AI for subcontractors
AI agents for subcontractors: from enquiry to final account
We train your team, set up Claude in the software you already use and build agents for specific processes – from analysing the enquiry and the takeoff for your trade, through the contract with the main contractor, to site documentation. The agent prepares, your team decides.
Since 2019 we have been building Hustro – a platform where main contractors and subcontractors handle issues, inspections and handovers together.
Where your team’s time goes
Every enquiry means documents, a takeoff, pricing and a contract.
On site come material submittals, reports and design changes. This work usually falls on a few people who are also running the works.
Enquiries
Little time to analyse the enquiry
Scope, requirements, deadlines and penalties have to be read out of the main contractor’s documents before deciding to price.
Takeoffs
Pulling your trade out of the full design
Quantities for your trade have to be measured by hand from PDFs and drawings, often from scratch for each enquiry.
Pricing
Labour and crew sizes worked out in Excel
Pricing depends on one person’s experience, and assumptions and exclusions are easy to leave out of the bid.
Contracts
Terms imposed by the main contractor
Penalties, securities and payment terms have to be compared with your own terms before you sign.
Submittals
Material submittals rejected at approval
A submittal that does not match the design means rework and delayed deliveries.
Changes
Additional works that are hard to claim
Without comparing design revisions, it is hard to show what changed in your scope.
What your company gains
Faster bids, fewer risks and better use of the team’s time
In a subcontracting company the same people price, buy and run the works. AI agents take over the document work.
Faster bidding
Enquiry analysis, takeoff and pricing are prepared faster, so the same team can respond to more enquiries.
Fewer contract risks
The agent compares the contract with your terms and prepares a list of points to negotiate before you sign.
Better use of the team’s time
Works 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 from enquiry to final account
Choose a stage to see what the agent prepares and who in the team uses it.
From enquiry to bid
The agent analyses the main contractor’s enquiry, prepares the takeoff for your trade and the labour calculation, and finally drafts a bid with assumptions and exclusions. You know sooner whether to bid and start pricing from a ready takeoff. See automatic quantity takeoff
- Enquiry analysis: scope, requirements, deadlines and penalties, with a bid/no-bid recommendation
- Takeoff for your trade from PDF, CAD and IFC documents
- Labour and crew calculation
- Bid with assumptions and exclusions
Who uses itBid team, estimators, company owner
Suppliers and sub-subcontractors
The agent prepares requests to suppliers and sub-subcontractors, puts quotes side by side and helps compare the cost of own resources with outsourcing.
- Requests to suppliers and sub-subcontractors
- Quote comparison
- Summary for the make-or-buy decision
Who uses itProcurement, works manager
Contract with the main contractor
The agent compares the contract with your terms and prepares a list of points to negotiate. Instead of the whole contract to read, you get the clauses that need a decision. See document comparison
- Review of scope, penalties, securities and payment terms
- List of points to negotiate
- Register of deadlines, warranties and securities with reminders
Who uses itCompany owner, works manager
Submittals and design revisions
The agent checks material submittals against the design before they go for approval and analyses changes in each revision for your trade. Fewer submittals come back for rework, and additional works are easier to document.
- Material submittals checked against the design
- Analysis of design revision changes for your trade
- Quantities for additional works
Who uses itWorks manager, estimators
Reports and records for the main contractor
The agent prepares reports and records and lists the issues and deadlines assigned to your company on the Hustro platform. The works manager knows what to do without going through every issue.
- Reports and records for the main contractor
- Issues and deadlines assigned to your company
Who uses itWorks manager, foremen
H&S reports and audit preparation
The agent prepares the H&S report from site data and helps you prepare for ISO audits. See H&S software
- H&S report from site data
- ISO audit preparation
Who uses itH&S officer, company owner
Standards, procedures and data sheets
The agent answers questions from industry standards, procedures and product data sheets, always with a link to the source. New employees find answers faster without asking colleagues.
- Answers from industry standards and procedures
- Product data sheets
- A link to the source document with every answer
Who uses itThe whole team
Example: analysing an enquiry
One process, two ways of working
This is what working with an agent looks like on an enquiry from a main contractor.
- The enquiry arrives by email with dozens of document files.
- Someone has to read it all to find the scope, deadlines and penalties.
- The takeoff for your trade is done by hand.
- The bid decision is made when little time is left for pricing.
- The agent collects the enquiry and documents from email.
- It lists the scope, requirements, deadlines and penalties with a reference to each document.
- It prepares the takeoff for your trade and flags items to check.
- You get a bid/no-bid recommendation and a ready takeoff for pricing – and decide.
The same approach works for contracts, material submittals and site records.
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
Works managers, estimators and office 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 knowledge base: standards, procedures and product data sheets
- Register of deadlines, warranties and securities with reminders
03
Building agents
We build agents for specific processes – on your documents and your standards, tested on a real case, not a demo.
- Agents tailored to your 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 or a bid. 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 record. 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 where main contractors and subcontractors handle issues, inspections and handovers together.
Ready-made tools
We don’t start from scratch: we have agents for enquiry analysis, takeoffs, labour calculations and bid comparison.
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 subcontractor start with AI?
With one process that takes up most of your team’s time – for example analysing an enquiry from a main contractor, the takeoff for your trade or a contract review. 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 or a bid. 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.
Can the agent do a takeoff for my trade only?
Yes. The agent measures quantities for your trade 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 record.
Which software do you connect Claude to?
Email, calendar and documents (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace), Excel pricing and schedules, 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 work with a main contractor on the Hustro platform, the agent can list the issues and deadlines assigned to your company.
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.
