PLANNING PLANET PARTNER: So what is ALICE?

Dear Planning Planet Member,

We’d like to introduce you to one of our new community partners, ALICE Technologies. In this Q&A, we’ll give you a quick overview of what ALICE is, the kinds of customers they serve, and how they can help you.

ALICE is an AI-powered schedule simulation and optimization platform created specifically for the construction industry. If you are a scheduler or planner, you’ll find that with ALICE, you’ll have “planning superpowers” to test ideas (e.g. “what if I added a second crane?” or “what if my framing crew worked overtime on Saturdays”) and let the product generate multiple fully resource-loaded schedules that you can weigh against one another. The result is a schedule that maximizes the odds that you and your company will achieve your goals for your construction project -- such as hitting a target date or optimizing profitability -- while reducing project risk.

Can you tell us more about the product and what it does?

The ALICE platform is made up of two main products:

ALICE Preconstruction

Simulate multiple construction strategies in minutes

With ALICE, you can explore multiple options to find your best construction path. Optimize key project resources like labor, equipment, and materials. And because ALICE is parametric, any changes you make flow immediately throughout your schedule.

Plan with confidence

ALICE allows you to model all major contingencies. You can assess the constructability of your schedule and know that you’ve delivered a solid plan.

Easily export to P6

Once you’ve determined your ideal schedule, ALICE makes it easy to export that schedule to P6 -- a requirement for many projects.

ALICE Manage

Project delayed? Tune your schedule instantly and deliver on time.

ALICE makes it easy for you to track your progress against plan. And if circumstances change and you need to change course, ALICE makes it simple for you to modify your schedule and get back on track. Whereas making such schedule changes with traditional CPM tools is time-consuming and difficult, with ALICE, you can make these changes in minutes.

What sort of customers does ALICE work with today? In what industries

ALICE is focused on two main segments of the construction industry: commercial and infrastructure. It works with large general contractors -- companies like Parsons, Bouygues, Austin Bridge and Road, and Skanska -- on complex projects with a total construction value typically above $100M+

What sort of results can my company expect from ALICE?

By using ALICE to optimize their construction schedules, companies have found that they can reduce risk while cutting costs by 11% and build time by 17%. 

Which companies does ALICE compete with? How is it different?

ALICE is the first company to bring AI to bear on construction simulation and optimization. As such, It is not a traditional scheduling software but rather it is used in complement to traditional scheduling tools like P6. Read our post on the major differences between ALICE and Traditional CPM scheduling.

How can I learn more about ALICE?

• Watch Ifan Williams, Senior Projects Control Scheduling Manager with Parsons, discuss how his company used ALICE to create a winning bid for a major light rail project in Canada in this video.
• Watch this “ALICE under the hood” seminar for an up-close look at how the product works.
• Read about how Ananda generated multiple construction scenarios to slash costs by 32% with ALICE.
• Or request a demo to see how ALICE can help you to make scheduling your next project quicker, easier, and more effective.

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