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THE EXPLAINER BLOG
Irregular insights for people who buy, sell, use or otherwise care about enterprise software.


Deterministic Agents, Not Chatbots: Field Materials' Take on Construction AI Procurement
“The idea is to take any recurrent procurement or AP task and automate it using the system,” Sadikov said. “And the cool part is that you can combine automation with inference.”
Charles Rathmann
3 days ago4 min read


Roundhouse Labs Enters Market with Architect AI for RFIs and Submittals
Like so many software and AI products in the industry, Roundhouse was created by and then spun out of an organization doing work in the space. Roundhouse CEO and Founder Tim Douglas comes from a background with Procore and leading construction sector sales for low-code platform Quickbase. But the solution itself spun out of Praxis3, which had been using it for construction administration for years.
Charles Rathmann
Sep 175 min read


What’s New and Cool With Togal AI Takeoff? AI for Drywall!
Among Togal's product moves--deeper dives into prebuilt agentic AI for trades including AI for drywall contractors. Quantities Takeoff Leader Togal Plans Dive Into Drywall AI, Other Verticals Artificial intelligence (AI) for construction has tremendous potential. AI can consume multiple project variables more quickly and accurately than a person, identify risk, optimize schedules, even automate equipment through machine vision. But one of the earliest and now most mature proc
Charles Rathmann
Sep 94 min read


The Latest on AI Preconstruction Innovation from STACK Construction Technology
Already live in the product for customers who have opted in is STACK iQ, an AI data parsing and execution layer that opens the application up to external applications like Claude and ChatGPT. Stack iQ is released now in the product.
Charles Rathmann
Sep 17 min read


Autodesk Acquisition of MaintainX Impact on Construction Software
Are contractors ready to be full participants in the asset lifecycle with a unified data environment? What does the Autodesk acquisition of MaintainX mean for what project owners will expect? Construction Is Just One Stop For the Asset Lifecycle Train And You Better Get Onboard One TLA flashed in my head when I saw the news of Autodesk acquiring MaintainX. D. O. M. I think it was ARC Advisory Group that coined the term Design, Operate, Maintain (DOM), and for various companie
Charles Rathmann
Aug 54 min read


Plangrep, Others Offer Construction AI-As-A-Service (CAIaaS)
What is Plangrep?
Plangrep is not so much a construction software application as it is a construction artificial intelligence as-a-service (CAIaaS) platform and API that transforms unstructured construction drawings into structured, machine-readable data for AI systems, software applications, and human users.
Charles Rathmann
Jul 304 min read


"Posting About Fishing Hurts Your Professional Image, Chuck ..."
While my work involves technology for man-made settings, once I pull on the waders and pick up the 3-weight or 4-weight fly rod, I venture into places man has not touched, or if he has, the traces have long since faded.
Charles Rathmann
Jul 289 min read


InEight Tightens Hold on Construction Project Management Software for Infrastructure
Trying to use the same construction SaaS product for a strip mall interior buildout as the Chunnel makes no sense. And companies involved in more demanding, mission-critical projects of various sizes should become familiar with different modules in the InEight suite.
Charles Rathmann
Jul 85 min read


Better Automation, Better Data Favor Pegbo for MWOB Bid Sourcing and Compliance
Pegbo is laser focused on MWOB for invitation to bid.
Charles Rathmann
Jun 205 min read


Demo Report: Construction Software Stalwart hh2’s People Platform for Construction HCM Comes Out of the Shadows
Construction payroll and integration software stalwart hh2 has entered the construction HCM space. How does it stack up?
Charles Rathmann
Jun 115 min read


Don’t Use ChatGPT to Research Construction Software
Chatbots are notching out web search as the starting point for researching construction software. Why is this bad?
Charles Rathmann
Jun 86 min read


An Alternative to Construction Software Awards ...
Analyst validation is better than a construction software marketing award. We bring receipts and explain your unique value
Charles Rathmann
Jun 51 min read


2 Construction AI Tools That Make More Sense Than LLMs
LLMs are not the best for construction AI. Here, we lay out two technologies with more transformational power for contractors.
Charles Rathmann
May 214 min read


Early Adopter Opportunity: Hey Julia Makes Construction AI Intuitive and Simple
Stack Construction Founder Phil Ogilby Looking for Contractors to Try HeyJulia.ai Stack Construction Technologies Founder Phillip Ogilby is launching HeyJulia.ai, which marries construction artificial intelligence (AI) with a voice interface for the field. As construction software vendors scrambled to add artificial intelligence (AI) to their product stack, either to impress investors or the market, they mostly picked the low-hanging fruit first. While some applications explo
Charles Rathmann
Apr 305 min read


ADP Doubles Down on Construction HCM Software: From Market Entry to Maturation
Improved rostering functionality could help ADP Workforce Now for Construction make inroads against niche competitors. New rostering and role-specific functionality make the giant a more desirable partner for contractors. There are many fine construction-focused human capital management (HCM) software companies out there. They are a balm for contractors and, yes, software vendors who needed a solution rigorous enough for the industry’s needs for certified payroll reporting (p
Charles Rathmann
Apr 275 min read


The Agentic AI Elephant In the Room
Understanding agentic AI in ERP and requirements for JSON, consistency and granularity of design.
Charles Rathmann
Apr 185 min read


How AI-Enabled ERP Is Setting Up Customers and Software Vendors for Disruption
When ERP vendors embed AI tools in their products, what questions should prospects and customers ask about the future?
Charles Rathmann
Apr 126 min read


What Construction Software Consolidation Means For Customers
Construction software startups are being acquired--what does this mean for their customers?
Charles Rathmann
Apr 63 min read


LLMs are Wrong for Mission Critical Tasks
Are large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Claude usable for most mission-critical uses in industry?
Charles Rathmann
Apr 24 min read


Enterprise AI: Why Keep Humans In The Loop?
When do we defer to artificial intelligence (AI), and when do we hold the reins? The answer, as is the case with most complex matters, is ... it depends. Can We Understand the AI Output? In simple enterprise software AI processes--processes that may really be rebranded algrorithmic processes--human involvement can be removed more easily. Barriers to complete automation may in some cases depend on establishing a comfort level with end users. A construction estimating process m
Charles Rathmann
Mar 242 min read
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