Estimation and Engineering Daily Works

From the tender documents to the quotation, then to shop drawings and submittals.

We read the drawings, the specifications and everything else a contractor receives to price a job. We study them, take off the quantities, compare the take-off with the bill of quantities you were given and show you every difference, then price from your own past pricing and review it. After award we prepare the schematics, panels, shop drawings and submittals.

What we read

Everything a contractor is normally given to price

Drawings and specifications are part of a bigger package. One clause in the conditions, or an addendum nobody read, can change the price, so the platform reads the whole package.

Invitation and instructions to tenderers

Closing date, how to submit, bid validity, the bid bond and the forms to be filled in.

Conditions of contract

General and particular: contract type (lump sum or re-measured), payment terms, advance payment, retention, delay penalties and the defects liability period.

Scope of work

Exactly what is yours, the interfaces with other trades, and what is supplied by the owner or by others.

Technical specifications

The specification for each system: materials, reference codes and standards, installation, testing, commissioning, spare parts and training.

Tender drawings

Plans, sections, schematics and riser diagrams, single-line diagrams, details and equipment schedules, as PDF or DWG.

Bill of quantities (BOQ)

The items, descriptions, units and quantities as the consultant prepared them: what you price against and are paid by.

Approved vendor and manufacturer list

The makes allowed for each item and the country of origin, which decides who you can ask for prices.

Addenda and clarifications

Tender addenda, the consultant’s replies to queries, and the minutes of the pre-bid meeting and site visit. The latest addendum overrides what came before.

Programme and general requirements

Duration and milestones, quality and safety requirements, insurances, and the supplier quotations that arrive while you price.

The stages

From reading to approval, step by step

01

Reading and registering the documents

Before any take-off, we make sure the package is complete and that we are working on the latest revision.

  • Document register. Every drawing with its number, title, revision and date.
  • Completeness check. Sheets that are missing, or listed in the index but not attached, become a query.
  • Addenda. Each addendum is linked to the drawings and items it changed.
  • Sorted by system. Fire fighting, fire alarm, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, low current and BMS.
02

Study

We read the specification and the conditions to find what costs money but never shows on a drawing.

  • Scope matrix. What is in your scope, what is by others, and where the interfaces are.
  • Codes and standards. Such as the Saudi Building Code, Civil Defence requirements, NFPA and ASHRAE, depending on the project.
  • Makes and approvals. Approved makes, country of origin, and listings such as UL and FM.
  • Hidden costs. Testing and commissioning, spare parts, training, warranty and maintenance during the defects period.
  • Conflicts. Every conflict between drawing, specification and BOQ becomes a query (RFI) ready to send.
  • Assumptions and exclusions. A list that goes with your offer so you are not held to what you did not price.
03

Quantity take-off

Quantities come from the drawings themselves, not from the BOQ, and are organised by system, floor and zone.

  • Counting. Sprinklers, detectors, call points, outlets, light fittings, switches, sensors and valves.
  • Measuring. Pipe lengths by diameter, ductwork by size, cable tray, conduit and cables by cross-section.
  • Equipment. From the schedules: pumps, chillers, air-handling units, panels and controllers, with their ratings.
  • Accessories. Fittings, supports, insulation and painting, at customary allowances you can adjust.
  • Wastage. Added per material type at the rates your company uses.
  • BMS points. From the I/O points list: controller count, field devices and control cabling.
  • Drawing scale. Set for each sheet before measuring, with every quantity traceable to its place on the drawing.
  • Reviewable. The engineer sees where each number came from and can change it.
04

Comparing the take-off with the BOQ you were given

The BOQ is prepared by the consultant and often differs from the drawings. If there is a difference we tell you before you submit, not after you sign.

ItemBOQTake-offDifference
Pendent sprinkler1,2401,318+78 · 6.3%
Steel pipe 4 in (m)860845−15 · 1.7%
Smoke detector410452+42 · 10.2%
Zone control valveNot listed12Missing item

Illustrative figures showing the report layout

  • Line by line. The quantity in each source, the difference, the percentage and the cost impact.
  • Missing items. What is drawn but not in the BOQ, and what is in the BOQ but not drawn.
  • By contract type. On a lump sum you carry the shortfall; on a re-measured contract you are paid for what is installed.
  • Your decision. Raise a tender query, price the difference, or state it as a qualification in your offer.
05

Pricing from your own past pricing

The platform does not invent prices. It starts from the projects you have already priced and from your suppliers’ quotations, then builds the cost item by item.

