Sector · construction and installation
AI in construction and installation: less paperwork, more time for the trade
For construction companies, contractors and installers. AI does the office work around the project: reading specifications and drawings, making a first estimate based on past work, processing job sheets and handover reports, proposing a schedule for the technicians and preparing tenders. The estimator, work preparation engineer and planner decide.
- Builds on your own systems
- The estimator decides
- Data stays in the EU
- InSpecifications and drawings inAn 80-page PDF, the tender closes Friday
- AIReads specifications and drawingsLists requirements and materials
- AIFinds comparable projectsIn past estimates and post-project cost reviews
- AIPrepares the draft estimateWith questions for the clarification round
- HumanThe estimator decidesChecks the assumptions and sets the price
- DoneQuote goes outIn your own format
Worked example: 1,280 hours a year on one estimating task
Worked with us
01 / What it is
What does AI do in construction and installation?
AI in construction and installation doesn't do the work on the scaffolding or in the meter cupboard, but the office work around it: reading specifications and drawings, making a first estimate based on previous projects, processing job sheets, scheduling technicians, checking order confirmations and preparing tenders. The estimator, work preparation engineer and planner decide. AI does the searching, reading and typing.
At an installer, that work sits in the stream of small jobs: job sheets, breakdowns, materials, tomorrow's schedule. At a contractor, it sits in the big documents: a hundred-page specification, a tender that closes on Friday, extra work that still needs to be invoiced. The pattern is the same. Something comes in as a PDF, photo or email, someone reads it, looks something up and retypes it.
This page contains no client figures from construction. The numbers are indications and worked examples, and we say which each time. What it delivers for you, we calculate in the AI Quick Scan, with your own numbers.
01Work preparation and estimating
Specifications and drawings read, a first estimate from past work.
02Job sheets and handover
Hours, materials and extra work extracted, the handover report as a draft.
03Planning and purchasing
A proposal for the technicians, order confirmations checked against the order.
04Tenders and knowledge
Requirements listed, previous texts at hand, and the knowledge of experienced colleagues searchable.
02 / Sound familiar?
On site, things run. In the office, they pile up.
There's no shortage of work. The bottleneck rarely lies with the hands on site, but with the office that has to prepare, plan and process everything. Six sentences you'll probably recognize.
The tender
“A hundred-page specification, and the tender closes on Friday. Another night working until midnight.”
Job sheets
“The job sheet comes in as a photo of a crumpled piece of paper. On Monday, if we're lucky.”
Extra work
“The extra work has been done. Whether it's been invoiced too, we only know once someone goes through all the job sheets.”
The schedule
“One technician off sick and the whole week has to change. Only the planner can oversee that, and they'd like to go on holiday sometime too.”
The wholesaler
“Does the confirmed price match what we ordered? We only find out when the invoice arrives.”
Ask the old hand
“How did we solve that on the previous project? Only the work preparation engineer who's been around for thirty years knows.”
03 / Applications
Where does AI take over work at construction companies and installers?
Six places where AI gives time back in construction and installation. For each application: the systems we connect to, who approves and what it can deliver, as an indication or worked example.
1,280 h
Worked example · estimating
Work preparation and estimating
AI reads the specifications and drawings, lists requirements and materials, finds comparable past projects and prepares a first estimate. Anything that differs from what you're used to is flagged, as are questions for the clarification round.
- Systems: specifications and drawings (PDF), project archive, your estimating software or ERP
- Who approves: the estimator, always
- Delivers: a worked example of 1,280 hours a year on one estimating task, see below
Quotes
Quotes and extra work
From estimate to quote in your format, with assumptions, exclusions and provisional sums. And for extra work, a statement of extra work from the job sheets, ready for the client's approval.
- Systems: ERP or quoting module, your templates, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
- Who approves: the project manager or account manager, who also sets the price
- Delivers: less writing per quote. For comparison, from other work: at one of our clients, sales proposals went from 4 hours to 1 hour
Job sheets and handover
Processing job sheets and handover reports
AI reads the job sheet, including a photo of a paper one, extracts hours, materials and extra work and prepares it for the administration. After handover, the snag list and the photos become a report in your format.
