From a BOQ to an integrated WBS
Upload your bill of quantities and every priced line gets a code that says what it is, who delivers it and where it sits. The lines are then packaged into work packages you can control. Rules do most of the tagging, PI Agent handles the rest, and you check only the lines that need a person.
What you end up with
The Pi System pyramid. Seven levels under the project, plus two grouping elements that ride along on every line. Select a level to go to the step that sets it.
Levels 1 to 3 are one character each, so service 5, sub-project 1, work package 1 reads 511.
How you get there
The BOQ total is the big cube. Nothing is added or lost: every figure at the end adds back to it.
- What is built. Each line gets a control activity, such as bored piles, with one primary measure (metres, say) or % complete. Its value includes all its lines, so its rate is weighted. Step 3
- Who delivers it. Each line gets a contractable discipline: the phase, then the trade or package. Step 4
- Where it sits. Each line gets a zone and element. A line that covers several locations is split first. Step 5
- How it is packaged. The project team writes the services, sub-projects and work packages, and the lines are placed into them. Step 7
Lines with the same control activity, discipline and location form one small cube. The register in step 6 lists every one of them.
The journey
Eight steps. Each one produces something the next one uses. The status updates as you work.
Every coding step works the same way
Steps 2 to 5 and 7 each start with a list you set up, often straight from the worked example. Then:
- Rules tag first. They read your own columns, such as CESMM4 codes, subcontract packages and zones, so most lines are placed in seconds.
- PI Agent takes the rest. Only the lines the rules could not place with confidence are sent.
- You check only what needs checking. Confident answers with no quick-check warning are accepted automatically. The rest wait in Needs checking. A spot check of 5, 10 or 100% is there if you want one.
How PI Agent helps
- What it reads
- Each line's description and unit, plus the columns that hint at the step's answer, your code list and any notes you give it. It never sees quantities, rates or amounts.
- What it gives back
- One code from your list for each line, with a confidence and a short reason when it is not sure. A code that is not on your list is dropped, never invented.
- When it is not sure
- The line goes to Needs checking. Lines you have edited are never overwritten. In steps 2 and 4, lines that differ only in their numbers are read once and coded together.
- Where the key lives
- On the server. Your browser talks only to this app; the AI provider's key never reaches the page.
What your BOQ needs
Minimum
An Excel sheet (ideally formatted as a table) or a CSV with one header row. Only two columns are required:
- Description
- Amount (or quantity and rate)
Recommended
These make control activities measurable:
- Item number
- Unit and quantity
- Rate
Helpful, if you have them
The rules read these straight away. Without them, PI Agent or you tag by hand:
- Scope hierarchy, e.g. class and CESMM4 code
- Subcontract package or procurement route
- Zone and element
Upload the bill of quantities
Any layout works as long as there is one header row. Pick the sheet and header row, then tell the builder which column is which.
Column mapping
Matched from the header row. Check each one. Helper columns are optional; when present, the rules use them.
What was read
Counted from the rows themselves. A stated value is shown beside the count, never in place of it.
Preview
First 60 priced lines.
Scope classification
Set the scope items your BOQ lines sit in, such as CESMM4 classes and codes, then tag every line with one and verify it. This is the Cl grouping element of the Pi System: data on every line, not a level of the WBS.
Scope classification (Cl) is how the BOQ describes the work. It travels with every line as data for grouping, sorting and reporting, and control activities are built from it in the next step. Each BOQ line lands on one scope item. The sample uses CESMM4: classes at level 1, CESMM4 codes at level 2. Use your own structure by building it from your BOQ's hierarchy columns, editing here, or importing a code workbook. Phase (2 P&G, 3 design, 5 construction, 9 provisional) helps the discipline step later.
See the worked example
Control activities
Group the scope items into control activities: the work you measure and control by one primary measure, such as bored piles in metres. Then tag every line with one control activity and verify it. Each line's scope item from step 2 decides its control activity.
Control activity list
Draft one from the scope items your BOQ uses, then keep, rename, switch off or add. A control activity can cover many scope items, such as all bored piles. Switched-off groups leave their lines to be placed by hand in 3.2.
See the worked example: bored piles
Contractable disciplines
Level 1 is the phase of work (design, manufacture and supply, construction, commissioning). Level 2 is the discipline or package that delivers it. Check the sample, adapt it to your BOQ, then tag every line.
Rules match a line's subcontract package code (EW for SC-EW) or its procurement route (PS, or "direct" for self-performed work) to a level 2 code. The phase comes from the line's scope item. The same discipline can sit under more than one phase.
See the worked example
Geography
Break the job into locations: zones at level 1, elements or assets at level 2, if you want them. Then place every line in one location, splitting the lines that cover several.
Rules match on the codes: a level 1 code equals the line's Zone value (Z01, ALL) and a level 2 code its Element value (LIN, BR-01). Use ALL for project-wide items.
See the worked example
Can every BOQ line be placed in exactly one location?
For example, is "bored piles, 900 mm, concreted length" priced once per bridge, or once for the whole job? If any line spans several locations, answer No.
Split the lines that span several locations
Split a line into one line per location. Quantities and amounts are shared out, and every code already set (scope item, control activity, discipline) is carried onto the new lines.
A · Split here, line by line
Best for a handful of lines. Use Split on a line in the table below, pick the locations and enter each quantity.
B · Split in Excel and import back
- Download the register. It holds every line with its codes so far.
- For each line that spans locations, copy the row once per location. Keep the Row ID, set the zone and element codes, and share out the quantity and amount.
- Import the file. The lines are rebuilt with all their codes in place.
The fully coded register
Every line now carries a control activity, a discipline and a location. Each distinct combination is one small cube. Check the cubes, then decide how they are packaged into the WBS.
WBS composition
The fourth dimension, decided by the project team. First write the outline: services, sub-projects and work packages. Then place the BOQ lines into the work packages: let PI Agent tag them, or find, tick and apply by hand. Then verify the result.
Lines placed
Project and code format
Integrated WBS
The Pi System pyramid: services, sub-projects and work packages (step 7), contractable disciplines (step 4), control activities (step 3), then the BOQ lines as specific scope items. Location and scope classification ride along as grouping data.
Value by level 2
Bar length is value. The largest is drawn in ink.
iWBS table
Select a row to collapse or expand it.