Rapid Continuous Improvement Platform through Generative AI: A feasibility study of Automation in Construction Cost Budgeting (RACIP-COST)

Construction micro-small and medium enterprises in the UK have been inundated with low productivity and a lack of growth. Only 27% of SMEs grew in 2022 (Satista, 2023). Additionally, construction SMEs in the UK experience labour shortages required for their growth. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2023) and the Office for Artificial Intelligence (2023) both advocated for SME growth in the UK through AI. In line with these government policies, AI is needed to support growth through productivity enhancements in construction cost management continuously. Construction SMEs experience financial issues for cost, and overheads hinged on non-value-adding activities, such as excessive staff hours without automation. Generative AI is a machine learning tool capable of reducing staff hours required for cost management. Furthermore, a continuous improvement tool guided through automation, such as Generative AI in text-to-text outputs or graphics-to-text, will considerably reduce overheads in construction and engineering projects. The construction budgeting process leads to the production of bills of quantities (BOQ). This process necessitates directly and accurately quantifying construction materials and tasks required for a construction or engineering project. As part of this construction budgeting process, the individual rates are multiplied against each described quantity to produce detailed costs. The accuracy of BOQs has been critiqued as the leading cause of cost overrun and productivity issues through corrective measures (Love et al., 2018; Omotayo et al., 2022). These cost-budgeting tasks are tedious and produce considerable systematic errors. In the last decade, there has been an emergence of computer-aided design (CAD) measurement and budgeting software such as BlueBeam, RIB CostX, REVIT, and PlainSwift, to mention a few. The challenge with these software applications that are now related to the fifth dimension of Building Information Modelling (5D BIM) is the high cost of annual licensing and subscriptions, the technical knowledge required to produce BOQs and regular training costs and requirements.

A Generative AI platform in the form of a software application will support construction SMEs in producing more accurate costs, reducing errors and producing an approach for continuous improvement. Therefore, through prototype software, this feasibility study aims to demonstrate how construction SMEs can create a path for growth through continuous improvement via cost budgeting. The RACIP-COST application is about continuous improvement through machine learning for a much larger application in other sectors, such as Performance measurement, procurement and control.