Estimate Sentinel
$997
Estimate Sentinel™
Bid Div 26–28 faster without gambling margin and all general electrical work
Turn messy plan sets + specs + addenda + vendor BOMs into margin-safe, audit-ready bids — typically 60–90% less admin time on indexing, cross-checks, scope writing, and proposal assembly.
No prompt engineering. Upload what you already have, talk normal shop lingo, and Sentinel produces a checkable bid pack with evidence.
Book a walkthrough / live demo:
https://calendly.com/jarredbonica/ai-consultation
What Sentinel is (in one sentence)
Sentinel is a purpose-built estimating copilot that compares drawings vs specs, surfaces scope gaps, and generates proposal protections—so you can bid faster and stay profitable under deadline.
Who this is built for
Best fit: Division 26–28
Electrical (commercial / industrial / TI)
Structured cabling & fiber
Wi-Fi/AP deployments
Cameras/CCTV/VMS
Access control
Low-voltage integration & pro services
Also supported (separate playbooks + baselines)
Print/sign (wide-format), flooring, glazing, CNC/fab, janitorial/facilities, general contracting.
Why contractors buy Sentinel
1) Speed with certainty (not “fast = risky”)
Sentinel reduces the grind work: indexing, schedule extraction, cross-checking, scope language, and proposal assembly—so you can push more bids out without loosening controls.
2) Evidence on every line
Every key quantity, assumption, conflict, and “why” points to a source: sheet/page/spec section/table row/tag.
Hard rule: if Sentinel can’t cite it, it won’t include it—period.
3) Scope-gap killer
Sentinel triangulates plans vs specs vs addenda vs schedules to catch contradictions and missing scope before they become change order fights or free labor.
4) Proposal protections that preserve margin
Sentinel generates:
inclusions/exclusions
assumptions
allowances/options
CO triggers (what becomes billable change, and why)
5) Safer big bids (trust path built in)
You don’t have to “trust AI.” Sentinel is built for exception-first review:
it surfaces the top cost/risk drivers first
you approve before anything goes client-facing
every decision is audit-backed
The no-prompt workflow
Step 1 — Upload what you already have
OCR’d PDFs (plans/specs/addenda), drawings, photos, screenshots
CSV/XLSX schedules, vendor BOMs, quotes
Your current estimate (QB/Excel/PDF) if you want an audit pass
If scans are too poor, Sentinel stops and requests a resubmit/export rather than guessing.
Step 2 — Sentinel builds the Internal QA Pack
Sheet index + schedule index
Extracted device counts/schedules (with citations)
Drawing/spec conflict log (with precedence)
Missing scope buckets + exceptions list
Provided-By matrix (Owner/Vendor/GC/You)
Assumption ledger + allowances/options with triggers
RFIs mapped to cost impacts
Confidence scores
Step 3 — Apply your pricing rules (baselines)
You control:
labor assumptions (crew/method/access)
material pricing
waste/loss rules (loss before markup)
minimum charges
markup order
alternates/options
Sentinel enforces the rules deterministically so you can’t accidentally undercut yourself.
Step 4 — Generate outputs
Internal Review Pack (math + evidence + risks + confidence + open items)
Client Proposal (clean, persuasive, brand-ready)
RFI Log + Risk Register
Optional exports: CSV/XLSX line items, submittal skeletons
What Sentinel does for Div 26–28
A) Compare drawings vs specs (and force precedence)
Every conflict is classified as:
Spec overrides drawing
Drawing acceptable
RFI required
No silent assumptions.
