Drawing compare: CAI review

Open this screen in Saral/projects/drawing-compare

The CAI review tab of Drawing compare: your CAI desk. List your CAIs, bring in the work you already did in Change Control, let Saral prepare each CAI's drawing changes, review the ones that affect cost, accept them onto the build-up, price them from the subcontractor's own rates, raise them to the subcontractor, press Done for the Excel, PDF and G&T pack, and take the G&T return back in. Saral also shows how close its own drawing read came to what you wrote.

You enter

The project, and your QS code for My CAIs
A SharePoint link to Change Control, a series folder or one CAI folder, to import your past work
The previous and latest drawings when Saral has not found them: a file, a folder or a SharePoint link (read in place, nothing copied)
Which changes to accept, edit or ignore, and the rates you apply
The G&T return file, and which of its answers to take

Saral fills in

Each drawing paired with its previous revision, and the changes found: symbol counts and changed notes at once and free; the AI reading overnight only when switched on
Which changes affect cost, with the reason in words; the rest counted in ignored lists you can open
TH, Floor and Room on each change, in the same words as your workbook
Suggested rates from the subcontractor's own priced work
Each CAI's status: Not prepared, Preparing…, Ready to review, Reviewed or Done
The score: how many of your rows Saral also found, the ones it missed and the ones you did not write

It produces

Build-up lines on the CAI: imported from your workbook, or accepted from the drawings (quantity and unit; a rate only when you apply one)
A variation on the subcontractor's package, linked to the CAI (Subcontracts → Variations)
At Done: Excel in your own CAI template, the PDF change schedule and the G&T pack — download, print, share for an hour, or save as an Outlook draft
From the G&T return: the client's figures and notes on your lines, and an agenda of what is still open

The order to work a CAI

My CAIs → Import from Change Control (once, for your past work) → Prepare → Review → Accept → Suggested rates → Raise to the subcontractor → Done → G&T return → Score against the QS. You can stop at any point and come back; the Status column remembers where each CAI is.

Import from Change Control

Saral reads each CAI folder's WIP or DONE workbook through your group's SharePoint connection and matches the folder to the project's CAI by number. Re-importing is safe: a line is found again by its Row number, so nothing is doubled. A line you changed in Saral is kept and its differences listed. A line you deleted is not brought back. The drawing sub-folders (previous / latest revision) are linked as the CAI's drawings. A large Change Control folder is read in batches: press Check the rest for the next batch.

Abortive work numbers

A folder named "CAI083 - AS - WIP - Abortive Work No 22, 23" records 22 and 23 on the CAI when you import it. The chip links by number to the Dayworks register (Site & design → Dayworks: 22 → DW-022). When no sheet has that number, the chip says so. Saral never prices abortive work from here.

"Ready to review"

Prepare has paired the drawings and the free compare has run, so the changes are waiting. Reviewed means every change has been accepted or rejected. Done means the files are built.

No drawings? Ask for them

Request drawings emails the package subcontractor from your own Outlook with a reply link: they upload the drawings or say why there are none, and the reply shows on the CAI to accept or reject. The gear on the card sets the project's SharePoint drawing folders and the automatic reminder (off by default).

Large folders

Link the SharePoint folder rather than uploading it: it is quicker and nothing is stored. The free compare reads every drawing; the AI reads only the drawings where something changed.

Linking a review to its CAI

Link to the CAI moves everything the review holds onto the CAI: the drawings, the compare and its changes, the accepted lines and any subcontract variation raised from it. The review is then closed and its notes say which CAI it went to.

The other tab: Measurement & quantities

Drawing compare has two tabs at the top. CAI review is this one. Measurement & quantities is a different job: measuring the scope off the drawings and keeping the project's Tender Sum Analysis (TSA) as revisions. A CAI's accepted drawing changes can be turned into TSA quantity proposals there. Each tab has its own guide behind the question mark at its top right; a guide opens only when you press it.

Next screen: /projects/subcontractors

Not what you needed? Inside Saral, ask Kuku (Alt+K) — if it cannot answer, “Ask a human” sends the question to Saral support with the chat attached.