Established in 1992, Construction Bid Source (CBS) aggregates public bid notices from thousands of sources across the United States, so construction companies don’t have to spend time searching and reading through lengthy technical documents. In addition to legacy staff, the Axion team finds, enters, and reviews this data, ensuring that real human eyes and intelligence are involved in acquiring and maintaining it. While Internet bots and artificial intelligence (AI) can capture the necessary data, CBS’s dedication to quality and its “Customer First” approach mandate that the work be performed by highly skilled, experienced professionals.
In response to the rapid shift to AI, Axion can incorporate AI to capture data from both structured and unstructured documents with accuracy and speed. While discussing this with the CBS principal responsible for implementing technology solutions, Axion was told:
“Automating technology affects society and humans. In the end, it’s humans that matter. If you build a new technology, you should build it for humans first. It should be something that makes humans’ lives easier or solves a problem. If I have a choice of applying a new technology or engaging 10 full-time people, I will choose the people every time.”
An interesting and admirable perspective, and because we at Axion put the Client first, not the technology, we respect this viewpoint and have adapted our workflow to accommodate the client’s requirements.
In response to planned growth and its goal of expanding its customer base to all 50 states, CBS reached out to Axion in 2024 to secure the workforce needed to achieve it.
One of Axion’s senior project managers leads an experienced team that enters construction project data into the CBS system. Our “publishers” are assigned specific regions within designated states to monitor bid sources, which may be updated weekly or even monthly. Key details are extracted from agency-issued documents, likely from a city or county, and entered into the appropriate fields in the CBS system. This information can include the project name, location (city, county, school district), a project description, relevant due dates, and the types of trades required. CBS maintains a large member roster that relies on this service to access essential project information quickly and conveniently.
