Choosing
AI consultancy or construction software: which does your firm need?
If you know exactly which task to fix and a tool already does it, buy the software. If the admin load is spread across workflows nobody has mapped, software alone will not shift it, because the problem is the workflow rather than the absence of a tool. This page sets out the four options honestly, including the cases where we are the wrong answer.
The four options
What each one actually gives you
No supplier is named, because the point is the model rather than the brand.
01
Generic AI consultancy
Strategy, training and a report. Strong on framing the opportunity, weak on construction specifics, and it usually ends where implementation begins.
Best when: you need to bring a leadership team along and decide a direction.
Weak when: you need the RAMS reviewed on Thursday.
02
Point software
A tool that does one job: diaries, or inspections, or onboarding. Often good at that job. You keep the integration problem, and each tool adds its own login, export and data silo.
Best when: one specific, well-understood task is the whole problem.
Weak when: the load is spread across five document types.
03
A CDE or document platform
The filing system: storage, version control, permissions, distribution and audit trail. Essential, and not the same thing as producing or checking the documents in the first place.
Best when: you need control and traceability over documents that already exist.
Weak when: the cost is in creating and checking them.
04
The Aldbry model
Consultancy to find where the hours go, plus Corvleo to produce and check the documents, feeding clean records into the systems you already run.
Best when: the admin load is spread and nobody has mapped it.
Weak when: you have one narrow task and a tool that already does it.
Side by side
What each option covers
- Finds where the time goesGeneric consultancy: yes. Point software: no. CDE: no. Aldbry: yes.
- Produces the documentsGeneric consultancy: no. Point software: for its one task. CDE: no. Aldbry: yes.
- Checks documents against each otherGeneric consultancy: no. Point software: rarely. CDE: no. Aldbry: yes, this is the core of RAMS Assurance.
- Stores, controls and distributesGeneric consultancy: no. Point software: partly. CDE: yes, this is its job. Aldbry: no, we feed yours.
- Changes how the workflow runsGeneric consultancy: advises. Point software: no. CDE: no. Aldbry: yes.
- Leaves the sign-off with your peopleAll four: yes, and any supplier claiming otherwise should be refused.
Being straight about it
When software alone is the better buy
If your firm has one clearly defined problem, a named owner for it, and a tool that solves it out of the box, buy the tool. Bringing in a consultancy to tell you to buy the tool is an expensive way to reach the same answer. The same applies if you already have a CDE that works and your complaint is about storage or permissions rather than about producing documents, because that is a configuration job, not an AI one.
Where the model earns its place is when the load is spread across RAMS, diaries, onboarding, reports and handover, produced by different people in different formats, and nobody can say which of them costs the most. That is a mapping problem before it is a software problem. The Construction Admin Cost Calculator will tell you the size of it for free, and if the number is small, we will say so.
Common questions
Questions about choosing
What is the difference between an AI consultancy and construction software?
Software gives you a tool and leaves the workflow to you; a consultancy works out which parts of your workflow should change and then makes that happen. The distinction matters because most firms already own more software than they use, and the admin load persists anyway. Aldbry does both halves: the consultancy work of finding where the time actually goes, and the platform, Corvleo, that produces and checks the documents once the workflow is agreed. Corvleo feeds records into the systems you already run, including your CDE, rather than replacing them. If software alone would fix your problem, we will tell you that.
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.
How much does it cost to start?
Two things cost nothing and the first paid step is £3,500. The free RAMS pack check reviews one subcontractor pack and returns a report, and the Construction Admin Cost Calculator gives you a headline cost of your own admin in a couple of minutes. The AI Opportunity Audit is a £3,500 fixed fee, credited against implementation if you proceed within 30 days, and the roadmap is yours to keep whether or not you take it further. Beyond that, AI training is half or full-day sessions, implementation is a fixed-fee setup with an optional retainer, and managed services are a monthly retainer scoped to your workflows. See the audit for what it covers.
Next step
If you are not sure, start with the free thing.
Send one subcontractor pack and see what a cross-document check finds, or put your headcount into the calculator. Neither commits you to anything.