AI could cut construction schedules by 25%, study suggests

Suffolk and MIT modelling points to potential gains across six areas of project delivery regarding AI. Image: Adobe Stock

The research drew on academic literature, case studies, expert interviews, survey responses and an industry roundtable involving more than 50 construction leaders.

Suffolk Construction is a major national general contractor and construction management firm and the MIT Center for Real Estate is a hub at the intersection of academia, technology, and industry, dedicated to advancing the global real estate sector through cutting-edge research, education, and innovation.

The research identified design automation, offsite manufacturing, permitting, scheduling, skilled labour and subcontracting, and supply chain and procurement as the six areas with the greatest near-term potential.

The study said AI could help teams evaluate design options earlier, improve coordination between design and offsite manufacturing, interpret building codes, respond more quickly to changes in project schedules and reduce administrative work for field teams and subcontractors.

It also highlighted procurement as an area where better use of data could connect design decisions more closely with the availability of products and materials.

On a sample multifamily project analysed as part of the research, Suffolk’s modelling suggested that applying all six AI-enabled approaches could reduce total project costs by 17% to 20% and schedules by 22% to 25%.

The study stressed that the figures are based on a model rather than measured savings across completed projects, and called for more industry data to establish where AI produces repeatable benefits.

James Scott, co-lead at the MIT Center for Real Estate, said, “The next step is to keep building the data foundation needed to understand where AI has the strongest impact, where the limits still are and how those findings can be translated into better decision-making across real projects.”

The report argues that AI is likely to have its greatest impact when individual tools are connected across project workflows rather than deployed as isolated applications.

Jit Kee Chin, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Suffolk, said, “The opportunity now is to move from isolated AI use cases to integrated workflows that create measurable value across design, procurement, scheduling and execution.”

Suffolk chairman and CEO John Fish said wider adoption would also require better data and greater coordination between owners, contractors, designers and other project participants.

“Fully realising this opportunity will require us to rethink how projects are planned, coordinated and delivered,” he said.