Change Orders and Unit Rates are two of the most critical — and time-sensitive — elements in the construction lifecycle. At Civils.ai, we’ve built a No-Code AI Workflow that empowers project teams to analyze these documents more accurately, efficiently, and confidently.

Why? Because projects evolve. And when they do, you need tools that keep up.

The Nature of Construction: Constant Change

At the start of every project, the scope of work is defined in a subcontract. But anyone who’s spent time in the field knows that things rarely go exactly to plan. Design changes, site conditions, owner requests, scope removals, and cost escalations are just a few of the reasons why change orders get introduced during construction.

A Change Order is a formal request to adjust the original contract — whether it’s adding or omitting work, changing materials, or extending the schedule. It’s a legal and financial checkpoint that protects both contractor and owner. But that protection only works if the change order is accurate and justified.

Why Unit Rates Matter So Much

Many change orders are priced using unit rates — pre-agreed costs for a specific “unit” of work (e.g., per square foot of drywall, per cubic yard of concrete, per linear foot of conduit).

These rates are typically buried inside subcontracts or Schedules of Rates. And while they seem straightforward, they can quickly cause problems if misapplied.

For example:

• A subcontractor may submit a change order using incorrect or outdated rates
• A change order might cover work that’s already in the original contract scope
• Labor or material markups may be applied inconsistently

The Risk: Errors That Slip Through

Project managers are responsible for reviewing, validating, and presenting change orders to developers or owners. If the unit rates don’t match the subcontract, or if the work isn’t truly a “change,” the entire request could be rejected — or worse, approved in error and result in cost overruns.

In fast-paced projects, it’s easy to forget to cross-reference rates, especially when dozens of subcontracts and change orders are involved. Manual review takes time and increases the risk of missing key details. 

The Civils.ai Solution: AI-Powered Change Order Review

That’s where Civils.ai steps in.

We’ve created a Project Management Use Case that lets you build No-Code AI Workflows to review change orders and unit rates with confidence and precision. Here's how it works:

1. Upload your subcontract(s)
   Extract key data like unit rates, scope of work, and exclusions automatically.
2. Upload one or more change orders
   Civils.ai will analyze and extract line items, quantities, labor/material rates, and scope descriptions.
3. Cross-reference automatically
   You can build a workflow to compare the change order against the original subcontract — flagging potential errors like:
   • Incorrect unit rates
   • Duplicate scope items
   • Unsupported markups
4. Generate a summary report
   Everything is compiled into a clear, structured format — ready to be reviewed, approved, or pushed back.

Transparency, Accuracy, and Speed — Without the Headache

Reviewing change orders shouldn’t require hours of digging through PDFs and spreadsheets. With Civils.ai, you can:

• Validate costs with confidence
• Reduce approval time
• Catch errors before they become expensive mistakes
• Maintain transparency with owners and developers

Construction Is Always Changing — Now Your Tools Can Too

At Civils.ai, we’re building solutions that meet project teams where they are — in the middle of fast-paced, high-stakes construction projects where clarity and control are non-negotiable.

Our Change Order + Unit Rate workflow is just one example of how No-Code AI can supercharge your project management processes and reduce risk without adding complexity.

Schedule a demo to build your workflow today!