- Systems: job sheet app or email, ERP, project administration
- Who approves: the work preparation engineer or project manager
- Delivers: extra work comes to light sooner, and the handover report is no longer an evening job
Planning
Scheduling technicians
Jobs, skills, certificates, travel time, materials and absence side by side. AI makes a proposal with an explanation of where it gets tight. If someone drops out, a new proposal is ready quickly.
- Systems: planning board or ERP, calendars in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, Excel
- Who approves: the planner adjusts and decides
- Delivers: an indication of 8 hours less planning work a week, as in the calculator below
Purchasing
Purchase orders and order confirmations
The order with the wholesaler and the order confirmation that comes back, side by side: item, quantity, price and lead time. If something doesn't match, the buyer or work preparation engineer gets a heads-up before the materials are missing on site.
- Systems: ERP, for example Exact or AFAS, and the purchasing inbox
- Who approves: the buyer, only when something deviates
- Delivers: an indication of 300 hours a year at 150 orders a month and 10 minutes per order
Tenders
Preparing tenders and public procurement bids
AI reads the tender documents, lists requirements, award criteria and deadlines, finds suitable reference projects and previous texts and makes a first draft of the plan of approach.
- Systems: tender documents, archive of previous bids, SharePoint or Google Drive
- Who approves: the tender manager or management, who make the choices and set the price
- Delivers: an indication of 8 hours less writing per tender
04 / Before and after
A week at a construction or installation company, before and after.
Six moments from an ordinary week. The time saved is an indication or worked example; only the quote has a client figure, from other work: sales proposals.
- Worked example: 1,280 hours a year
Estimating a new request
Before
Read the specifications, look up old projects, request prices from the wholesaler, calculate. Forty minutes, often with two people.
With AI
A draft estimate based on comparable projects, with anything that differs highlighted. The estimator checks and decides.
- Indication: 5 to 10 min per job sheet
Job sheets on Monday
Before
A pile of photos of paper job sheets. Retype hours and materials, call around about extra work.
With AI
Hours, materials and extra work are ready in the administration. Anything illegible or unclear goes back to the technician.
- Sales proposals case: from 4 to 1 hour
Drawing up a quote
Before
Transfer the estimate into a quote, copy exclusions and provisional sums from an old quote.
With AI
A draft in your format, with the assumptions from the estimate. The project manager sets the price and sends it.
- Indication: 8 hours a week
The weekly schedule
Before
An afternoon of shuffling on the planning board. One sick call and it all starts over.
With AI
A proposal with skills, travel time and materials built in. The planner adjusts and publishes.
- Indication: 10 min per order
The wholesaler's order confirmation
Before
Gets filed. Whether it's right only becomes clear when the materials aren't on site.
With AI
Checked against the order straight away. If price, quantity or lead time differs, the buyer gets a heads-up.
- Indication: 1 to 2 hours per report
The handover report
Before
Working up photos, notes and the snag list into a report in the evening.
With AI
A draft in your format, with photos and points per room. The project manager adds to it and signs.
05 / Worked example
What does AI deliver in estimating and work preparation?
Take one task: a first estimate for a new request. Say it takes 40 minutes, with 2 people, 80 times a month. That's 1,280 hours a year. At € 45 per hour, this task alone costs € 57,600 a year. This is a worked example, not a client figure.
That's how we calculate in every AI Quick Scan: three numbers per step, namely the duration, the number of people and how often it happens. Then we look at what AI can take over per step. Never everything: at most 90 percent per step, and we advise on the expected scenario, not the best case. If AI takes over 40 percent here, that's 512 hours and € 23,040 a year.
To be fair: one process doesn't carry a partnership. The first-year investment with package S is € 60,000, including the Quick Scan, and we only start if the partnership earns itself back at least twice in that year. So the gain is in adding things up: estimating, job sheets, planning, purchasing and tenders together. You can build a business case like this yourself with the AI savings calculator.
0140 minutes
Per estimate, from reading the specifications to a first draft.
022 people
Estimator and work preparation engineer both look at it.
0380 times a month
Requests, small and large mixed together.
04€ 57,600 a year
1,280 hours at € 45 per hour. In the expected scenario, € 23,040 back.
06 / Work it out
Add up the processes.
Switch on what applies to you: quotes and costings, the tender AI agent, planning and purchase orders. You see what AI can take over in twelve months, in hours and euros. The calculator uses € 60 per hour, and the hours per process are illustrative. A worked example, not a quote.
