JobsHVAC
HVAC take-off
Every piece of equipment, duct run, fitting, terminal unit and device counted across the whole mechanical set, with each count linked to the region of the sheet it came from.
- Works with
- Estimators and preconstruction teams at mechanical contractors
- Starts from
- Mechanical plans, schedules and Division 23 specs
- Delivers
- A take-off in your estimating format, traced to the sheet
01
Summary
A mechanical bid is won or lost on the count. Estimators spend days on each set: walking every floor plan for diffusers and VAV boxes, measuring duct runs, checking the equipment schedule, then doing it again when the next addendum lands. Under a deadline, whatever nobody has time to count becomes an allowance.
Operon reads the whole set the way an estimator does. It finds the equipment, ductwork, fittings, terminal units, dampers and devices on the plans, ties each one to its schedule line and spec section, and hands your estimator a take-off where every number opens the exact region of the sheet behind it. The estimator's job shifts from counting to checking.
02
Inputs and outputs
What goes in
- Mechanical floor and roof plans, scanned or vector
- Equipment, air device and fan schedules
- Division 23 specifications
- Addenda and bulletins as they are issued
- Your estimating template or item codes
What comes out
- Counts by type, size and system, per floor and per sheet
- Duct and pipe lengths by size
- Schedule-versus-plan mismatches, flagged for review
- An export to your spreadsheet or estimating tool
- A link from every line of the take-off to its sheet region
03
How it runs
Step
Operon
Your team
01
Read the set
Operon
Reads every sheet, learns the legend and symbol conventions from the cover sheets, and finds each item on the plans.
Your team
Sends the set and the template they price from.
02
Tie counts to schedules
Operon
Links each unit on the plans to its schedule line and spec section, and lists what is drawn but not scheduled, or scheduled but not drawn.
Your team
Decides how each mismatch is priced or raised as an RFI.
03
Verify
Operon
Routes anything below its confidence threshold to review, with the sheet region open beside it.
Your team
Confirms or corrects the flagged items, usually in minutes per sheet.
04
Export and re-run
Operon
Exports in your format and, when an addendum arrives, re-reads what changed and shows the delta.
Your team
Prices the take-off and the changes.
04
What changes
Today
With Operon
Coverage
Today
A sample of sheets, allowances for the rest
With Operon
Every sheet in the set counted
Checking a number
Today
Find the sheet, find the area, recount
With Operon
One click to the region behind the count
Addenda
Today
Recount the affected sheets by hand
With Operon
A delta of what changed, item by item
Schedule mismatches
Today
Found on site, priced as change orders
With Operon
Flagged before bid day
05
Checks built in
A confidence score on every item
Anything uncertain goes to a person before it reaches the estimate.
Counts you can trace
Each quantity links to the sheet, revision and region it came from.
The set's own legend
Symbols are read against the legend on the drawings, not a generic library.
06
Getting started
Send one recent bid set and the take-off your team produced for it. We run Operon on the same set and walk your estimators through every difference.
First results within a week. Live in three weeks.
- One complete mechanical set with schedules and specs
- Your estimating template or export format
- The take-off your team did, for comparison
Related jobs
Further reading
Start with the work that costs you the most.
Tell us where your team loses the most hours. Three weeks later, an AI employee built for your company is doing that work.