April 29, 2025
AI-Assisted Scheduling for High-Stakes Activity Portfolios
Planning complex activity portfolios is one of the toughest - and most undervalued - jobs in any large organisation. Whether it’s scheduling maintenance or logistics, coordinating drilling campaigns, orchestrating hospital operations, or managing engineering and construction projects, the stakes are high and the variables endless. Yet most planning is still manual. Spreadsheets and static Gantt charts can’t keep up with shifting priorities, interdependent tasks, limited resources and real-world uncertainty. The result? Plans lock in too early, synergy opportunities are missed, risks go unmitigated, and execution efficiency suffers. Millions in potential value are left on the table.
Why traditional activity planning falls short
Even the most experienced planners are forced into shortcuts when:
Priorities compete - urgent work displaces planned tasks.
Dependencies multiply - some jobs can’t start until others are complete, or can’t safely run in parallel.
Resources are finite - crews, specialists and equipment are limited and expensive.
Conditions change daily - weather, breakdowns, or new inspections can reshuffle everything.
Manual methods can’t explore all valid options or respond quickly enough. Planning meetings drift into opinion and compromise instead of data-backed decisions.
AIS: the smarter way to plan
WhiteSpace’s AI-assisted scheduling (AIS) transforms activity planning from a static exercise into a dynamic, value-driven process.
Intelligent optimisation
AIS explores thousands of scheduling combinations in minutes, weighing cost, risk, resource constraints and interdependencies to reveal the best options.
Evergreen plans
Plans adapt in near real-time when priorities shift or new information arrives - without weeks of manual rework.
Human judgment elevated
Planners stay firmly in control, using an intuitive interface that makes trade-offs and “what-if” scenarios transparent.
The outcome: less bias, more flexibility, and measurable value gains - often 5–10 % or more of the total activity portfolio.
Built on the WhiteSpace platform
AIS isn’t a standalone point solution. It is powered by the WhiteSpace platform: a modular, configurable decision environment combining advanced algorithms, domain logic and a deeply human interface.
Fast deployment - proven components and GenAI-assisted configuration mean rapid delivery tailored to your workflows.
Scalable and future-proof - evolve from a single site to global operations without re-implementation.
Integration ready - works alongside existing ERP, maintenance, and project-management systems.
Radically human - usable by everyone from planners to executives, no black-box complexity.
This combination of care, craft and clarity turns planning into a strategic advantage instead of a bottleneck.
Proven across sectors
We’ve applied AIS principles in maintenance turnarounds, offshore logistics and hospital operations. In every case, algorithmic scheduling and human-centred design have delivered faster decisions, higher resource utilisation and lower risk.
Your next step
Concerns about data quality, change effort or cost are natural - but they shouldn’t hold you back:
Data quality – you already make plans with today’s data; AIS simply helps you make better ones and highlights where improved inputs will add the most value.
Change management – our co-creation approach embeds your rules and culture, ensuring adoption is smooth and fast.
Return on investment – even a modest 5 % value gain far outweighs implementation cost.
👉 Let’s talk about your scheduling challenge.
Discover how AIS can help you move from complexity to clarity and unlock the full value of your activity portfolio.