Intel uses Buildots' AI to boost efficiency and reduce costs in fab construction
Key results
4.3%
Saved in rework per fab
6 wks
Of delays avoided per fab
1,176
Model updates per fab
Intel’s multi-fab construction initiative is one of the industry’s most complex projects. Each fab alone includes thousands of activities and multiple trades that must be tracked in detail. To manage the sheer scale of each project, prevent delays, and ensure quality, Intel turned to Buildots.
“We need to take what we are doing to the digital era. By using AI to track and analyze everything, we can pull out predictive insights that really boost our efficiency. This will be the future of construction.”
Dan Doron, Former VP & GM of Foundry Construction Enterprise, Intel Corporation
Challenges
Intel implemented Buildots’ advanced AI technology to automate progress tracking and address these key challenges:
- Manage the scale and complexity of fab construction projects with over 50,000 activities – each consisting of myriad tasks and installations – carried out by thousands of workers in a dense project environment.
- Predict potential delays that could prevent the fab from becoming operational on time, resulting in tens of millions in lost daily revenue.
- Eliminate rework by reducing installation deviations, which, according to industry data, generally account for up to 5% of total construction project costs.
- Maintain a precise and up-to-date model that accurately represents the actual building, crucial for current projects and essential for future fab maintenance.
- Transfer best practices to subsequent projects, optimizing workflows and processes across this extensive multi-year, multi-geo, and multi-site construction program.
“Over the last 12 months, the number of Intel users on the Buildots' platform has increased by a factor of five and is now solidly in the hundreds. Buildots and Intel will leverage this technology even further to achieve greater efficiencies across our upcoming projects.”
Assaf Harel, Former DigiT Delivery Operations Sr. Manager, Foundry Construction Enterprise, Intel Corporation
Solution
Execution control and quality assurance
Buildots gave Intel visibility into on-site execution, enabling teams to detect and address deviations before they escalated into costly issues. Around 25% of flagged errors triggered immediate fixes, preventing issues from repeating across the project.
This proactive approach contributed to a 4.3% reduction in rework costs and helped avoid approximately 4 weeks of delays per fab. By ensuring alignment between the BIM model and actual construction, Buildots also improved the accuracy of as-built models, supporting both quality assurance and future maintenance.
Project controls and delay prevention
With fab construction projects costing up to $10 billion, even small delays can have major financial implications. Buildots enabled Intel to track progress at a granular level and apply predictive analytics to forecast delays early.
By analyzing progress and performance trends, teams could identify risks in advance, adjust plans proactively, and keep projects on schedule, avoiding disruptions that could impact time-to-market and revenue.
Benchmarking and optimization across projects
Buildots enabled Intel to compare performance across multiple fabs, using data to identify best practices and optimize workflows at scale. Insights drawn from 1,176 model updates and changes per fab helped ensure construction models remained accurate and aligned with on-site reality.
This data-driven approach created benchmarks for continuous improvement, allowing Intel to transfer learnings across projects and drive greater efficiency worldwide.
Comparison of a single activity’s progress across successive fab sites, showcasing continuous learning leading to enhanced performance from one project to the next
Results
- Savings of 4.3% in rework costs per fab by promptly detecting and addressing errors through automatic detection
- 4 weeks of delays avoided per fab by identifying issues early, significantly enhancing project timelines
- 1,176 model updates and changes per fab, ensuring construction models remain accurate and reliable, leading to more efficient project execution
Intel, one of the world’s largest and most influential technology companies, is building multiple semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs) across the US and EMEA. This initiative forms part of Intel’s ‘Foundry’ business model, which will be core to its growth over the next decade. In its quest to manage the scale and complexity of these construction projects, Intel has embraced construction digitization, unlocking true data-driven decision-making.
