Planera and DPR Construction are among the latest contractors to push artificial intelligence deeper into day-to-day project management, as software vendors race to turn planning data into something teams can query and act on in real time.
On 15 April, Planera introduced Manny, an AI scheduling assistant built into its platform to help construction professionals assess schedules, weigh the effect of delays and changes, and reach decisions more quickly when jobs are disrupted. T...
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he company says the system lets users interrogate schedule data in plain language, identify critical path drivers and run scenario tests in minutes, rather than relying on the slower manual workflows still common on many small and mid-sized projects.
Nitin Bhandari, Planera’s chief executive and co-founder, told ENR that scheduling often requires multiple recovery options to be modelled before a team can choose the best response. He said AI can do that modelling more quickly, while leaving the scheduler’s judgement in place. Planera says Manny was trained over several years during its beta phase to recognise core construction concepts, including CPM scheduling and the critical path.
The company is pitching the tool as a way to make schedule analysis less dependent on specialist bottlenecks. In its view, AI should not replace experienced planners, but speed up the work they already do and make their expertise more widely usable across a project team.
At the same time, DPR Construction says it has expanded its use of ConstructivIQ, an AI-enabled platform for material planning, logistics and procurement, to more than 120 projects across its business. According to ENR, the contractor began the rollout after signing an enterprise agreement in early 2025 and has since applied the system to some of its largest data centre schemes, including hyperscale projects in Abilene, Texas, and Louisiana.
ConstructivIQ is being used on procurement activities ranging from skids and owner-furnished equipment to materials that require field measurement and recessed items, all of which can create different tracking and lead-time challenges. Sadanand Sahasrabudhe, the company’s chief executive, said the growth of data centre construction has increased the need to monitor component materials at several points in the chain, from arrival at an integrator to final shipment of assembled skids to site.
At DPR, chief technology officer Atul Khanzode said the platform has helped teams move from reactive responses to more proactive planning, while reducing schedule risk across the portfolio. He said the value of the system grows as more procurement and schedule data are fed into it, improving the linkage between activities, equipment and materials.
DPR is now also working to standardise procurement metrics and best practices across its delivery model. The contractor is setting enterprise measures for material management, improving coordination with trade partners and adding submittal tracking, while exploring how internal supply chain teams can use the data to advise project teams on lead times, schedule exposure and substitute materials.
Together, the two announcements point to a wider shift in construction technology: AI is moving beyond broad promises and into specific operational tasks, from schedule recovery to procurement tracking, where faster answers can have immediate impact on cost and delivery.
Source: Noah Wire Services