B) Cable schedule (type/rating — and color only if specified)
Sentinel extracts cable requirements from:
specs/owner standards
legends/notes
risers/one-lines
schedules and BOMs
Cable color rule (deterministic):
If explicitly stated → included
If not stated → “Color not specified” + (your choice) RFI or internal standard
C) Equipment list + “what’s missing” completeness checks
Sentinel catches the stuff that nukes bids:
PoE budget sanity (cameras/APs/readers vs switch capacity)
uplinks/optics/SFPs for MDF↔IDF
racks/cabinets, patch panels, cable management
grounding/bonding
UPS/power in closets
licensing (VMS/ACS/cloud) + renewal terms
testing requirements + deliverables
documentation + turnover
D) Provided-By matrix (Owner/Vendor/GC/You)
Sentinel forces responsibility clarity for:
ISP circuit/handoff & demarc
network core (router/firewall)
switches/PoE
APs/controllers/licenses
cameras/NVR/VMS/cloud
access control controllers/licensing
locks/strikes/REX/DPS/power supplies
power at devices/closets/panels
pathways (tray/conduit/J-hooks/raceway)
penetrations/firestopping
patch/paint/core drilling
permitting/inspections
commissioning + admin training + credentials handoff
This is where scope creep gets contained.
E) Proposal protections (inclusions/exclusions + CO triggers)
Sentinel produces tight language so:
your base scope is defendable
changes become billable, fast
the client understands what they’re buying
Two ways to use Sentinel
Option 1 — In-house takeoff → Sentinel audit + proposal pack
If you already count in house, Sentinel speeds up:
cross-checks
scope writing
risk visibility
proposal formatting
Option 2 — Human takeoff + Sentinel audit (for giant bids)
If you want maximum confidence on large projects:
a real estimator does counts/takeoff
Sentinel audits, flags gaps/conflicts, and builds the bid pack
This is how you scale bidding without “trusting a black box.”
What “audit-ready” actually means
Every number ties to evidence (sheet/spec/table)
Every unknown becomes:
an assumption (stated),
an allowance/option (priced), or
an RFI (tracked)
Every conflict is logged with precedence
Every big risk is visible before you submit
The 40-year pro test (Devil’s Advocate)
“I’ve seen tools. Prove it’s not hype.”
We don’t ask for belief. We run a pilot on one of your old bids and deliver a QA pack showing:
what Sentinel extracted
what it flagged
what it would have protected (scope gaps + CO triggers)
how long review actually takes (exception-first)
“OCR lies. I won’t trust counts.”
Agreed. Sentinel does not trust OCR alone. It reconciles across multiple sources and won’t include anything it can’t cite. If it can’t verify it, it stops and raises an RFI/assumption—no silent guesses.
“This sounds like more admin.”
You don’t “use Sentinel all day.” You review the Top-10 exceptions, approve, and send. The output drops into your existing workflow (Excel/QB/Bluebeam/Accubid/ConEst).
“Every job is custom.”
Exactly why you need deterministic guardrails. Custom scope rides on top—rules keep the basics from being missed under deadline.
“If AI screws up, I’m liable.”
That’s why Sentinel is evidence-first, exception-first, and halts on uncertainty. You approve before release, and the logic is audit-backed.
FAQ
Is this just ChatGPT?
No. Generic chatbots can’t reliably:
extract schedules/tables deterministically
reconcile plans/specs/addenda with precedence
enforce baselines/guardrails
cite evidence on every line
halt on uncertainty instead of guessing
Sentinel is built for estimating workflows.
Do I still need an estimator?
You still need judgement and ownership. Sentinel removes the grind and makes reviews faster and safer.
Can it handle PLC/controls?
Yes for scope extraction, drawing/spec cross-checks, provided-by responsibilities, commissioning/FAT/SAT scope, and RFIs. For labor/programming build-ups, Sentinel uses your baseline instead of guessing.
Can it integrate with my systems?
Sentinel exports CSV/XLSX-friendly line items and produces clean proposal PDFs. Direct integrations vary.
Your next step
Book a time and we’ll demo Sentinel on your divisions and workflow:
https://calendly.com/jarredbonica/ai-consultation
Bring a real plan/spec set (or a past bid). You’ll see the QA pack, the client proposal, and the exceptions list that makes review fast.
Micro-print (the good kind)
Sentinel enforces your pricing order and won’t undercut minimums.
Loss/waste is applied before markup.
If confidence is low, Sentinel produces RFIs/Risk Register instead of risky totals.
Speed gains vary by input quality and baseline maturity.