How Can Contractors Use AI During the Estimating Process

You have a big project to bid, and it needs your immediate attention. But it's not the only thing that does. You're talking with customers, managing current projects, ordering materials, and keeping crews moving. There are only so many hours in the day, and now you also need to find time to work through everything that goes into putting together the bid.

That's where artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to help. It won't estimate the project for you, but it may take some of the time-consuming work off your plate so you can focus on the parts of the estimate that need your experience.

Knowing what AI does well, and where its limitations are, can help you decide where it makes sense to use it in your estimating process.

Can AI Make Project Documents Easier to Review?

AI can help you get to specific information faster. Instead of manually searching for a product requirement, you might use an AI tool to locate references to the specified metal roof panel, gauge, color, warranty, or wind uplift requirements. You could also ask it to summarize the roofing portion of a specification or identify requirements that may need a closer look.

But you still need to check what it finds. AI can miss information or misunderstand the context, so anything that could affect your bid should be confirmed in the original project documents.

Can AI Help You Prepare a Bid?

Once you've reviewed the project requirements, AI may also help organize some of the information you need to work through before the bid goes out.

For example, you could ask it to develop a checklist of potential scope items based on the documents you've provided. Underlayment, closures, trim, fasteners, sealants, gutters, or snow retention could show up on that list depending on the project. The point isn't to let AI determine the scope. It's to give yourself another way to look at the project and identify something that may deserve a second look.

The same approach can be useful when you have questions. If a detail is unclear, information conflicts, or something you need isn't addressed, AI can help turn your notes into a first draft of a Request for Information (RFI) or clarification request. You know what needs to be answered; AI can help you get the question on paper.

There will also be questions that need to go to your manufacturer or supplier. Product selection, installation questions, technical documentation, current pricing, and lead times need information specific to the product, order, or project. McElroy Metal contractors can work with their local Service Center or sales representative for that support.

AI may help you get organized before those conversations, but the information you use in the bid needs to come from the appropriate source.

What Can't AI Know About Your Job?

There is a point where finding information ends and estimating begins. That's where your experience becomes especially important.

AI hasn't walked the jobsite. It doesn't know where you'll stage material, what access will be like, or whether getting equipment into place will be a challenge. It doesn't know your crew or how conditions on this particular project could affect productivity.

It also doesn't have years of installation experience behind it. You may look at a detail and immediately see something that could become a problem in the field. Maybe you need clarification before you price it. Maybe access is going to add time. Maybe the installation won't be as straightforward as it appears on the drawing. Recognizing those issues before the job starts can have a direct impact on the estimate.

Quantities and pricing also need reliable sources. Specialized estimating tools can help measure roof areas, calculate panel lengths, and determine material quantities. Current material pricing, freight, and labor costs need to come from the suppliers and company systems you use to build the estimate.

Then there are the risks that aren't reflected in material quantities or pricing. Schedule, unclear scope, potential changes, and customer expectations can all affect how you look at a project. AI can process the information you give it, but it doesn't have the experience that tells you when something about a job deserves a closer look.

What About Information From Past Projects?

Previous estimates and project files can be valuable when you're bidding something similar, assuming you can find the information you need.

For companies that maintain organized project records, an approved AI system may make that information easier to search. You could potentially find a similar project, see which products were used, or locate notes about an issue the team encountered before.

The quality of the answer will depend on the information available. If something wasn't documented, AI can't retrieve it. If the records are incomplete or outdated, the results may not tell the whole story.

There is also a security issue to consider before using AI with any project information. Drawings, specifications, pricing, customer information, and previous bid files may contain information that shouldn't be uploaded to a public AI platform. Follow your company's policies and understand how the tool handles the information you provide before using it with project documents.

Where Does AI Fit Into the Estimating Process?

AI doesn't have to change the way you estimate a metal roofing project to be useful. If it saves time finding information in a specification, helps organize a bid package, or gets a project question ready for the right person, that's time you can put somewhere else.

The estimating tools, current information, and experience you already rely on still do the heavy lifting. AI simply gives you another tool for some of the work that happens along the way.