The verdict in three sentences
A document AI assistant connected to the Eurocodes, French DTU rules and your internal calculation notes costs EUR 15,000 to 35,000 excl. VAT to build, then EUR 200 to 800 a month with a model hosted in the European Union. For a structural engineering firm with 40 engineers, the realistic gain is 3 to 5 hours per engineer per week currently spent hunting for a clause, a coefficient or a past project. The assistant finds and cites, it does not check a calculation: validation by an engineer remains mandatory and must be written into the quality procedure.
What the assistant does, and what it must not do
The tool relies on search over your document base (a technique called RAG): the engineer's question is matched against relevant passages of standards and internal documents, then the model drafts an answer that always cites the source, with the clause number and a link to the document. No citation, no answer.
Relevant use cases: finding the Eurocode 2 clause on concrete cover by exposure class, the applicable French national annex, a calculation note from a similar 2021 project in Échirolles, or an inspection body's reservations on a comparable structure. Use cases to exclude: producing a design value without verification, interpreting a case the standard does not cover, settling a conflict between two texts.
Detailed 2026 budget
| Item | Range | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping, document inventory | EUR 2,000 to 4,000 | Listing standards, DTU, internal notes, formats |
| Document ingestion and chunking | EUR 3,000 to 8,000 | Scanned PDFs, tables, formulas, national annexes |
| Search engine and cited answers | EUR 5,000 to 12,000 | Hybrid keyword and semantic search, clickable citations |
| Access rights per project and team | EUR 2,000 to 5,000 | Directory sync, client data separation |
| Interface and integration (Teams, intranet) | EUR 1,500 to 4,000 | Access from the everyday work tool |
| Testing and reference question set | EUR 1,500 to 2,000 | 150 questions validated by senior engineers |
| Total build | EUR 15,000 to 35,000 excl. VAT | 2026 order of magnitude |
| EU-hosted model + hosting | EUR 200 to 800 a month | Depending on question volume and model size |
One legal point to settle before the project: NF EN standards and DTU documents are copyrighted and distributed under licence (AFNOR subscription or equivalent). Check that your licence covers internal use in a search tool, or limit the assistant to documents you own and to references pointing to the original standard.
Measured gains and limits
| Indicator | Before | With assistant | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average time to find a clause | 12 to 20 min | 1 to 3 min | With citation and page link |
| Finding a past project | 30 to 60 min | 5 to 10 min | Depends on archiving quality |
| Hours saved per engineer per week | 0 | 3 to 5 h | Mostly for juniors |
| Answers with exact source | n/a | 85 to 95% | Measured on the test set |
| Answers corrected by the engineer | n/a | 5 to 15% | Hence mandatory validation |
| Junior ramp-up time | 18 to 24 months | estimated gain of 2 to 4 months | Estimate, to track over 1 year |
The main limits: poor-quality scanned documents, badly extracted tables, obsolete versions of standards left in the base. You need a document owner who removes outdated versions, otherwise the assistant will confidently cite an old national annex. Client project data stays on EU servers and is never used to train the model.
Mini case study
Isabelle, technical director of a structural engineering firm in Grenoble, manages 40 engineers. An internal survey shows they spend an average of 6 hours a week searching standards and archives. She funds an assistant for EUR 28,000 excl. VAT, plus EUR 500 a month for the model and hosting, or EUR 34,000 in the first year.
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After three months, the measured gain is 4 hours per engineer per week. Over 45 weeks: 40 × 4 × 45 = 7,200 hours. Isabelle conservatively values only half, at a loaded hourly cost of EUR 60: 3,600 × 60 = EUR 216,000 of freed capacity a year. The investment is covered in about 2 months, and the firm takes on two extra housing projects without hiring.
FAQ
How much does a document AI assistant cost for an engineering firm?
Expect EUR 15,000 to 35,000 excl. VAT to build, depending on document volume and quality, then EUR 200 to 800 a month for an EU-hosted model. A 40-engineer firm often lands around EUR 25,000 to 30,000.
Can Eurocodes and DTU documents be loaded into the tool?
Yes, if your AFNOR or equivalent licence allows this internal use. Otherwise the assistant can index your own notes and point to the standard's reference without reproducing its text.
Can the assistant size a structural element?
No, it finds and cites rules and precedents. Design stays in your calculation software and under an engineer's responsibility, and a 5 to 15% rate of answers needing correction justifies that validation.
How are client project data protected?
With a model hosted in the European Union, no reuse for training, and per-project access rights synced with your directory. Data separation adds EUR 2,000 to 5,000 excl. VAT to the budget.
How long until the tool is operational?
A pilot with a team of 8 to 10 engineers starts in 6 to 8 weeks. Firm-wide rollout follows in 4 to 6 weeks once the document base has been cleaned.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of engineers, your document sources and your confidentiality constraints: we will price the pilot, the full rollout and the monthly cost. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
