One real-world example of this can be seen from a project with Implenia, Switzerland’s leading construction company. Tasked with exploring several locations for a new production facility to manufacture concrete foundations for floating offshore wind farms, the Implenia team turned to ALICE to streamline their planning process. Implenia found that planning was ten times faster than traditional methods, enabling them to rapidly adjust variables and test multiple scenarios to improve productivity opportunities.
Solving the labour crunch
Labour shortages continue to hamper renewable construction. Recruiting for skilled on-site roles, like welders, crane operators and riggers, is exceptionally difficult, with people coming from abroad to fill critical skill shortages. Add to this the challenge of working in remote or isolated locations and where every hour of downtime causes additional expense.
By streamlining the construction process, project directors can optimise the crews to help reduce the amount of paid idle or standing time. By simulating millions of construction sequences, project schedulers can help inform how to best deploy labour, balance workloads, avoid bottlenecks and prevent costly overstaffing or under-resourcing.
Weather woes
Extreme weather is now an expected occurrence, rather than a possible risk, for many projects. Summer heatwaves, winter storms, high winds and significant rainfall can all seriously impact productivity and the ability to access the site – especially in remote or offshore locations which rely on air or sea transport. In such instances, optimisation software helps construction teams to proactively plan for weather-driven risks so that effective contingency plans can be developed and deployed without hesitation.
Project directors are under pressure to make rapid decisions on how to reorganise in the face of adverse weather conditions. Software, like ALICE, allows for automated crew reassignment and task resequencing, while evaluating the cost benefit impact of these choices within a couple of minutes. The capability to make fast, data-backed decisions is vital when trying to balance workforce safety with ambitious delivery targets.
As renewable energy continues to scale to meet global demand, the industry must ensure it is equal to, if not outperforming, alternative non-renewable energy projects. By incorporating AI-powered optimisation into their workflows, project stakeholders can gain deeper insight into project strategies, use a data-driven approach to evaluate options, enhance communication, and strengthen the case for long-term investment in renewable infrastructure.
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Director of Client Solutions, ALICE Technologies