How AI can help your construction business

4 practical ways construction companies can use AI

1. Cost estimates and tendering

AI can analyze documents, extract key information and prepare draft bids. It can also speed up cost estimates.

For example, to bid on the construction of an office tower, a general contractor will need to request quotes from multiple subcontractors: for the foundation, plumbing, walls, doors and windows, electrical work, ventilation, roofing and other work. 

These requests must be sent to several companies. The general contractor then has to analyze them before preparing their own bid for the full project. 

“That means hours of analysis, calculations and data extraction, which is time you can’t bill for. Sometimes, you bid on 30 projects a week and win two or three,” says Mailhot.

This is where AI can boost profitability, accuracy and growth. It can automatically extract required quantities from plans, generate more realistic estimates based on similar projects and compare different bids. 

Beyond saving time, AI can make estimates more accurate and reduce errors. “Forgetting to count the electrical outlets on one floor can have a major impact on a project’s cost and quality,” says Mailhot.

2. Project and job site management

AI can simplify real-time project and site management by assigning equipment and crews based on skills, needs and availability.

This is especially useful for avoiding inefficiencies and delays when several projects or job sites are running at the same time.

“With AI, construction companies can reduce the time needed to create plans, assignments and schedules by 30% to 40%,” says Mailhot.

But the main benefit is being able to generate a plan B much faster when something unexpected happens, such as a crew member not showing up or equipment breaking down. “Instead of spending hours redoing everything, you can resolve the situation in five minutes.”

3. Quality control, safety and risk prevention

Using computer vision, AI can detect anomalies or deviations on job sites.

For example, it can analyze photos taken with high-speed cameras on the job site to identify cracks and help ensure quality.

It can also detect missing protective equipment and identify potentially hazardous or unsafe situations.

This helps teams respond quickly and efficiently.

4. Administrative tasks and document management

AI can also act as a virtual assistant for your teams. 

It can transcribe meetings, prepare follow-ups and summaries, and help with document management. 

With RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) solutions, you can search large databases or document repositories and get quick answers in plain language.

For example, AI can quickly manage tasks such as checking construction standards or identifying missing documents. 

In some companies, a full-time employee manages suppliers and billing. AI can automate searches, match invoices to the right files and file them in the right place. 

Where to start

Analyze your needs and look at which tasks are still done manually. “It’s important to map out tasks, describe each process and identify what can be automated,” says Mailhot . “But if your ERP or Excel data is entered manually and contains errors, you need to clean it up before moving forward.”

Next step

Get advice and preferential-rate financing to adopt AI, digital tools and state-of-the-art equipment.