AI for general contractors
AI agents for general contractors: faster bids and less paperwork on every contract
We train your team, set up Claude in the software you already use and build agents for specific processes – from quantity takeoffs and bidding, through subcontractors and contracts, to site reports. The agent prepares, your team decides.
Since 2019 we have been building Hustro – a platform used by contractors in construction, energy and shipbuilding.
Where your team’s time goes
Bidding and running a contract is document work.
Tender documents, takeoffs, subcontractor bids, contracts, client reports – the data sits in PDFs, drawings, Excel and email.
Tenders
Reviewing tender documents before deciding to bid
Before deciding whether to bid, the team has to read the specification, design and draft contract – usually against a tight deadline.
Takeoffs
Measuring quantities from PDFs and drawings
A manual takeoff holds up the bid calculation, and every design revision means counting again.
Subcontractors
Subcontractor bids in different formats
Everyone prices differently. Gaps and scope differences often only show up on site.
Contracts
Risks hidden in the client contract
Penalties, deadlines, warranties and securities have to be compared with your template in every contract.
Reports
Client reports built from many sources
Progress, schedule, meeting notes – data has to be collected by hand before every report.
Changes
Variations that are hard to document
Without comparing design revisions, it is hard to show what changed and what it costs.
What the contract manager gains
Faster bids, fewer risks and better use of the team’s time
A contract manager is responsible for margin, deadlines and people. AI agents take over the preparatory work at every stage.
Faster bidding
Takeoffs, labour calculations and bids on the client’s form are prepared faster, so the same team can prepare more bids.
Fewer contract risks
The agent compares the contract with your template and points out scope gaps in subcontractor bids before they become a problem.
Better use of the team’s time
Site managers and estimators review and decide instead of retyping data and putting reports together.
Results before decisions
You test the agent on your own documents before deciding to roll it out.
Agent examples
Agents across the whole contract cycle
Choose a stage to see what the agent prepares and who in the team uses it.
From enquiry to bid
The agent analyses the enquiry and tender documents, prepares the takeoff and labour calculation, and finally drafts the bid on the client’s form. The bid team knows sooner whether to bid and starts pricing from a ready takeoff. See automatic quantity takeoff
- Tender portal screening against your criteria
- Analysis of the enquiry and tender documents with a bid/no-bid recommendation
- Takeoff from PDF, CAD and IFC documents
- Labour calculation by trade and craft
- Bid on the client’s form
Who uses itBid team, estimators, board
Packages and subcontractor bids
The agent splits the scope into packages, prepares requests for quotation and puts bids side by side. Gaps and scope differences are visible before the contract is signed, not on site.
- Splitting the scope into packages
- Subcontractor prequalification: reviews and financial standing
- Requests for quotation
- Bid comparison with gaps and scope differences
Who uses itProcurement, contract manager
Contracts and securities register
The agent compares the client contract with your template, drafts subcontracts and tracks deadlines. The contract manager gets a list of risks and points to decide instead of the whole contract to read. See document comparison
- Contract review against your template with a list of risks and points to decide
- Subcontracts on your templates
- Register of deadlines, warranties and securities with reminders
Who uses itContract manager, legal, board
Reports and site coordination
The agent prepares the progress report for the client, compares the schedule with actual progress and turns meeting notes into tasks. Site managers spend less time at the desk and more on site.
- Progress report for the client
- Excel schedule compared with progress
- Meeting notes and voice notes from site turned into tasks
- Subcontractor ranking
Who uses itSite manager, contract manager
Design revisions and variations
The agent compares design revisions, points out clashes between disciplines and calculates the differences in quantities. Design errors surface before construction, and variations and additional works are easier to document for the client.
- Comparison of design revisions with changes highlighted in colour
- Clashes between disciplines, such as missing openings in slabs and walls
- Quantities of differences for variations and additional works
Who uses itEstimators, contract manager
H&S reports and audit preparation
The agent prepares the monthly H&S report, an initial management system audit and design comparisons. H&S and quality teams start from a ready summary. See H&S software
- Monthly H&S report
- Initial ISO 45001, 14001 and 9001 audit
- Design comparison
Who uses itH&S and quality teams
Defects and subcontractor response
The agent analyses defects and subcontractor response times using data from the Hustro platform. You see who is behind on repairs before it becomes a problem at handover.
- Defect analysis
- Subcontractor response times
- Questions about site data in plain language, such as a subcontractor’s overdue defects
Who uses itSite manager, warranty team
Invoices and contract documents
The agent reads invoices, assigns them to contracts and fills in data in your software. Accounting and the contract manager check the summary instead of retyping documents.
- Invoice checks and assignment to contracts
- Filling in data in your software, also via the browser
- Company and contract knowledge base
Who uses itAccounting, contract manager
Example: takeoff for a bid
One process, two ways of working
Contractors most often start the pilot with takeoffs, because the agent’s result is easy to compare with a manual takeoff.
