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PRECAST CONCRETE ELEMENTS108 CPI %u2013 Concrete Plant International %u2013 3 | 2025 www.cpi-worldwide.comkeeping in the front office to automated systems throughout the business that reduce labor on the plant floor and boost productivity on the operations side. If automation was the last revolution, AI will be the next.%u201cCompanies that adopt AI sooner, rather than later, will be at a drastic competitive advantage,%u201d Muka said. Here%u2019s an example. One of Muka Development%u2019s first AI-assisted tools, SPOT, saves significant time in creating quotes and takeoffs for sanitary and storm structures by automating the extraction of critical structure information such as StructureID, Station, and all elevations required to quote or engineer the structure.In developing SPOT, the Muka Development team asked about 30 of its customers how long it took them to input the takeoff for one structure. The average was about four minutes to input one structure%u2019s elevations and calculate the angles.%u201cSome of these jobs have 500 structures, so you can imagine how much time is it takes to quote out a 500-structure job at four minutes per takeoff,%u201d Muka said. %u201cWe ran through our tests with SPOT, and I was able to put in four structures per minute using SPOT %u2013 rather than one structure in four minutes. And this is coming from a guy who doesn%u2019t do takeoffs all day. So it drastically increases the productivity of your people.%u201d That type of efficiency can be game-changer, Muka said. %u201cLet%u2019s say you are a smaller precaster and there is a 500-structure job out there. You probably don%u2019t want your one or two draftsmen spending an entire 8-hour day quoting one job that you%u2019re not sure you%u2019re going to be awarded. With SPOT, you can go ahead and take that chance, because your 8-hour day just shrank to about 1 %u00bd hours. Now you can bid that job and quote some of these larger projects that might help your company grow.%u201dSimilarly, Muka Development%u2019s AP+ technology uses AI to extract data from invoices and receipts, automating a tedious manual process for purchasing and accounting staff. Derek VanEnberghe, controller at Coldstream Concrete, told the Muka team that AP+, %u201chas allowed our staff to shift their focus to addressing key business issues and strategic problems, and empowered us to redirect our resources to what truly matters %u2013 our customers.%u201dPrecision Over %u201cRules of Thumb%u201dOne of the efficiency tools AICrete is beta testing now is AggSense, which uses AI algorithms to analyze aggregate properties, replacing time-consuming manual tests performed in the lab. AggSense uses computer vision sensors with AI, according to Fletcher, %u201cto read gradations and moisture in real time and ultimately optimize mixes on the front end and be able to tweak them based on changing conditions, such as gradations and moisture of your aggregates.%u201dAICrete%u2019s proprietary AI algorithms are based on the chemistry and physical interactions of the materials and how they interact, according to Fletcher. The result is precise mix design inputs that replaces %u201crules of thumb%u201d traditionally used in mix design. %u201cThe customer will define the outputs of what they%u2019re trying to achieve, whether it%u2019s a certain slump or spread, early stripping strength, ultimate strength, et cetera,%u201d Fletcher said. %u201cAnd the AI, basically against its baseline, can generate cost and carbon reductions while achieving the same performance.%u201dPrivacy and Data CollectionWhile the benefits of AI are becoming increasingly apparent throughout the industry, questions remain among the precasters, Muka said.One of the common questions is about data privacy. AI platforms are known for scooping up vast amounts of data to On the left: Alex Muka, on the right: Michael FletcherOne of the efficiency tools AICrete is beta testing now is AggSense, which uses AI algorithms to analyze aggregate properties.