AI drafts the answer, an employee checks it
Processes
€ 81,600saved per year
Above the € 80,000 threshold: this is where a partnership pays off.
€ 60 per hour · 4 min saved per question
07 / Knowledge retention
How do you capture the knowledge of experienced colleagues with AI?
By capturing that knowledge where it already lives: in old estimates, quotes, job sheets, handover reports, emails and in the heads of the people who've been around for years. AI makes it searchable for the colleague who takes over the work, with the experienced colleague as the source.
In construction and installation, that's not a luxury. The work preparation engineer who sees at a glance where a specification is going to pinch. The estimator who knows which mark-up to use for a renovation in a city centre. The planner who knows which technician knows the old installation at a regular customer. It isn't written down anywhere, until it is.
We collect what's already there and talk to the experienced colleagues about how they decide: why this mark-up, what do you look out for in this kind of specification, what went wrong last time. That becomes the basis for an assistant that answers questions with the source attached, and prepares the first estimate the way the experienced colleague would.
What you need
- Previous estimates, quotes and post-project cost reviews, ideally going back a few years
- Specifications, drawings and handover reports in a place where they can be found
- A few hours from the experienced colleagues, spread over a few weeks
- Someone who checks the assistant's answers for the first few months
01From past work
What's similar, what did it cost then, and what did the post-project review say?
02From conversations
With the experienced colleagues, about how and why they decide.
03With sources
Every answer refers to the project, the estimate or the report.
04Role: AI assists
The assistant prepares, the professional decides.
08 / Who does what?
What does AI do, and what stays with the estimator, planner and project manager?
For each task we decide who does what, using the four roles from our APO method: Human, AI assists, Human approves and Fully AI. In construction and installation there's almost always a professional in between. This is what that looks like, task by task.
| What AI does | What the human does | Role of AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimating | Reads specifications and drawings, finds comparable work, prepares a first draft | The estimator checks the assumptions and decides | AI assists |
| Quote and extra work | Writes the quote or statement of extra work in your format | The project manager sets the price and sends it | AI assists |
| Job sheet | Extracts hours, materials and extra work and prepares them | The work preparation engineer approves | Human approves |
| Technician scheduling | Makes a proposal with an explanation of where it gets tight | The planner adjusts and publishes | AI assists |
| Order confirmation | Checks the confirmation against the order and flags differences | The buyer handles deviations | Human approves |
| Tender | Lists requirements, finds references, writes a first draft | The tender manager chooses, finalizes and prices | AI assists |
| Price and bid | · | Decides, always | Human |
Swipe sideways to see all columns →
Anything that goes to a customer or client is always seen by a human first. Fully AI is only possible for intermediate steps, such as an order confirmation that matches the order exactly, and we decide on that together.
09 / Honest
What AI doesn't do for you in construction.
With us, AI doesn't do structural calculations, doesn't design installations and doesn't make decisions about safety on site. That's skilled work with responsibility attached, and it belongs with the structural engineer, the installation designer and the site manager. Building BIM models and robots on the construction site are a field of their own, with their own specialists. We're not one of them.
We focus on the office work around the project: reading, calculating, planning, checking and writing. That's where the work is that comes back every week and that nobody puts in a budget.
And if it turns out that software you already have solves the problem, for example a planning module nobody uses, we'll say so. That's faster and cheaper than building.
01We do
Estimating, quotes, job sheets, planning, purchasing, tenders and a knowledge base.
02We don't
Structural calculations, installation design, BIM models, safety on site.
03Always
The estimator, planner or project manager decides. AI reads, prepares the calculations and flags.
10 / How to approach it
From first conversation to the first estimate that's ready and waiting.
We build within the AI Partnership. You start with the € 6,000 AI Quick Scan: one day shadowing estimating, work preparation, planning and purchasing, and within a week a business case per opportunity, a twelve-month roadmap and package advice.
- 01
Intro call
Fifteen minutes
Where do most of your hours go: estimating, job sheets, planning or tenders?
- 02
AI Quick Scan
One day plus a week
Shadowing the office and the planner, every process mapped with three numbers per step, a baseline on seven dimensions, a business case per opportunity and a roadmap.
