As more construction companies use artificial intelligence, it can be difficult to identify which tools will be most beneficial without costly programming, according to Construction Executive.
Automating back-office administrative and business development tasks can be a good place to start. Construction Executive shares the following examples for how construction companies can implement AI.
- Quotes. The traditional quoting process can be time-consuming and limit the number of bids a company can realistically pursue and win. Using past project data and a company’s historical performance, AI quoting agents can read blueprints, identify specifications, quantify materials and generate cost estimations. This can increase bid volume and give estimators more time to focus on strategic pricing and client relationships.
- Data management. Data often is spread across various IT systems, laptops and physical files, which makes it difficult to quickly access information. AI-driven data management centralizes and organizes all historical project data and can use advanced AI search capabilities to find the necessary information.
- Bids and requests for proposal. Winning a large project requires a deep understanding of the project, client and market. It is time-consuming to manually research public bids and analyze a project’s location. A bid and RFP AI agent can access and monitor all available public and private bids, gather additional data points about a project and analyze the local market, building history and regulatory environment. This can help a company produce a highly customized bid.
- Accounts payable and receivable. These processes often are manual and a drain on resources. AI can extract and verify data from invoices, cross-reference against purchase orders, flag discrepancies for review and send out automated payment reminders.
- Administrative automation. In construction, administrative tasks can keep staff from crucial duties. AI now can handle tasks such as drafting routine safety updates, checking inventory levels and sending reminders about deadlines. This can help eliminate busy work and boost productivity.
