be fair to the CPM scheduling tools, I do not blame the tools but the people behind them. And I do not blame the schedulers so much as I blame the executive leadership, many of whom cannot seem to read a schedule, let alone develop and manage one.
So, if we could use BIM to effectively create and MANAGE a schedule in real time, then I am all for it. Unfortunately, it will take much, much more than just the right tools or software to get there. Ultimately, you still need people who know how to build a project to manage the inputs.
I am all for embracing new technology, but sometimes we just have to embrace our discipline and get back to basics. Saving Changes...
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