How Master Steel Increased Estimating Throughput by 67% With Steel Genie

AI-powered steel takeoffs enabled Master Steel to estimate more steel, quote more labor, and pursue more projects while working fewer hours.

At a Glance:

Company: Master Steel
Industry: Structural steel fabrication and erection
Use Case: Structural steel estimating automation

Results:
> +67% estimating throughput (tons estimated per hour).
> +54% more steel tonnage estimated year over year.
> +58% more fabrication labor hours quoted.
> 7.6% fewer estimating hours worked.

THE CHALLENGE

Manual Estimating Limited How Much Work the Team Could Pursue

Master Steel is a structural steel fabricator and erector serving Georgia and South Carolina. The company supports large commercial and industrial projects including hospitals, schools, and high-rise buildings, providing fabrication, delivery, and erection services. With thousands of bid invitations arriving each year, the estimating department plays a critical role in keeping the business pipeline full.

Before Steel Genie, the team relied on a traditional manual workflow. Estimators reviewed structural drawings in Bluebeam while simultaneously entering data into Tekla PowerFab. Each beam, column, and member had to be measured, labeled, and typed into the estimating database one at a time.

Even with experienced estimators and optimized tools, the process was slow. Estimators often joked that structural takeoffs required about one hour per drawing sheet. On large projects with dozens of structural sheets, takeoffs alone could consume days or even weeks of estimator time.

Because of this constraint, Master Steel frequently had to turn down potential bids simply because the estimating team lacked the time to pursue them. Clayton Laird, Chief Business Development Officer at Master Steel, explains, “We were turning down good opportunities not because we didn't want them, but because there weren't enough hours in the day.” The company needed a way to accelerate estimating without sacrificing accuracy or limiting growth.

THE SOLUTION

Automating Structural Takeoffs With Steel Genie

In 2025, Master Steel began integrating Steel Genie by ALLPLAN, AI-powered estimating software designed to automate structural steel takeoffs directly from drawings. Steel Genie uses AI to analyze structural drawings, detect key structural members, and generate estimating-ready 3D models and material quantities within minutes. The solution now performs the most time-consuming portion of the estimating workflow, plan-view takeoffs, allowing estimators to focus on reviewing and refining results rather than creating them manually.

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Today, Master Steel’s workflow typically looks like this:

1. Estimators review project documents. 
2. Steel Genie scans the drawings and generates takeoffs. 
3. Estimators validate and adjust the results. 
4. Remaining steel from architectural or specialty drawings is added manually. 
5. Data flows into downstream tools such as Tekla PowerFab or SDS2.

This shift allows Steel Genie to handle the heavy lifting while estimators retain full control of the final estimate.

THE RESULTS

More Output, Greater Throughput, and Reduced Workload

The impact of Steel Genie became clear within the first year of use. Master Steel compared estimating performance between 2024 (manual workflows) and 2025 (Steel Genie adoption) … and the results were significant. Across productivity, output, and efficiency, the team saw measurable gains.

 

Estimating Throughput Increased by 67%

The most important measure of estimating productivity is throughput, or how much steel can be estimated per hour. Master Steel increased throughput from 3.09 tons per hour to 5.17 tons per hour, a 67% improvement.

In practical terms, this means work that previously required 1.67 hours can now be completed in just one hour. Laird noted, “With Steel Genie, our estimating team achieved in 7,370 hours what would have required over 12,300 hours at our previous pace.”

More Steel Estimated Without Increasing Hours

Despite working fewer hours overall, the team significantly increased output:

  • Steel tonnage estimated increased from 24,693 to 38,125 tons (+54%).
  • Fabrication labor hours quoted increased from 308,033 to 486,539 hours (+58%).
  • Total estimating hours decreased by 7.6%.

This shift allowed Master Steel to evaluate more opportunities and pursue more bids without expanding the team.

Reduced Manual Work and Improved Accuracy

Steel Genie eliminated much of the manual effort that previously slowed estimators down, including measuring, counting, and data entry.

It also reduced common estimating risks such as:

  • Missed structural members.
  • Incorrect measurements.
  • Data entry errors.
  • Overestimated connection assumptions.

Because Steel Genie generates a visual 3D model alongside the takeoff, estimators can validate structural scope before submitting a bid.

“Instead of one person looking at your estimate, now you’ve got two in essence: the AI doing its part, and the estimator checking it,” said Laird.

Greater Bidding Capacity and Competitive Advantage

With faster takeoffs and improved visibility, Master Steel increased its ability to respond to bid opportunities.

Estimators now have more time to:

  • Prioritize high-value projects.
  • Refine bid strategy.
  • Engage earlier with general contractors.

The ability to move faster also creates a competitive edge, allowing the team to submit estimates earlier and with greater confidence.

Conclusion

Scaling Estimating Without Scaling Headcount

Steel Genie did not replace the expertise of Master Steel’s estimators — it amplified it at scale. By automating the most time-consuming part of the estimating process, Master Steel transformed estimating from a bottleneck into a growth driver. The team can now process more opportunities, produce more accurate estimates, and support business growth without increasing workload.

Looking ahead, Master Steel plans to expand its use of Steel Genie earlier in the bid evaluation process, using rapid takeoffs to determine which opportunities to pursue before committing estimator time. As Laird puts it, “Steel Genie is a powerful tool in the hands of an experienced estimator.”

Ready to Get Started?

Steel Genie by Allplan is an AI-powered structural steel estimating platform that automatically converts 2D structural drawings into steel takeoffs, estimating-ready 3D models, and connection intelligence in minutes.

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