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A project manager uses AI to scan his inbox for missed tasks and turn a 142-room door schedule into a hardware list

OCR sometimes gets it wrong, so he proofs everything. Another commenter: it helps with wording, not pricing.

Real storyDone with AI assistant (unnamed)
TradesElectrical

What they did

In a r/electricians thread asking about AI for paperwork, a project manager said he uses AI to scan his inbox and build task lists of anything he may have missed. For estimating, he plugs in a door schedule (one project had 142 rooms) and has AI break it down into a door hardware list.

How it went

He said it has saved him a lot of time, but "OCR sometimes gets it wrong, and I always have to proof the work." Another commenter said it helps with wording, not pricing: turning rough notes into a scope paragraph and the polite update message you'd avoid at 9pm. They added that most paperwork pain comes from not having a template.

Worth knowing

Build one numbered quote template (scope, exclusions, price, expiry date) first. Then AI is just filling in a form you control.

Try it yourself

You are a project coordinator for an electrical contractor. TASK: Scan these emails and give me a task list of anything I owe someone. CONTEXT (fill in the [BRACKETS]): - EMAILS: [EMAILS] (example: paste the last 2-3 days of project emails) - PROJECTS: [PROJECTS] (example: Lakeview Clinic TI, Oak St apartments) - MY ROLE: [MY ROLE] (example: PM, electrical) - TODAY'S DATE: [TODAY'S DATE] (example: date) STEPS: 1. List every request, question or promise addressed to me, with sender and date. 2. Mark each as overdue, due this week, or later. 3. Flag anything that affects money or schedule (change orders, RFIs, submittals). 4. Draft a one-line reply for the 3 most urgent. RULES: - Use only the facts I give you. If something is missing, ask or mark it NEEDED. Never invent prices, names or promises. - Plain, friendly language a customer or crew member understands. OUTPUT FORMAT: A task table (project | task | who asked | due | urgency), then 3 draft replies. FOLLOW-UPS TO TRY NEXT: - Turn the change-order items into a CO log. - Write my Friday status email to the GC.
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Read the original

Source: Reddit r/electricians · 2026 (see post)

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