Sector · Construction & Installation
AI software for construction & installation
Bonsai builds AI software for construction and installation engineering. We turn estimates, specifications and work orders into a reliable data layer, so margins and knowledge stop disappearing into spreadsheets and people's heads, connected to the estimating and ERP software you already use.
What's at play in construction & installation
In construction and installation, the profit is fixed at the estimate but only shows up at the post-calculation, often months later, once there's nothing left to adjust. The margin leaks in the places that feel too small to bother with: return trips, waiting time, additional work that never gets charged on. Estimating itself eats up many hours from scarce estimators, and you only win a share of the tenders.
What your best estimator or engineer knows lives in their head and in ten years of work orders, never in a system. With an ageing workforce and a shortage of skilled people, that knowledge literally walks out the door. And since the Wkb, the assessment has moved from the drawing board to the site: your handover file has to be correct.
Then there's the volatility: material prices move faster than your quotes, and estimate with stale prices and you either give away margin or price yourself out of the tender. Being able to estimate faster and more often, with current prices and realistic standard hours, is a direct commercial advantage in its own right, well beyond mere admin.
Systems we know and connect to
Where it pinches
Estimating is slow
Quotes and budgets soak up hours from scarce estimators, and in tenders much of that effort is simply lost.
Margin visible too late
You only find out at the post-calculation whether a project went well. By then there's no room left to steer.
Additional/reduced work leaks away
Verbal agreements on site reach an order late, or never at all: unpaid work, and arguments after the fact.
Knowledge in work orders and heads
What an experienced engineer knows about a fault, or about realistic standard hours, is never captured and goes with them when they retire.
Where AI does help, and where it doesn't
What we build for this
Speed up estimating
Specifications and drawings are read, line items picked out and linked to 2BA articles and standard hours. AI does the groundwork, and the estimator decides.
Real-time margin insight
Hours and costs are tracked live against the budget, with early warning when something drifts, long before the post-calculation.
Record additional/reduced work
Additional work is picked up from photos, voice notes or work-order text and turned into a draft order.
Knowledge capture
Years of work orders, fault reports and estimates turn into searchable data, so the knowledge stays in the company.
Where AI is not the answer
- We won't build a second Ibis or Syntess; we lay a layer around the estimating and ERP you already have.
- The price and margin call stays with people; AI prepares the draft and leaves the decision to you.
- Feed AI messy work orders and loose Excel files and you get mess back. Sometimes the first win is connecting and structuring the data before any model comes near it.
What we deploy for this
Quote
Quote automation that reads requests and ties them to 2BA articles, your standard hours and current prices.
View QuoteBonsai AI Workers
Digital colleagues that process work orders, pick up additional work from photos and notes, and track hours against the budget.
View Bonsai AI WorkersBonsai AI Digital Twin
A single system for projects, planning and margin, like the ERP platform we built for a contractor.
View Bonsai AI Digital TwinYou can read how we approach it, from discovery through to an SLA, in how we work.
Questions about AI in construction & installation
Does Bonsai work with 2BA and estimating standards?+
Yes. We link AI estimating to sources such as 2BA, plus your own standard hours and calculation rules, so the output matches the way you calculate.
Does this replace my current software?+
No. Usually we lay an AI layer around your existing estimating and ERP software and rebuild only where it genuinely pays off.
What does the Wkb mean for us?+
Since 2024 an independent quality assurer checks the work on site; your handover and consumer file has to be demonstrably correct, installations included. With structured work-order and project data, that file falls out of the work rather than adding to it.
Can you read specifications and drawings?+
Yes. Specifications (STABU/RAW), quote requests and drawings are read and turned into recognisable line items, linked to articles and standard hours. The estimator checks and decides, while AI handles the look-up and the data entry.
Does this work with Syntess, Admicom or AFAS?+
Yes. We connect to your existing estimating and ERP software. They stay in the lead, and our layer takes out the manual work around them.
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