  • Price library. Built from your files: item, make, supplier, price and the date it was last updated.
  • Your past projects. A suggested rate for each item from similar jobs, with a warning when a price is old or out of line.
  • Requests for quotation. Sent to approved suppliers, with their offers compared on price, compliance and delivery time.
  • Materials. Supplier price plus freight, customs and delivery to site.
  • Labour. From productivity rates (man-hours per unit) and crew costs.
  • Subcontractors and plant. Work let to others, scaffolding, lifting and tools.
  • Engineering and commissioning. Shop drawings, submittals, testing and commissioning.
  • Site overheads. Site staff, accommodation, transport, insurances and bank guarantees.
  • Overheads and risk. Head-office overheads, contingency, and the cost of finance under the payment terms.
  • Margin and tax. The profit margin you set, then VAT as it applies in the country.
06

Review, approval and submission

The system proposes the quantities and the prices. Final approval stays with your team.

  • Sanity checks. Against benchmarks from your own jobs, such as cost per square metre or per point.
  • Outliers. Unpriced items, rates that are far too low or too high, and arithmetic errors.
  • Approval path. From estimator to estimating manager to management, with every change logged.
  • Revisions. R0, R1 and onwards, showing what changed between them.
  • Technical offer. Compliance statement, list of deviations and the makes proposed.
  • Commercial offer. The priced BOQ, terms and exclusions, delivery period and validity, as PDF and Excel in your branding.
After award

Schematics, panels, shop drawings and submittals

The take-off you priced with is not thrown away once you win. We build on it to produce the documents the consultant asks for before you can order and install.

Schematics

They show how the system connects before any layout detail.

  • Riser diagrams for fire fighting, plumbing and HVAC
  • Single-line diagrams for the electrical supply
  • BMS network architecture: controllers, networks and interfaces to third-party systems
  • Control schematics for each piece of equipment, with its sequence of operation

Panels

Control panels, motor control centres (MCC) and DDC controller panels.

  • General arrangement and internal component layout
  • Wiring diagrams and termination schedules
  • Load schedules, breaker and cable sizing
  • Panel bill of materials and the enclosure IP rating

Shop drawings

Built on the issued-for-construction drawings, they show what will actually be installed.

  • Layouts at working scale with levels and dimensions
  • Sections, installation details and supports
  • Coordination with other services, structure and architecture to avoid clashes
  • Openings and sleeves required from the civil contractor

Submittals

Nothing is ordered before the consultant approves it, so the project starts here.

  • Material submittals: data sheets, catalogues, approval certificates and country of origin
  • A clause-by-clause compliance statement against the specification
  • Calculations, method statements and the inspection and test plan (ITP)
  • A submittal log with each status: approved, approved as noted, revise and resubmit, rejected
What changes

For the estimating team and for management

Less time per tender

Reading and counting are automatic; the engineer reviews and prices instead of typing.

No surprises after signing

Quantity differences and missing items are known before you submit.

Consistent prices

One central library instead of old, scattered spreadsheets.

Know-how stays in the company

Pricing experience lives in the system, and work does not stop when one person is away.

WhatsApp command centre

One company WhatsApp number. AI files everything.

Everyone messages it: management, project managers, site engineers and procurement. AI understands every text, voice note, photo or file and turns it into structured data inside the right project, with no manual entry.

  • A file per project. Opened automatically, holding photos, documents and conversations by date.
  • A live Excel per project. Progress, payments, materials and issues, updated with every message.
  • Web dashboard. Every project on one screen with progress, collections and alerts.
  • Automatic daily report. Each evening management receives a summary of what was done on every site.
  • Reminders and collections. A nudge when an engineer hasn’t sent an update, and alerts on due invoices and late payments.
  • Permissions by role. Each engineer writes to their own projects; management can ask about everything.
AIProject command centreonline
Second-floor piping finished today, photos attached16:05
Logged in the progress report, completion updated, photos saved by date and floor.16:05
We need 200 m of 2-inch pipe on site tomorrow16:20
Material request created and procurement notified.16:20
Where are we on the tower project?18:02
Project summary: completion, latest works, payments and open issues.18:02

Illustrative conversation

See it on your own tender documents

A live demonstration on your own drawings, specifications and BOQ is available on request.

Request a live demo