What a CPM lookahead is, and why the master schedule isn't enough
A lookahead is a short-interval plan pulled from the master CPM schedule. It shows the next two weeks of work in field-level detail: which activities start or continue, which crews are on them, and which constraints have to clear first. The master schedule is too broad for the field to work from day to day, and it doesn't show the RFIs, submittals and deliveries that hold up the work.
Lookahead schedules from your CPM
- Activity IDs from the CPM on every line, so the lookahead and the schedule always match.
- Crews and subs responsible for each activity.
- Risk flags on anything that could block the work: open RFIs, submittals awaiting approval, deliveries, inspections and owner decisions.
- A lookahead PDF ready to share, plus the table in your AI.
From CPM update to lookahead with Athena
After each schedule update, ask Athena for the lookahead. She pulls the activities in the window from the CPM, checks them against the open items on the job, and flags anything that could block the work. Your AI builds the table and the PDF. With job cadence, you set a lookahead day and she keeps it on schedule.
Sending it to your subs
Athena drafts the email to each sub with the lookahead PDF or a share link and the constraints they need to know about. Athena drafts the email for you to send; nothing goes out until you say yes.