Coastal Construction Wins National Innovation Award for Using A.I. on Iconic Real Estate Projects
Date: 03.26.2023
Published In: Real Estate Weekly
Coastal Construction, one of the largest general contractors in Florida and the Southeast, is winning national recognition for using artificial intelligence to accelerate the estimating of some of the most eye-catching and luxurious real estate in America.
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) has named the Miami-based company the 2023 AGC Construction Innovation Award first-place winner for founding and using the revolutionary technology, Togal.AI, to complete construction bids faster and more efficiently. In 2022, Coastal used Togal.AI to more effectively estimate, analyze, and bid on some of the hottest new projects in Miami. This includes extravagant residences like the Plaza Coral Gables and ones inspired by luxury cars, like the Bentley Residences and Aston Martin Residences, to name a few.
“For more than 50 years, Coastal has built some of the most iconic real estate projects, like the Aston Martin in Brickell and the Plaza Coral Gables, to homes for celebrities, like Oprah Winfrey and Sylvester Stallone. But seeing the potential for technology to revolutionize the construction industry, we helped launch Togal.AI in 2019,” Coastal Construction Chairman and CEO Thomas P. Murphy, Jr. said. “Since then, Togal.AI has grown to serve hundreds of some of the world’s largest contractors, winning top national and international awards. And it’s been a big win for us at Coastal.”
Togal.AI uses machine learning to automatically calculate the square footage of areas and complete full takeoffs. It crunches a process called “takeoffs” or “square foot analysis,” which used to take days or weeks, into mere seconds. In the past, estimators had to manually label, measure and identify each area, wall and object, in construction plans with rollers and rulers or by dragging and clicking a mouse on a computer screen. Now, Togal.AI automates that entire process.
With Togal.AI’s award-winning technology, Coastal Construction teams cut nearly 14,000 hours of work, saving close to $1 million in their first year using it. “This is the biggest increase in efficiency for our preconstruction department in 20 years. Increased efficiency is needed now more than ever as the industry faces pressing challenges from labor shortages to higher interest rates to rising material costs,” Thomas P. Murphy, Jr. added.
“The construction industry is one of the least digitized in the world and is ripe for disruption,” Togal.AI Founder and CEO Patrick Murphy said. “Our work with Coastal Construction shows how technology can eliminate mundane tasks and allow teams to focus on higher value functions like value engineering, pricing strategies, scoping and bidding on additional business.”
“These amazing innovators are doing their part to advance the construction industry,” said Les Snyder, the senior vice president of the Associated General Contractors of America. “Togal.AI is one of the firms who are pioneering solutions that address some of the biggest challenges facing our industry.”
For more than 100 years, AGC of America has been the leading association for the construction industry. Its annual Innovation Awards launched in 2018 to incentivize and encourage free thinkers to provide pioneering solutions to industry challenges. Coastal Construction accepted this year’s first-place prize at the AGC conference on March 13 in Las Vegas.
“From the very beginning, Coastal Construction saw Togal.AI’s potential and we’re thrilled to see what started out as a dream become a huge success,” Patrick Murphy added. “Coastal has always been at the forefront of innovation to provide the most elite and cutting-edge results, and it’s beyond rewarding to be part of this next chapter.”