Trimble has announced new AI capabilities that eliminate tedious pre-takeoff setup tasks and recognise objects directly from drawings
Launched across Trimble’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing estimating solutions, the AI takeoff capabilities cut the time required to complete tasks by up to 60%.
These time savings allow Trimble to increase bid volume and accuracy without adding headcount.
“Manual takeoff is a massive drain on an estimator’s time,” said Lawrence Smith, senior vice president of construction management solutions at Trimble.
“With over 4,000 contractors already leveraging AI within our MEP estimating solutions, we’re seeing a fundamental shift in pre-construction efficiency.
“For example, our automated takeoff feature has detected more than three million symbols to date, allowing estimators to bypass manual effort and focus entirely on high-value, strategic decision-making.”
Trimble continues to expand AI capabilities across its ecosystem
Trimble continues to expand specialised AI capabilities across its full construction ecosystem.
The new MEP capabilities include an AI Smart Assistant within Trimble Accubid® Anywhere software.
Built on Trimble’s agentic AI platform, the assistant enables users to query their connected data using natural language for autonomous tasks, such as researching historical material pricing and comparing complex estimate versions.
Specialised AI capabilities across the whole technology portfolio align with Trimble’s mission to transform the way the world works by connecting people, data and workflows through an intelligent, unified ecosystem.
Modernising the bidding process
The new AI takeoff capabilities streamline MEP estimating by automating its most time-consuming and error-prone tasks across the workflow. This includes:
- Eliminating pre-takeoff setup: Trimble MEP estimating applications can leverage AI to instantly identify and set the correct scale and name across entire plan sets, allowing estimators to move from document upload to quantity takeoff in seconds.
- Automating count-based takeoff: AI interprets construction drawings to recognise, label and count symbols – such as receptacles, switches and light fixtures. Over three million symbols have been automatically detected, reducing the time required for manual recognition by more than 50%.
- Automating length-based takeoff: A new auto-routing feature eliminates most of the manual effort involved in conduit measurement by automatically calculating linear footage, including vertical rises and drops.
- Always-on assistant: Built directly into Accubid Anywhere, the AI Smart Assistant allows users to interact with their estimates using natural language, helping them quickly access data, automate tasks and make informed decisions without altering their workflow. This improves estimating efficiency, with average time savings of over 80% for researching historical pricing and comparing complex estimates.
Empowering the ‘human in the loop’
The Trimble AI tools operate as intelligent collaborators. Estimators use their own built-in QA/QC process to identify false positives and validate the data, while real-time input enables the AI model to learn and improve over time.
This ‘human-in-the-loop’ approach ensures that estimators maintain full oversight and control over each and every estimate.
Tim Jonas, executive director of estimation at Kidwell Electric, explained: “The estimators on my team who are heavy users of Trimble AI tools cut overall estimating time significantly, which leads to more jobs, more projects and better accuracy.
“It’s really more of a review process for the estimator that allows them to focus on higher payoff activities rather than an actual takeoff process.”
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