BIM to BOQ mapping: rules, specs and saved libraries
BIM to BOQ mapping is the step where an element in the model, a wall, a slab or a pipe, gets its own item in the bill of quantities: a code, a description, a unit and a quantity. In AiN Engine, the software I develop and use in my own work as a quantity surveyor, that step does not live in one window. It is spread over a few small panels inside the bill of quantities: a mappings review, BOQ rules, a library of items and calculations, and specifications. This page explains what you see in each one, what it gives you and where its limits are.
Why mapping takes judgement
A model knows what an element is: its category, type, material and thickness. It does not know which item the element belongs to under the project's specification and measurement method. The same concrete wall can be one item on one project and three items on another, depending on its thickness, location and finish. That difference is not in the model; it is in the specification and in the measurement rules agreed for the project.
So in AiN, BIM to BOQ mapping is built so that a person sees it, checks it and decides. The software suggests and keeps what already worked; the professional decision stays with whoever signs the bill of quantities.
BIM to BOQ mapping in AiN: what you see
All of these panels open from inside the full bill of quantities, most of them from the Data menu:
- The Data menu: the entry point. From here you open the BOQ rules, your personal library of items and calculations, the local specification drafts and the project specs. It also lets you add an item from a category and translate descriptions with AI.
- Mappings review, from draft to a standard BOQ: a table of proposed mappings from draft lines to items of a standard bill of quantities. Each mapping can be approved or rejected, and the table has a filter, sorting by click and a select-all that takes only the rows left after filtering. It opens from the AI Detection menu.
- BOQ rules: a list of rules that define how elements map to items, with a tester beside it so you can try a rule before you rely on it.
- Calculations and items library: the items and calculations you saved, with refresh, use on current row, and delete. You save a line to it from the line's actions menu or from the Edit menu.
- Project specs: specification sections per BOQ chapter, each with a title and a body, which you can add and delete.
- Local specs: a manual specification draft next to each item. There is no AI in it; you write the text yourself.
What it gives you
- The decision stays with a person. A proposed mapping is a candidate, and in the mappings review a person approves or rejects it. In the bill of quantities itself, a line with an approved mapping carries a badge that says so.
- Good work carries forward. An item description I phrased well and a calculation I checked go into the library, and come back on the next project on the line you choose.
- A rule is tested before you trust it. The tester lets you see what a rule does before you use it in the bill.
- The specification sits next to the quantity. The spec text lives beside the chapters and items of the same bill, and each line shows a small count of the specs attached to it. That makes it harder to miss a condition that is written in the specification and not in the description.
- Descriptions in another language. The Data menu can translate descriptions with AI. As with any AI output, I read the translation before it goes to a client.
How to use it, step by step
- Load a model and open the full bill of quantities. The lines are built from the model, and each line stays linked to its elements.
- From the AI Detection menu, open the mappings review, filter to what you want to check, and approve or reject each mapping.
- In the Data menu, open the BOQ rules, define a rule and try it in the tester.
- When a line comes out right, with a correct description and a checked calculation, save it to the library from its actions menu. Saving needs a signed-in account.
- On the next project, select a line, open the library and choose use on current row.
- Write the specification next to the quantity: per chapter in the project specs, or per item in the local draft.
Limits worth knowing
Before you start: rules and specs are stored in the browser, on the computer where you wrote them, and they do not move between devices. Approving a mapping in the review does not apply it automatically to other projects. Editing project specs is not open on every account; where it is not, the specs are read-only.
For readers who work in English: the rules panel is still labelled in Hebrew, and the AiN workspace, with its smart matching dictionary, is currently in the Hebrew interface only.
One principle rather than a limit: a mapping is not a quantity. When the model has no value for an item, the line is marked as having no quantity, and the value stays missing, not zero. A completion by hand stays labelled as a manual edit instead of passing for model data.
All the windows of the software are collected on the BOQ software page, and the AI suggestions, including proposals for lines with no item, are on the AI that assists page. Standards and language settings are covered on the BOQ standards page. I am Yaakov Avital, a quantity surveyor and registered building technician in Israel, and I built these panels out of the same work I do on every project.
Frequently asked questions
Does AiN do BIM to BOQ mapping on its own?
It suggests, and a person decides. Proposed mappings wait in the mappings review to be approved or rejected, and a rule you define is tried in the tester first. A mapping the software suggests stays a suggestion until a person approves it.
Where are the rules, specs and library stored?
Rules and specs are stored in the browser of the computer you worked on, so they will not appear on another computer. The library is open to signed-in users and is meant for exactly this: carrying items and calculations from one project to the next.
What is the difference between project specs and local specs?
Project specs are arranged by BOQ chapter, with a title and a body for each spec section. A local spec is a manual draft next to one item in the bill. In both, a person writes the text.
Does the AI suggest items for lines that have none?
Yes. The AI Detection menu has an assignment option for lines with no item, marked as proposals only. The proposals do not go into the quantity and are not approved by themselves.
Want to see AiN on your own model? The AiN Engine site has the demo video, the pilot for one project and the login. For quantity surveying work in Israel, write to me through the form.
AiN Engine website Contact form* Created with AI for marketing, for illustration only. Not reviewed by Yaakov Avital and not professional advice. Every project must be checked on its own by a professional quantity surveyor and an engineer.