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Semantic Search Cwicr

datadrivenconstruction/semantic-search-cwicr

Semantic search in DDC CWICR construction database using vector embeddings. Find similar work items and resources for cost estimation.

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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 semantic-search-cwicr

The instruction itself

15 sections, as written by the author

Semantic Search in DDC CWICR Database

Business Case

Problem Statement

Construction cost estimation requires finding relevant work items from large databases. Traditional keyword search fails when:

  • Users describe work in natural language
  • Terminology varies across regions and languages
  • Similar work items have different naming conventions

Solution

DDC CWICR database provides pre-computed embeddings (OpenAI text-embedding-3-large, 3072 dimensions) enabling semantic similarity search across 55,719 work items in 9 languages.

Business Value

  • 90% faster work item lookup compared to manual search
  • Multi-language support: Arabic, Chinese, German, English, Spanish, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian
  • Higher accuracy by finding semantically similar items, not just keyword matches

Technical Implementation

Prerequisites

pip install qdrant-client openai pandas

Database Setup

# Download Qdrant snapshot
wget https://github.com/datadrivenconstruction/OpenConstructionEstimate-DDC-CWICR/releases/download/v0.1.0/qdrant_snapshot_en.tar.gz

# Start Qdrant with Docker
docker run -p 6333:6333 -v $(pwd)/qdrant_storage:/qdrant/storage qdrant/qdrant

Python Implementation

import pandas as pd
from qdrant_client import QdrantClient
from qdrant_client.models import Distance, VectorParams
import openai

class CWICRSemanticSearch:
    def __init__(self, qdrant_host: str = "localhost", port: int = 6333):
        self.client = QdrantClient(host=qdrant_host, port=port)
        self.collection_name = "ddc_cwicr_en"
        self.embedding_model = "text-embedding-3-large"
        self.embedding_dim = 3072

    def get_embedding(self, text: str) -> list:
        """Generate embedding for search query."""
        response = openai.embeddings.create(
            model=self.embedding_model,
            input=text
        )
        return response.data[0].embedding

    def search_work_items(self, query: str, limit: int = 10,
                          min_score: float = 0.7) -> pd.DataFrame:
        """Search for similar work items."""
        query_vector = self.get_embedding(query)

        results = self.client.search(
            collection_name=self.collection_name,
            query_vector=query_vector,
            limit=limit,
            score_threshold=min_score
        )

        items = []
        for result in results:
            item = result.payload
            item['similarity_score'] = result.score
            items.append(item)

        return pd.DataFrame(items)

    def search_by_category(self, query: str, category: str,
                           limit: int = 10) -> pd.DataFrame:
        """Search within specific category."""
        query_vector = self.get_embedding(query)

        results = self.client.search(
            collection_name=self.collection_name,
            query_vector=query_vector,
            query_filter={
                "must": [{"key": "category", "match": {"value": category}}]
            },
            limit=limit
        )

        return pd.DataFrame([{**r.payload, 'score': r.score} for r in results])

    def estimate_cost(self, work_items: pd.DataFrame,
                      quantities: dict) -> dict:
        """Calculate cost from matched work items."""
        total_cost = 0
        breakdown = []

        for _, item in work_items.iterrows():
            if item['work_item_code'] in quantities:
                qty = quantities[item['work_item_code']]
                cost = qty * item.get('unit_price', 0)
                total_cost += cost
                breakdown.append({
                    'item': item['description'],
                    'quantity': qty,
                    'unit_price': item.get('unit_price', 0),
                    'total': cost
                })

        return {
            'total_cost': total_cost,
            'breakdown': breakdown,
            'currency': 'Regional default'
        }

Usage Examples

search = CWICRSemanticSearch()

# Natural language query
results = search.search_work_items("brick masonry wall construction")
print(results[['description', 'unit', 'unit_price', 'similarity_score']])

Cost Estimation

# Find work items for foundation work
foundation_items = search.search_work_items(
    "reinforced concrete foundation excavation and pouring",
    limit=20
)

# Estimate with quantities
quantities = {
    'CONC-001': 150,  # cubic meters
    'EXCV-002': 200,  # cubic meters
}
estimate = search.estimate_cost(foundation_items, quantities)
print(f"Estimated Cost: ${estimate['total_cost']:,.2f}")

Database Schema

| Field | Type | Description |

|-------|------|-------------|

| work_item_code | string | Unique identifier |

| description | string | Work item description |

| unit | string | Measurement unit |

| labor_norm | float | Labor hours per unit |

| material_cost | float | Material cost per unit |

| equipment_cost | float | Equipment cost per unit |

| unit_price | float | Total price per unit |

| category | string | Work category |

| embedding | vector[3072] | Pre-computed embedding |

Best Practices

  • Use specific queries - "reinforced concrete slab 200mm" beats "concrete"
  • Filter by category - Narrow results to relevant work types
  • Check similarity scores - Scores below 0.7 may need manual verification
  • Combine with QTO - Use BIM quantities for automated estimation

Resources

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take datadrivenconstruction/semantic-search-cwicr 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.

Install what it needs

The instructions reference pip, docker. Without those the skill loads but fails at the first command.