AI in the analysis and cost estimation of construction tenders – how a UK-based company reduced analysis time from 2 days to 5 minutes

A mid-sized construction company from the United Kingdom, specializing in infrastructure projects and the modernization of public buildings. The company regularly participates in public tenders that require detailed analysis of technical documentation and the preparation of precise investment cost estimates.

Preparing a competitive tender offer requires analyzing extensive project documentation, often including hundreds of pages of technical specifications, drawings, and Bills of Quantities (BoQ).

For one of the infrastructure projects, the company needed to quickly prepare an accurate cost estimate based on a large volume of data. The main challenges included:

• analyzing tender documentation of up to 300 pages,
• accurately estimating the costs of materials, labor, and equipment,
• identifying potential risks and technical inconsistencies,
• preparing a competitive bid within a short timeframe.

The traditional process of document analysis and cost estimation took the estimating team up to two days to complete.

The company decided to use an AI-powered platform for cost estimation and tender analysis, which automates the analysis of tender documentation and the preparation of cost estimates.

The process included three steps:

1. Importing tender documentation
   Documents were uploaded to the system or linked directly from the tender announcement. The platform supports various document formats, including technical specifications and Bills of Quantities (BoQ).
2. Automated AI analysis
   The system analyzed the documentation, calculated costs, and identified key risks as well as potential inconsistencies.
3. Detailed cost report
   Within minutes, the company received a report containing:

• a detailed cost breakdown (materials, labor, equipment),
• financial risk analysis,
• identified technical inconsistencies,
• recommended questions to the contracting authority.

The platform enables the analysis of over 115 tender-related areas and generates a report within minutes.

By leveraging AI, the company significantly accelerated the bid preparation process and improved the accuracy of its cost estimates.

Results of the analysis for a sample sports infrastructure project:

Additionally, the company benefits from:

1. Faster preparation of tender bids.
2. Greater cost transparency.
3. Improved identification of project risks.
4. The ability to focus on bidding strategy instead of document analysis.

Thanks to process automation, the company can prepare more bids in less time and increase its chances of winning tenders.