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Construction and engineering · AccessEXL + Claude

Project cost control for project managers

Give project managers safe, AI-powered access to the estimators' costing models so they can test cost, schedule and profitability changes themselves.

The challenge

You're the Commercial Manager of a large construction and engineering company. Your estimators have built sophisticated Excel models for project costs, profitability and cash flow, and only they can safely update them.

Your project managers are responsible for profitability and constantly need to understand the impact of changing costs and schedules, but every scenario needs a busy estimator. That means delays, fewer alternatives considered and pressure on the estimating team.

The solution

1

Publish approved models

Estimators place approved copies of costing workbooks in secure, project-specific SharePoint folders.

2

Describe model capabilities

AccessEXL agent capabilities describe what each model calculates, its inputs and outputs, and how to use it.

3

Control access

Project managers can find and use only the models they're authorised to access.

4

Enable AI conversations

Managers use Claude to explore cost changes, profitability and cash flow without opening the spreadsheets.

5

Analyse multiple projects

Claude runs scenarios across every authorised project model and consolidates the results.

What people ask Claude

Input cost change

“What happens to all my projects if diesel prices increase by $0.50 per litre next month?”

Wage increase

“We've just approved a 5% wage increase. How will this affect margins and cash flow across my projects?”

The results

BeforeWith AccessEXL
Estimators handle all costing updates
Project managers run their own scenarios
Delays waiting for revised estimates
Financial insights available on demand
Complex spreadsheets restricted to specialists
Secure, controlled AI access
Limited visibility across projects
Portfolio-wide scenario analysis
Estimators overloaded with routine requests
More time for complex estimating

The key takeaway

You don't need to replace your estimating spreadsheets or build a new project costing application. AccessEXL turns your existing Excel models into secure, discoverable decision-making tools for individual projects or whole portfolios.

Download the PDF Connect your first workbook

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