- Result of the engagement
- Construction equipment rental
Scaffolding quotes in 15 minutes instead of 90. Twenty-five hours a month for other work
A construction equipment rental company cut the average time to prepare a quote from 90 to 15 minutes. At 20 quotes a month that meant 25 hours of work freed for client contact and refining orders. Every quote in the sample also included a supporting drawing the company had not prepared before.
Problem
An employee collected parameters, picked items from documentation and copied data into a large spreadsheet. Timing 20 consecutive quotes showed an average of 90 minutes per quote.
The change
After training, the employee built a prototype quote generator with AI. A technical specialist prepared the tool for company use, and a person who knows the manufacturer's documentation verifies the figures.
Effect
The average quote time fell to 15 minutes including checking and corrections. One quote in 20 needed correction after sending, instead of six.
- Key result
- 75 minutes less per quote, that is 25 hours in the month measured and roughly 83% less time on the task. A supporting drawing appeared in all 20 new quotes.
Measurement
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average time to prepare a quote | 90 min | 15 min | −83% |
| Quotes needing correction after sending | 6 of 20 | 1 of 20 | |
| Supporting drawing in the quote | 0 of 20 | 20 of 20 | |
| Time recovered at 20 quotes a month | — | 25 h |
Basis of measurement: Time recorded for 20 consecutive quotes in the month before the change and 20 quotes of similar structure in a full month after it. The measurement covers preparation, checking and corrections before sending.
The challenge
Before the change the employee collected parameters, picked items from documentation and copied data into a large spreadsheet. Timing 20 consecutive quotes in the first month showed an average of 90 minutes of work per quote. The measurement covered preparation, checking and corrections before sending.
What we changed
After training, the employee built a prototype generator with AI. A consultant helped define the scope of the first version, how to compare results and a test plan. A technical specialist prepared the tool for the company to use, and correctness of the figures is verified by a person who knows the manufacturer’s documentation.
Measurement and results
In the next full month, 20 quotes of similar structure and complexity were measured. The average time was 15 minutes, again including checking and corrections. The difference of 75 minutes per quote gave 25 hours saved in the month measured and roughly 83% less time on the task.
Checking quotes after sending found errors requiring correction in six of 20 quotes before the change and in one of 20 after it. The supporting drawing appeared in all 20 new quotes. It is part of the presentation for the client; it is not treated as an approved structural design.
The company valued the recovered work at PLN 3,000 a month, using a fully loaded hourly cost of PLN 120. That is a valuation of freed time. Salaries were not reduced, and the figure does not include the cost of building and maintaining the solution. The employee used the recovered availability for client work.
What the owner gets
For the owner the benefits were faster quote preparation, fewer corrections and a wider set of material sent to the client. The project had a person accountable for the correctness of the result and metrics that could be checked after it ended.
- Conclusion
- The project had a person accountable for the correctness of the result and metrics that could be checked after it ended.