Reviewable Construction Quantities: Numbers You Can Defend

A reviewable quantity is one you can trace, in two clicks, from the number to the geometry on the sheet, the scale it was measured at, and the formula that produced it. Without that trail, a fast takeoff is just another number to re-check by hand.

This matters more, not less, when software does the takeoff. If an agent produces the whole takeoff and estimate, the only way to trust it is to be able to check any part of it quickly.

What makes a quantity reviewable

A reviewable quantity carries its evidence with it:

• Sheet and revision. Which sheet, and which issue of it. Quantities on A-102 as reissued by ADD-02 are different evidence from quantities on the original A-102.
• Geometry. The actual points, lines or polygons on the sheet, so you can see what was counted or traced.
• Scale and its status. The scale used, whether it was verified, and how.
• Formula. How the measurement became the quantity and its outputs, such as wall area = length × height.
• Origin. Whether a person drew it or it was proposed by automation.
• Commit record. Who committed it and when.

Proposed is not the same as committed

In DrawScale, anything Momo produces is a proposal. It is shown in a distinct proposal style, contributes zero to every quantity and total, and does not appear in exports. It becomes a committed quantity only when an estimator reviews it and saves it to the takeoff. That line between proposed and committed is what lets automation run at full speed without putting unreviewed numbers in a bid.

Stale is a state, not a surprise

Quantities depend on things that change. If the scale on A-101 is corrected, every quantity measured at the old scale is flagged for re-check at once, and the flag says why. If an addendum supersedes a sheet, quantities on the old sheet are flagged too. Nothing is silently recalculated behind your back.

Delete, exclude, supersede

Reviewable data also needs honest ways to remove things. Drafts can be deleted. Committed quantities can be excluded (kept, but out of totals) or superseded (replaced, with the history kept). Committed work is never hard-deleted, so the record of what was bid stays intact.

Exports that carry their evidence

An export is where reviewability usually ends: numbers pasted into a bid form with no way back. DrawScale's Excel and CSV exports contain committed quantities only and carry audit columns that tie each row to its source, and export preflight names any row that is not ready, such as one still pending scale.

Why this is the point

Speed without reviewability moves work from takeoff to checking. Reviewability is what lets a chief estimator sign off quickly and what lets you answer "where did this number come from?" on bid day. See how to check an AI takeoff for a review routine, or request a demo to trace a number on your own set.