mcpbeat Sign in

Auto Estimate Generator Agent Skill

Automatically generate estimates from QTO data. Apply pricing rules to BIM quantities for cost estimates.

3k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
3
files
instructions only
0
copies elsewhere
how many repositories repackaged it
264
stars on the repo
on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/datadrivenconstruction/DDC_Skills_for_AI_Agents_in_Construction --skill auto-estimate-generator

The instruction itself

11 sections, as written by the author

Auto Estimate Generator

Business Case

Problem Statement

Manual estimate creation challenges:

  • Time-consuming quantity mapping
  • Inconsistent pricing rules
  • Errors in calculations
  • Difficulty updating estimates

Solution

Automated estimate generation from BIM/QTO data using configurable pricing rules and assembly mappings.

Technical Implementation

import pandas as pd
from typing import Dict, Any, List, Optional, Callable
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from enum import Enum


class ElementType(Enum):
    WALL = "wall"
    FLOOR = "floor"
    CEILING = "ceiling"
    DOOR = "door"
    WINDOW = "window"
    COLUMN = "column"
    BEAM = "beam"
    FOUNDATION = "foundation"
    ROOF = "roof"
    STAIR = "stair"
    MEP = "mep"


@dataclass
class QTOItem:
    element_id: str
    element_type: ElementType
    name: str
    quantity: float
    unit: str
    properties: Dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)


@dataclass
class PricingRule:
    rule_id: str
    name: str
    element_type: ElementType
    conditions: Dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
    unit_cost: float = 0
    assembly_code: str = ""
    cost_breakdown: Dict[str, float] = field(default_factory=dict)


@dataclass
class EstimateItem:
    qto_element_id: str
    description: str
    quantity: float
    unit: str
    unit_cost: float
    total_cost: float
    rule_applied: str
    wbs_code: str = ""


class AutoEstimateGenerator:
    """Generate estimates from QTO data automatically."""

    def __init__(self, project_name: str):
        self.project_name = project_name
        self.pricing_rules: List[PricingRule] = []
        self.qto_items: List[QTOItem] = []
        self.estimate_items: List[EstimateItem] = []
        self.unmapped_items: List[QTOItem] = []

    def add_pricing_rule(self, rule: PricingRule):
        """Add pricing rule."""
        self.pricing_rules.append(rule)

    def load_pricing_rules_from_df(self, df: pd.DataFrame):
        """Load pricing rules from DataFrame."""

        for _, row in df.iterrows():
            conditions = {}
            if 'material' in row:
                conditions['material'] = row['material']
            if 'thickness_min' in row:
                conditions['thickness_min'] = row['thickness_min']
            if 'thickness_max' in row:
                conditions['thickness_max'] = row['thickness_max']

            rule = PricingRule(
                rule_id=row['rule_id'],
                name=row['name'],
                element_type=ElementType(row['element_type'].lower()),
                conditions=conditions,
                unit_cost=float(row['unit_cost']),
                assembly_code=row.get('assembly_code', ''),
                cost_breakdown={
                    'labor': float(row.get('labor_pct', 0.4)),
                    'material': float(row.get('material_pct', 0.5)),
                    'equipment': float(row.get('equipment_pct', 0.1))
                }
            )
            self.add_pricing_rule(rule)

    def load_qto_from_df(self, df: pd.DataFrame):
        """Load QTO items from DataFrame."""

        for _, row in df.iterrows():
            properties = {}
            for col in df.columns:
                if col not in ['element_id', 'element_type', 'name', 'quantity', 'unit']:
                    properties[col] = row[col]

            qto = QTOItem(
                element_id=str(row['element_id']),
                element_type=ElementType(row['element_type'].lower()),
                name=row['name'],
                quantity=float(row['quantity']),
                unit=row['unit'],
                properties=properties
            )
            self.qto_items.append(qto)

    def find_matching_rule(self, qto_item: QTOItem) -> Optional[PricingRule]:
        """Find pricing rule that matches QTO item."""

        matching_rules = []

        for rule in self.pricing_rules:
            if rule.element_type != qto_item.element_type:
                continue

