Amela
Major General Contractor Company A — New Platform Launch Story
ℹ︎For confidentiality, company names, project names, and system images have been replaced with pseudonyms and mock-ups.

RC structural estimation, In-house from scratch.

QuantoBIM is an estimation platform that automates RC structural takeoff at the schematic design stage directly from BIM models (IFC). It automates the quantity calculation that experts once read off drawings by hand — across the 3 trades of concrete, formwork, and rebar — in a fully traceable form.

"Days spent reading drawings by hand," "reliance on individual estimator skill," "hard-to-trace calculation basis" ── a platform that meets all the requirements of structural estimation at once, from scratch in 4 months — built in-house: a new-platform launch story.

See the build story Try the demo See overview
Estimation lead time
Days → Minutes
From manual drawing reading to automatic calculation
Auto-calculated trades
3trades
Concrete / Formwork / Rebar
Calculation basis
100%
Traceable (DB = SSOT)
Supported structures
RC structure
Schematic design stage
01
CLIENT
About the client

A leading domestic "Major General Contractor, Company A" driving the construction industry.

A leading domestic general contractor that handles the design and construction of large-scale buildings end to end. It delivers a wide range of RC buildings — offices, apartments, medical facilities — where quality and cost competitiveness underpin the business.

Structural quantity takeoff at the schematic design stage is the starting point for cost estimation and cost control. The accuracy of concrete, formwork, and rebar quantities directly drives the credibility of estimates and profit margins. The goal was to renew this estimation work into a form fit for the BIM era ── that was the origin of this project.

Nationwide scale
Construction track record
RC-focused
Structure type
Schematic design
Target stage of estimation
BUSINESS FLOW — The Estimation Process
①
BIM model import
Import IFC + section & material conditions
②
Auto-analyze and classify members
Extract and classify members with ifcOpenShell
③
Rebar conditions & floor aggregation
Aggregate quantities from material & diameter codes
④
Review quantities and basis
Quantities for 3 trades via 3D viewer + table
02
CHALLENGE
The design challenges to solve

Four structural requirements demanded of the platform.

None of these were technology-choice issues, but business requirements tied directly to design-review speed, cost accuracy, and accountability. A from-scratch build that "satisfies them all at once" was required.

Relying on manual drawing reading slows design review
With estimation where experts read drawings one by one, it takes several days, so the design-comparison cycle can't keep turning.
Relying on manual work causes accuracy to vary
Estimation becomes dependent on expert skill, so quantities and accuracy vary from person to person.
If the basis can't be traced, verification takes time
of the calculated quantitiesThe basis can't be reproduced, incurring extra effort in review, explanation, and rework.
Not leveraging BIM leads to duplicate work
already created in designCan't link the BIM model (IFC) to estimation, causing duplicate work that recreates the same information.
03
ARCHITECTURE
Architecture built together

Turning structural estimation into an "unstoppable automation foundation" across four domains.

An estimation foundation that automatically derives the quantities and basis for 3 trades from BIM models — together with Company A, built in-house from scratch. The key was designing four domains — BIM data structuring, member classification, quantity calculation, and basis management — with reproducibility as the top priority.

AmelaEXECUTION
4months
Duration
PoC
Verification phase
Domain ①
BIM data import
✕Challenge
IFC is geometry-centric and unsuited to quantity calculation as-is. It must be given meaning for estimation.
✓Solution
Analyze members and geometry with ifcOpenShell and structure them for estimation
Async workers process even large IFC files reliably.
Domain ②
Member classification & section matching
✕Challenge
Diverse members (columns, beams, walls, slabs, foundations) had to be classified by hand.
✓Solution
Auto-match against section tables and assign marks
Master-driven, with classification rules managed centrally.
Domain ③
Rebar & quantity calculation
✕Challenge
Rebar quantity must be calculated by hand from rebar conditions.
✓Solution
Automatically calculate rebar quantity from material & diameter codes and aggregate by floor
Calculate the 3 trades (concrete / formwork / rebar) in one go.
Domain ④
Centralized basis management
✕Challenge
Quantity bases are scattered and must be hunted down for every verification or explanation.
✓Solution
DB as the Single Source of Truth; trace down to the basis from the 3D viewer
Select a member → instantly show section, material, and rebar conditions.
TECH STACK
Frontend
Next.jsReactThree.js / web-ifcTailwind
Backend
.NETPython · FastAPIififcOpenShell
Infra & Data
PostgreSQLAzAzure Container AppsBlBlob Storage
04
IMPACT
The value the platform creates

Major General Contractor Company A's "design-review speed" accelerates.

This foundation is not a technical metric; it continuously delivers business outcomes — design-review speed, cost accuracy, accountability, and BIM utilization.

A design-review foundation that runs estimation in minutes
Quantities can be checked quickly per design option, speeding up the comparison cycle.
Standardization so anyone estimates at the same accuracy
Master-driven conditions enable consistent calculation that doesn't depend on the individual.
Explain and verify the quantity basis instantly
The calculation basis can be traced per member, reducing rework in review and explanation.
Leverage BIM investment end-to-end, all the way to estimation
Link the design BIM model directly to estimation and eliminate duplicate work.
📐
STAKEHOLDER
Structural designer
✕Typically
Estimating manually from drawings tends to make reviews slow.
✓At Major General Contractor Company A
Quantities can be calculated automatically from BIM models.
Business impact
Speed up the design-review cycle
🧮
STAKEHOLDER
Estimator
✕Typically
It depends on expert skill, so accuracy tends to vary.
✓At Major General Contractor Company A
Standardized calculation is possible via condition masters.
Business impact
Eliminate person-dependence and stabilize accuracy
📊
STAKEHOLDER
Construction cost control
✕Typically
The quantity basis can't be traced, so rework happens easily.
✓At Major General Contractor Company A
Verify with a 100% traceable basis.
Business impact
Cost accuracy and explainability improve
🏢
STAKEHOLDER
Management / DX Promotion
✕Typically
BIM investment is hard to leverage beyond a few processes.
✓At Major General Contractor Company A
BIM can be leveraged end-to-end through to estimation.
Business impact
Maximize BIM ROI
05
DEMO
Three scenarios

Experience QuantoBIM with a live, working demo.

FLAGSHIP
Estimation execution flow
Estimator

Create project → upload IFC → analysis job → review quantity results for 3 trades.

Launch demo →
Quantity Basis Viewer
Estimator

Select a member in the 3D viewer and drill down into the calculation basis from section, material, and rebar conditions.

Launch demo →
Section & Material Master Management
Administrator

Centrally manage section tables and material conditions (concrete/rebar) for columns/girders/beams/walls/slabs/foundations.

Launch demo →