Western Specialty Contractors Announces Partnership with AI Solutions Company AnswerRocket to Improve Bidding Outcomes
ST. LOUIS, MO – In construction, an accurate bid can mean the difference between a profitable year or continuous delays and costly overruns. Many contractors continue to rely on spreadsheets, fragmented data, or gut instinct to prepare bids. This leaves too much room for errors.
Bidding in construction is complicated by inflated costs, shifting labor availability, unpredictable site conditions, and unique client requirements. Western Specialty Contractors was seeking a more reliable way to forecast which projects to pursue and how to price them accordingly.
To remain competitive, Western partnered with Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions company AnswerRocket to improve accuracy, profitability and efficiency across its bidding process.
“We always had a sound bidding process in place, developed over decades of experience, but we also recognized the opportunity to further streamline our processes through the use of AI. This allows us to bid smarter, reduce risk and protect our people and projects,” said Western Specialty Contractors Chief Human Resources Officer Bradley Johnson.
AI has the potential to help Western not only secure more contracts, but also improve accuracy, profitability and efficiency internally and across the entire project lifecycle by analyzing the company’s historical bid data, identifying hidden risks and forecasting win rates.
The result was a massive cross-functional effort between Western’s Information Technology and Finance teams and their partner AnswerRocket to customize a program to achieve over 70 percent accuracy in win-loss forecasting, allowing Western to prioritize high-probability opportunities and allocate resources more effectively.
“We’re experts in construction, but we’re not experts in AI. We worked closely with AnswerRocket’s team to make sure they understood how our projects, field teams, and data work in real-life situations,” said Johnson.
More accurate bidding impacts more than just winning work. When estimates align closely with actual costs and timelines, Western can anticipate fewer change orders, less rework, and tighter schedules. The connection between smart estimating and predictable project delivery is clear on job sites every day.
“We see AI as a supplemental tool that augments rather than replaces our estimators’ expertise. The real value comes from using AI to enhance our win-loss forecasting, which allows us to focus our resources on the most promising opportunities. That frees up our estimators to focus on what they do best: analyzing risk, shaping pricing strategies, and building trusted relationships with clients,” said Johnson.
Western also learned that technology alone isn’t enough. Clean, consistent historical data is critical. Without it, even the smartest AI tools won’t deliver results. Just as important is embedding AI insights directly into the day-to-day workflows.
“Taking a practical, integrated approach to AI-powered estimating is unlocking benefits that go far beyond just winning more work for our teams,” commented Johnson. “More reliable bids help us spend less time chasing low-probability projects, use our resources wisely, and protect our margins when market conditions shift. Accurate estimates also help us deliver jobs on schedule and within budget, which strengthens trust with our clients and builds our reputation across the industry.”
Western’s partnership with AnswerRocket showcases the forward-thinking mindset that has propelled the contractor’s success for over 110 years.
“What made this project successful wasn’t just the technology, it was the partnership,” said Andy Sweet, VP of Enterprise AI Solutions at AnswerRocket. “Western brought decades of construction expertise and opened their teams to us so we could understand their processes. By starting with a business-critical challenge and co-creating the solution side-by-side, we turned AI from an abstract idea into a tool that fits their business and delivers measurable results.”
About Western Specialty Contractors
Family-owned and operated for 110 years, Western Specialty Contractors is the nation’s largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing and specialty roofing. Western offers a nationwide network of expertise that building owners, engineers, architects, and property managers can count on to develop cost-effective, corrective measures that can add years of useful life to a variety of structures including industrial, commercial, healthcare, historic, educational and government buildings, parking structures, and sports stadiums. Western is headquartered in St. Louis, MO with 30 branch offices nationwide and employs more than 1,200 salaried and hourly professionals who offer the best, time-tested techniques and innovative technology. For more information about Western Specialty Contractors, visit www.westernspecialtycontractors.com.