            # Check conditions
            match = True
            for key, value in rule.conditions.items():
                if key.endswith('_min'):
                    prop_name = key[:-4]
                    if prop_name in qto_item.properties:
                        if qto_item.properties[prop_name] < value:
                            match = False
                elif key.endswith('_max'):
                    prop_name = key[:-4]
                    if prop_name in qto_item.properties:
                        if qto_item.properties[prop_name] > value:
                            match = False
                else:
                    if key in qto_item.properties:
                        if qto_item.properties[key] != value:
                            match = False

            if match:
                matching_rules.append(rule)

        # Return most specific rule (most conditions)
        if matching_rules:
            return max(matching_rules, key=lambda r: len(r.conditions))
        return None

    def generate_estimate(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        """Generate estimate from QTO items."""

        self.estimate_items = []
        self.unmapped_items = []
        total_cost = 0

        for qto in self.qto_items:
            rule = self.find_matching_rule(qto)

            if rule:
                item_cost = qto.quantity * rule.unit_cost

                self.estimate_items.append(EstimateItem(
                    qto_element_id=qto.element_id,
                    description=f"{qto.name} ({rule.name})",
                    quantity=qto.quantity,
                    unit=qto.unit,
                    unit_cost=rule.unit_cost,
                    total_cost=round(item_cost, 2),
                    rule_applied=rule.rule_id,
                    wbs_code=rule.assembly_code
                ))
                total_cost += item_cost
            else:
                self.unmapped_items.append(qto)

        return {
            'project': self.project_name,
            'total_qto_items': len(self.qto_items),
            'mapped_items': len(self.estimate_items),
            'unmapped_items': len(self.unmapped_items),
            'mapping_rate': round(len(self.estimate_items) / len(self.qto_items) * 100, 1) if self.qto_items else 0,
            'total_cost': round(total_cost, 2),
            'items': self.estimate_items
        }

    def get_cost_by_element_type(self) -> Dict[str, float]:
        """Get cost breakdown by element type."""

        by_type = {}
        for qto in self.qto_items:
            for est_item in self.estimate_items:
                if est_item.qto_element_id == qto.element_id:
                    type_name = qto.element_type.value
                    by_type[type_name] = by_type.get(type_name, 0) + est_item.total_cost

        return {k: round(v, 2) for k, v in by_type.items()}

    def get_unmapped_summary(self) -> pd.DataFrame:
        """Get summary of unmapped items."""

        if not self.unmapped_items:
            return pd.DataFrame()

        data = []
        for item in self.unmapped_items:
            data.append({
                'Element ID': item.element_id,
                'Type': item.element_type.value,
                'Name': item.name,
                'Quantity': item.quantity,
                'Unit': item.unit,
                'Properties': str(item.properties)
            })

        return pd.DataFrame(data)

    def export_to_excel(self, output_path: str) -> str:
        """Export estimate to Excel."""

        result = self.generate_estimate()

        with pd.ExcelWriter(output_path, engine='openpyxl') as writer:
            # Summary
            summary_df = pd.DataFrame([{
                'Project': self.project_name,
                'Total QTO Items': result['total_qto_items'],
                'Mapped Items': result['mapped_items'],
                'Unmapped Items': result['unmapped_items'],
                'Mapping Rate %': result['mapping_rate'],
                'Total Cost': result['total_cost']
            }])
            summary_df.to_excel(writer, sheet_name='Summary', index=False)

            # Estimate items
            items_df = pd.DataFrame([{
                'Element ID': item.qto_element_id,
                'Description': item.description,
                'Quantity': item.quantity,
                'Unit': item.unit,
                'Unit Cost': item.unit_cost,
                'Total Cost': item.total_cost,
                'WBS': item.wbs_code,
                'Rule': item.rule_applied
            } for item in self.estimate_items])
            items_df.to_excel(writer, sheet_name='Estimate', index=False)

            # By element type
            by_type_df = pd.DataFrame([
                {'Element Type': k, 'Cost': v}
                for k, v in self.get_cost_by_element_type().items()
            ])
            by_type_df.to_excel(writer, sheet_name='By Type', index=False)

            # Unmapped items
            unmapped_df = self.get_unmapped_summary()
            if not unmapped_df.empty:
                unmapped_df.to_excel(writer, sheet_name='Unmapped', index=False)

        return output_path

    def suggest_missing_rules(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
        """Suggest pricing rules for unmapped items."""

