Intelligent Request Management in Construction with Artificial Intelligence
by Alon Dattner and Timm Seikel
Specifications are of crucial importance in the construction industry. They represent a detailed list of all construction services to be provided and are the basis for offers, awarding contracts and the implementation of construction projects. And every building materials manufacturer and construction supplier knows: The internal sales department spends a large part of its working time processing these specifications. Traditionally, the creation and evaluation of these very extensive documents is done manually. This is not only time-consuming, but also error-prone. What if the processing of these bills of quantities could happen in a fraction of the time and the error rate could still be minimized?
Sounds too good to be true?
But it’s not, because while processes used to be difficult to automate due to their complexity, rapid progress with artificial intelligence is opening up completely new possibilities here.
In this blog post, we will show you how you can more than double the number of quotations created by using AI-based processing of service specifications.
What is a bill of quantities?
| A bill of quantities is a detailed document that lists all the construction deliverables and material requirements of a project. These documents are extremely diverse and can include a wide range of items and descriptions – from simple construction services such as pipe laying to complex tasks such as building buildings or infrastructure.It forms the basis for the preparation of offers and the subsequent billing of construction services. A bill of quantities is therefore a central element in the construction process that structures the planning and subsequent execution phases |
Automated processing of service specifications: How AI technology is revolutionizing the creation and evaluation?
As already mentioned, specifications are traditionally created and evaluated manually, because the complexity that these tender documents entail poses a particular challenge for automation.
At least that’s how it has been so far.
This is because the continuous development of AI technologies already makes it possible to automatically read bills of quantities in order to recognize relationships between text elements and extract this information from the context.
This is done regardless of the structure and format of the text, which allows information to be extracted quickly, efficiently and precisely.
But it goes even further: in addition to pure text analysis, relevant items in the documents can be automatically recognized and the corresponding products from the company’s internal portfolio can be suggested.
The employees in the internal sales department can then check the suggestions again manually and rework them if necessary, instead of going through the text page by page and selecting the products themselves.
In addition to the enormous time savings due to the reduction of manual processes, the associated error rate is also reduced to a minimum.
This is because the AI learns with every offer that is submitted, so that the suggestions become more and more precise and meaningful.
This not only saves companies time, but also allows them to respond more quickly to tenders and submit their bids on time.
Winning more contracts: How AI increases the success rate in tenders
| Another benefit that results from the use of artificial intelligence in the processing of specifications is that the use of algorithms can also include historical data and the current market situation in the preparation of offers. If you lose tenders from a certain zip code area with a probability of over 50%, the AI can evaluate this faster and more precisely than the gut feeling of humans. And it is precisely this kind of information that is important, because it separates the wheat from the chaff at a very early stage of the quotation process. The sales staff are thus able to take care of the offers, which are also quite likely to be won. This accuracy increases the chances of winning projects while remaining profitable. |
Intelligent Text Analysis: How AI Penetrates the Complexity of Service Specifications
| When reading specifications with the help of artificial intelligence, natural language is first broken down into individual components so that the meaning of the text elements and their requested position in the document are recorded. The AI then puts all captured elements in context with each other. In this way, the complex contextual relationships can be grasped – regardless of format, structure or formulation. |
Advantages of AI software for reading bills of quantities
When is the use of AI worthwhile when editing service specifications?
Increasing Efficiency in Construction: Using AI to Deliver More Precise and Faster Quotes
The introduction of AI-based processes in the processing of specifications is revolutionizing the construction industry.
This technology not only automates time-consuming processes, but also reduces errors, increases efficiency, and improves the accuracy of quotes.
By automatically reading and processing bills of quantities, companies save valuable time, which in turn can be invested in strategic tasks.
In addition, the intelligent software enables better collaboration and optimizes quotation calculation, which significantly increases your competitiveness.
The core message is clear: The use of AI in the processing of specifications is a decisive step in making companies in the construction and construction supplier industry future-proof and competitive.
It is time to leave proven approaches behind and take full advantage of the benefits of digitalization.
Take the opportunity to improve the efficiency and quality of your projects.
Learn more about how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way you process your bills of quantities and contact us for a personal consultation.
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