- 03
Collecting data
First weeks
Previous estimates, quotes, job sheets and specifications brought together. Conversations with the experienced colleagues.
- 04
First process live
Quarter 1
Connected to your systems, with a human who approves everything. Every month you see what it delivers in hours and euros.
- 05
Expand
After that
Process by process: job sheets, planning, purchasing, tenders. Within the package that fits.
11 / Questions
Frequently asked questions about AI in construction and installation.
What can AI do in construction and installation?
In construction and installation, AI takes over the office work around the project: reading specifications and drawings, making a first estimate and quote based on past work, processing job sheets and handover reports, proposing a schedule for technicians, checking order confirmations from the wholesaler and preparing tenders. The estimator, work preparation engineer, planner and project manager decide. AI does the searching, reading and typing.
Can AI make an estimate from specifications and drawings?
AI can prepare a first estimate. It reads the specifications and drawings, lists requirements and materials, finds comparable projects in your archive and makes a draft with the points to watch. The estimator checks the assumptions and decides. The more previous estimates and post-project cost reviews there are, the better the first version gets.
Can AI make quotes for construction and installation work?
Yes, as a draft. AI turns the estimate into a quote in your format, with assumptions, exclusions and provisional sums, and makes statements of extra work from the job sheets. The project manager or account manager sets the price and sends it. For comparison: at one NinA client, sales proposals went from 4 hours to 1 hour. What it delivers for you, we calculate in the AI Quick Scan.
Can AI schedule technicians?
AI can make a planning proposal based on jobs, technicians' skills and certificates, travel time, materials and absence, with an explanation of where it gets tight. The planner adjusts and decides. We advise against fully automatic scheduling: an urgent job, a sick call or a customer who always wants the same technician is something the planner weighs better. But thanks to the proposal, a colleague can take over the schedule when the planner isn't there.
How does AI help with tenders and public procurement?
AI reads the tender documents, lists requirements, award criteria and deadlines, finds suitable reference projects and previous texts in your archive and writes a first draft of the plan of approach. The tender manager makes the choices, finalizes the text and sets the price. That way the time goes into the content instead of searching, cutting and pasting.
How do you capture the knowledge of experienced work preparation engineers and estimators?
By combining previous estimates, post-project cost reviews, quotes, job sheets and handover reports with conversations with the experienced colleagues about how they decide. The result is an assistant that answers questions and prepares an estimate, with every answer showing the project or estimate it came from. The experienced colleague remains the source, the assistant remembers what they know.
Which systems do you connect to, and is our data safe?
We build on what you already use: an ERP such as Exact, AFAS, SAP or Microsoft Dynamics, your estimating software or planning board, and email and documents in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. The condition is an API, database access or an export with the right permissions. We usually build in n8n, with custom work where needed. Data stays in the EU, on your own server or on servers with a European provider, and we work to ISO 27001 and NEN 7510 (certification in preparation). Code, data and documentation remain yours.
What does AI cost for a construction or installation company?
You start with the € 6,000 AI Quick Scan: one day on site and within a week a business case per opportunity and a twelve-month roadmap. Building happens within the AI Partnership: package S costs € 4,500 per month (30 hours), M € 7,500 (50 hours) and L € 12,000 (80 hours), for a minimum of twelve months. What goes live is covered by a maintenance contract from € 245 per month, including AI usage. We only start if the partnership earns back at least twice the investment in the first year. All amounts excluding VAT.
Further reading
- AI by departmentFrom operations to finance: what AI takes over in each team.
- AI savings calculatorThree numbers per process step, three scenarios and the payback time.
- Which processes to automateSeven questions to test any task, and who stays in charge.
- AI in logistics and wholesaleOrders, waybills, status queries and purchasing.
- The AI Quick ScanOne day on site, a business case per opportunity within a week.
- All sectorsAI by sector, from e-commerce to healthcare.
More projects with the same office?
Book a fifteen-minute intro call. Together we'll look at where the most searching, calculating and retyping happens around your projects.
01
Intro call
Fifteen minutes, no strings. Where does work get stuck and what do you want to achieve?
02
AI Quick Scan
One day on site. Within a week, a business case and a roadmap.
03
AI Partnership
A dedicated team that builds, trains and shows what it delivers every month.
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