        suggestions = []
        seen_types = set()

        for item in self.unmapped_items:
            key = (item.element_type.value, str(item.properties))
            if key not in seen_types:
                seen_types.add(key)
                suggestions.append({
                    'element_type': item.element_type.value,
                    'sample_name': item.name,
                    'properties': item.properties,
                    'count': sum(1 for i in self.unmapped_items
                                if i.element_type == item.element_type
                                and str(i.properties) == str(item.properties))
                })

        return sorted(suggestions, key=lambda x: x['count'], reverse=True)

Quick Start

# Initialize generator
generator = AutoEstimateGenerator("Office Building A")

# Add pricing rules
generator.add_pricing_rule(PricingRule(
    rule_id="W-001",
    name="Interior Wall - Drywall",
    element_type=ElementType.WALL,
    conditions={"material": "Drywall"},
    unit_cost=45.00,
    assembly_code="09.29.10"
))

generator.add_pricing_rule(PricingRule(
    rule_id="W-002",
    name="Exterior Wall - Masonry",
    element_type=ElementType.WALL,
    conditions={"material": "Masonry"},
    unit_cost=125.00,
    assembly_code="04.21.13"
))

# Load QTO data
generator.qto_items = [
    QTOItem("W-001", ElementType.WALL, "Interior Wall L1", 500, "SF", {"material": "Drywall"}),
    QTOItem("W-002", ElementType.WALL, "Exterior Wall", 1200, "SF", {"material": "Masonry"})
]

# Generate estimate
result = generator.generate_estimate()
print(f"Total Cost: ${result['total_cost']:,.2f}")
print(f"Mapping Rate: {result['mapping_rate']}%")

Common Use Cases

1. Cost by Element Type

by_type = generator.get_cost_by_element_type()
for element_type, cost in by_type.items():
    print(f"{element_type}: ${cost:,.2f}")

2. Unmapped Items

unmapped = generator.get_unmapped_summary()
print(unmapped)

3. Rule Suggestions

suggestions = generator.suggest_missing_rules()
for s in suggestions:
    print(f"Need rule for: {s['element_type']} ({s['count']} items)")

Resources

  • DDC Book: Chapter 3.2 - QTO and Automated Estimates
  • Website: https://datadrivenconstruction.io

Other skills for the same job

different authors, same section of the catalogue
Internal Comms
by anthropics
vendor ×13

A set of resources to help me write all kinds of internal communications, using the formats that my company likes to use. Claude should use this skill whenever asked to write some sort of internal communications (status reports, leadership updates, 3P updates, company newsletters, FAQs, incident reports, project updates, etc.).

6k tokens
Competitive Ads Extractor
by frostant
×10

Extracts and analyzes competitors' ads from ad libraries (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) to understand what messaging, problems, and creative approaches are working. Helps inspire and improve your own ad campaigns.

2k tokens
Lead Research Assistant
by frostant
×8

Identifies high-quality leads for your product or service by analyzing your business, searching for target companies, and providing actionable contact strategies. Perfect for sales, business development, and marketing professionals.

2k tokens
Developer Growth Analysis
by frostant
×6

Analyzes your recent Claude Code chat history to identify coding patterns, development gaps, and areas for improvement, curates relevant learning resources from HackerNews, and automatically sends a personalized growth report to your Slack DMs.

4k tokens
App Store Optimization
by alirezarezvani
×3

Complete App Store Optimization (ASO) toolkit for researching, optimizing, and tracking mobile app performance on Apple App Store and Google Play Store

55k tokens scripts
Deeptools
by christophacham
×3

NGS analysis toolkit. BAM to bigWig conversion, QC (correlation, PCA, fingerprints), heatmaps/profiles (TSS, peaks), for ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq visualization.

21k tokens scripts
Pymatgen
by christophacham
×3

Materials science toolkit. Crystal structures (CIF, POSCAR), phase diagrams, band structure, DOS, Materials Project integration, format conversion, for computational materials science.

26k tokens scripts
Enhance Prompt
by google-labs-code
vendor ×2

Transforms vague UI ideas into polished, Stitch-optimized prompts. Enhances specificity, adds UI/UX keywords, injects design system context, and structures output for better generation results.

3k tokens

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take datadrivenconstruction/auto-estimate-generator from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.