- The estimator measures quantities by hand from PDFs and drawings.
- Every item has to be typed into the takeoff sheet.
- After a design revision, counting starts again.
- Bid pricing waits until the takeoff is ready.
- The agent measures quantities from PDF, CAD and IFC documents.
- Every item points to its drawing and has a confidence level.
- Uncertain items go to the estimator for review.
- The estimator checks the ready takeoff and moves on to pricing.
The same approach works for subcontractor bids, contracts and site reports.
What we do
Three ways to work together. You can start with any of them.
Each one ends the same way: with a team that works with AI every day.
01
Training
Site managers, estimators, the bid team and H&S staff learn to work with Claude on their own examples.
- On-site training for the whole team
- Workshops for individual departments
- Working on your own documents
02
Claude rollout
We set up Claude in your organisation and connect it to the software you already use.
- Claude configured for your company
- Company and contract knowledge base with answers based on your documents
- Register of deadlines, warranties and securities with reminders
03
Building agents
We build agents for specific department processes – on your documents and your standards, tested on a real case, not a demo.
- Agents tailored to department processes
- Pilot on a completed task with a known result
- Your team learns to improve and extend agents on its own
Integrations
We work inside your software, not next to it.
Agents use the systems you already have instead of creating new ones. Where there is no ready connection, we use an API or the browser.
How it works
See the result first, then roll it out
Call
You point out the processes that take up most of your team’s time. We choose one to three to start with.
Pilot on your documents
We test the agent on a completed task for which you already have the result, such as a takeoff. You compare both results before deciding on a rollout.
Workshop
We tune the agents to your standards, install them for you and teach the team to use them and improve them on its own.
Handover and growth
We check the result on a live task. Then we support you remotely and add more areas.
Your data, your rules
AI prepares, people decide.
Agents work in your systems and to your standards. Every decision is made by a person.
Talk to us about securityData stays in your systems
The agent works with the user’s permissions and sees only what that user can access.
Traceable to the source
Every takeoff item points to its drawing and has a confidence level. Uncertain items go for review.
A person approves
The agent prepares the bid, request or report. An employee sends and approves it.
No guessing
The agent reports gaps and inconsistencies in the documents instead of filling them in.
Licences from the source
You buy Claude directly from Anthropic. On business plans, your content is not used to train models by default.
Data processing agreement
For the rollout, we sign a data processing agreement.
Why Hustro
We know construction and work with Claude every day
Industry insiders
Since 2019 we have been building Hustro – a platform used by contractors in construction, energy and shipbuilding.
Ready-made tools
We don’t start from scratch: we have agents for takeoffs, labour calculations, bid comparison, and H&S and progress reports.
Results before decisions
You test the agent on your own documents before deciding to roll it out.
Skills, not dependence
We teach your team to develop agents on its own.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Where should a contractor start with AI?
With one process that takes up most of your team’s time – for example a takeoff for a bid, comparing subcontractor bids or a progress report for the client. On the first call we choose one to three processes and the form of cooperation: training, Claude rollout or building an agent.
How can we test an agent before rolling it out?
We test the agent on a completed task for which you already have the result, such as a takeoff. You compare the agent’s result with yours before deciding on a rollout.
How is an AI agent different from a regular chat?
An agent is Claude prepared for a specific task. It has access to selected software and documents, follows your standards and delivers a finished result, such as a takeoff with a drawing reference for every item. In a regular chat, an employee has to paste the data and explain what they need every time.
How does the agent handle takeoffs?
The agent measures quantities from PDF, CAD and IFC documents. Every item points to its drawing and has a confidence level, and uncertain items go to the estimator for review.
Is our data safe?
The agent works with the user’s permissions and sees only what that user can access. You buy Claude licences directly from Anthropic, and on business plans your content is not used to train models by default. For the rollout, we sign a data processing agreement.
What if data is missing from the documents?
The agent reports gaps and inconsistencies instead of filling them in. An employee approves and sends the bid, request or report.
Which software do you connect Claude to?
Email, calendar and documents (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace), Excel schedules and spreadsheets, CAD drawings and IFC models, finance and accounting systems, the Hustro platform and other software your team uses. Where there is no ready connection, we use an API or the browser.
Will we manage on our own after the rollout?
Yes. At the workshop we teach the team to use the agents and improve them on its own. After that we support you remotely and add more areas if you need them.
Do we have to use the Hustro platform?
No. Agents work in the software you already use. If you use the Hustro platform, we can use its data, for example to analyse defects and subcontractor response times.
Start with one process
Let’s talk about what takes up most of your time.
On the call we will point out which process to start with and how to test the agent on your documents before a rollout.
“Claude” and “Anthropic” are trademarks of Anthropic, PBC.
