Civil engineering
AI consultancy for civil engineering contractors
Civils carries a heavier documentation load than most of construction, because the work is governed by standards that each demand their own records: temporary works under BS 5975, excavation near services under HSE HSG47, lifting under LOLER 1998, and traffic management under Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual. Aldbry removes the production and checking of those records without touching the engineering judgement behind them.
The civils documentation load
Four regimes, four sets of records, one site
Each of these has its own paperwork, its own approval route and its own way of going wrong when a package changes.
01
Temporary works, BS 5975
Design briefs, design checks by category, the temporary works register, permits to load and permits to strike, and the coordinator's records. The register drifts out of date faster than anything else on site, because the works change weekly and the paperwork does not.
AI does: compile and cross-check the register against the design and the permits, and flag items with no current check.
02
Permits to dig, HSG47
Utility records, PAS 128 survey information where commissioned, scanning records, the permit itself and the RAMS that references it. A service strike enquiry asks what you knew and what you issued.
AI does: check the permit references the right survey and RAMS revision, and flag a permit issued against superseded information.
03
Lifting, LOLER 1998
The lifting plan, the appointed person, equipment inspection and thorough examination records, and the RAMS covering the lift. Plant arrives and changes, and the plan does not always follow it.
AI does: cross-check named plant against the method statements and assessments in the pack, and flag anything with no matching cover.
04
Traffic management, Chapter 8
Signing schedules, layout drawings, the NRSWA noticing trail under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, and the daily records showing what was actually in place overnight.
AI does: assemble the shift record from what the crew captured, and check the noticing trail is complete.
Where the line sits
What stays with competent people
Civils is the sector where this matters most, because the consequences of getting it wrong are structural.
- Temporary works design and checkingDesign, the category of check and the decision to load or strike belong to a temporary works designer and coordinator. AI compiles the record; it does not design the propping.
- The decision to break groundWhether the survey information is adequate and whether the dig proceeds is a judgement about a live site, not a document comparison.
- Lift planningThe appointed person plans the lift. AI checks that the plan and the pack agree with each other.
- Every CDM 2015 dutyPlanning, managing and monitoring the construction phase stays with the dutyholder, without exception.
Which modules apply
What is live for civils today
RAMS Assurance, live
Cross-checks every document in a subcontractor pack against the others. On a civils package with several subcontractors per activity, this is where the conflicts surface.
Site Diaries, live
The day's record built from spoken notes and photographs before the engineer leaves site, in your format.
Subcontractor Onboarding, live
Packs checked and chased before anyone mobilises, so the gaps are found before the gang arrives.
Temporary works documentation
The BS 5975 register, design briefs, checks and permits, cross-checked.
Inspections and Quality, Progress Reporting and Handover Packs are in development. We do not describe a module as live until it is running on a real site.
Common questions
Questions civils contractors ask
How can construction firms use AI to cut admin?
Construction firms cut admin with AI by applying it to the documents they already produce every week, not by replacing the people who produce them. The work that responds best is repetitive and document-shaped: site diaries written from spoken notes, subcontractor packs checked for missing insurances and expired cards, RAMS cross-checked for conflicts and gaps before a competent person signs them off, and progress records assembled from what was already captured on site. Aldbry applies AI inside your existing workflows rather than asking you to move to a new platform, and a competent person reviews and signs off every output. If you want to size the problem before spending anything, the Construction Admin Cost Calculator gives you a headline figure in a couple of minutes.
How do you check a subcontractor RAMS pack?
Read the pack as one submission and compare the documents against each other, because that is where the real problems sit. The checks that matter are the figures that must agree across documents, plant and substances that need a matching assessment somewhere in the pack, controls that are missing from the document where they count, references and revisions that do not line up, and sign-offs that are absent or out of date. Aldbry does this as a managed service and inside Corvleo, and the output is an evidenced review sheet rather than a verbal opinion, so you can show what was checked. The decision to accept the pack stays with your competent person.
Is it safe to use AI on RAMS and safety documents?
Yes, provided AI checks and flags while competent people write, review and sign off. AI is good at finding missing sections, inconsistent figures, expired certificates and requirements that have not been addressed, and it does not get tired at the end of a long pack. It is not a competent person and should never be treated as one. Aldbry designs every workflow so that a named person approves the output, and Corvleo presents findings for review rather than issuing decisions. Accountability under CDM 2015, LOLER 1998, COSHH 2002 and your other duties stays exactly where it sits today.
Will it work with our CDE and existing systems?
Yes, that is the design intention: Corvleo works alongside a Common Data Environment and feeds records into it rather than replacing it. Your CDE is the filing system, where documents are stored, controlled and shared. Corvleo sits a layer underneath, producing and checking the documentation in the first place, so what lands in the CDE is clean and consistent. In practice we also work inside the tools your teams already use day to day, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, SharePoint or shared drives, and your project platforms where they allow integration.
Who is Aldbry?
Aldbry is a UK AI consultancy for construction and civil engineering contractors that deliver on site, based at 167-169 Great Portland Street, London. The focus is civil engineering first: groundworks, highways, water, structures, piling, tunnelling, earthworks and drainage, and also building, fit-out, M&E and housebuilders. Typical clients run between 50 and 500 staff. Aldbry is built by an engineering team who have worked on major UK infrastructure schemes, and it builds Corvleo, an AI platform live on UK construction sites with a small number of contractors. You can read more about the firm.
Next step
Start with a pack you already have on site.
The free RAMS pack check reviews one subcontractor pack and sends the findings back. Or book a short call about the records your packages generate each week.