Five Problems Every Contractor Already Recognizes
Change orders, information overload, rework, slow payment, and knowledge loss, and why each one is a people problem before it's a technology problem.
As presented by ServiceIQ at the ABC-hosted EdTech Summit.
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Delegates at the ABC-hosted EdTech Summit rated this session an average of 9.8 out of 10 in the post-event survey, the same five problems and techniques are laid out in full in the slide deck below.
Five problems, five people, five techniques
Each problem lands on a specific person, a PM, a superintendent, a controller, an estimator, and each one has a specific type of AI that actually applies to it.
Change Orders
98% of GCs have lost fee to change-order negotiations, run mostly in spreadsheets and email, with only 1 in 5 confident they can see status.
Information Overload
A third of the week goes to searching for information, resolving conflicts, and fixing mistakes, over 14 hours a week per PM.
Rework & Version Control
Field rework is under-reported by a factor of three against a contractor's own quality records, and most of it traces back to poor data and miscommunication.
Slow Payment
Slow and inconsistent payment cost U.S. construction $299B in a single year, and 88% of firms have declined a bid over an owner's slow-pay reputation.
Knowledge Walking Out the Door
Non-senior PMs leave four times faster than senior ones, taking the judgment calls, like which sub pads a quote, with them.
What AI doesn't do
It doesn't replace judgment: which change to fight for, which sub to trust, when to walk. It doesn't fix bad inputs, repair a bad contract, or act without a human signature. The system drafts; a person decides. That's a design choice, and the one to insist on from any vendor.
Inside the deck
The workforce behind every problem
82% of firms can't fill hourly craft positions, and 41% of the workforce hits retirement age by 2031. Construction productivity has grown 1% a year for two decades, against 2.8% economy-wide.
Where each problem actually comes from
A breakdown of change orders, information overload, rework, slow payment, and knowledge loss, with the real numbers behind each one and who carries it today.
Four ways to adopt AI, and what each costs
BYO AI, turnkey, hybrid, and in-house, laid out by ownership and cost, plus the four questions that decide which one fits: where does the data sit, who can see what, what's on the record, and who approves.
Where to start
Pick one problem, not five. Baseline it for 90 days. Then ask any vendor three questions before signing anything.
This session was built for
Owners & Presidents
Deciding where AI investment actually belongs before choosing a tool, and what it genuinely won't do for you.
Project Managers & Superintendents
Carrying change orders, rework, and version control today, usually from memory, at the end of a long day.
Controllers & Estimators
Running payment administration by hand, or watching institutional knowledge walk out the door with every departure.
Ready to see where AI actually fits?
Grab the free deck and walk through all five problems, the techniques that apply to each, and the questions worth asking before you buy anything.
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