Operator Guide

Everything an estimator needs to run the Proposal Engine right — one page, no manual.

What you need before you start

Mechanical schedule (PDF) — the drawing set pages with the equipment schedules. Smaller is faster: schedule pages + title block beats the full CD set.
Cost sheet / factory selection (PDF or Excel) — strongly recommended. It is the source of truth for models and includes; without it, unbanked items ship with an engineer handoff instead of written scope.
That's it — engineer of record, project name, scope, includes, and QA are read off the drawings automatically.

What comes back (~60 seconds)

The draft proposal (.docx) — on the Gil-Bar letterhead with items, tags, models, voltages, includes, and the full T&C. No pricing, ever.
The engineer handoff — every includes line the library could not confirm verbatim. The engineer completes these before send.
The run report — what was quoted, what was recognized but NOT quoted (and why), all flags, and model coverage.
The QA verdict — the color-coded result at the top of the run page.

Reading the QA verdict

PASS  Deliver the draft + handoff to the engineer.

PASS WITH FLAGS  Safe to work from — resolve each flag in the run report first; most are a single confirmation (Quote No., a count "Per Plans", a pending selection).

FAIL — DO NOT SEND  Something substantive: owner named as engineer, pricing detected, adapted includes. Fix the cause and re-run. Never override a FAIL.

Rules that are never broken

No pricing anywhere. TOTAL PRICE stays blank; QA hard-fails a dollar sign.
Default-EXCLUDE. Grilles, diffusers, louvers, and non-repped brands are recognized but never quoted. "We rep the brand" ≠ "we're quoting it."
Includes come from a banked verbatim block or this job's factory selection. Anything else goes to the handoff — the Engine will not pad a list to look complete.
Every proposal is a draft the engineer completes before it goes out.
Quote No. is the one manual field — pull the serial from the job record before issue.

When something looks wrong

"EXTRACTION WEAK" or zero equipment found — the schedule is scanned or plan-embedded. Re-upload just the schedule pages, or type the rows into a CSV (tag, manufacturer, model, voltage, qty) and upload that instead of the PDF.
The run crashes or never finishes — the PDF is probably too big for the server. Upload a cut of just the schedule pages + title block. Full CD sets need the server upgrade.
The site takes a minute to load — it sleeps when idle and takes ~50 seconds to wake. Open it a few minutes before you need it.
Handed a takeoff? Search SharePoint for the project first — the newest file in the project folder wins over whatever you were handed.

After the job issues

Send the issued proposal to the desktop pipeline for banking (the daily sweep also catches it automatically). Every issued proposal that gets banked makes the next draft for that equipment verbatim-perfect — this is how the library stays sharp.

FAQ

Why does the site take a minute to open?

The server sleeps when idle and takes about 50 seconds to wake. Open it a few minutes before you need it. (Goes away when the server plan is upgraded.)

Why is there no pricing on the draft?

By design — the Engine never generates pricing. The TOTAL PRICE row ships blank and QA hard-fails any dollar amount. Pricing is added by the estimator/engineer on the final pass.

Who finishes the proposal?

Every output is a draft. The engineer completes the handoff items, fills pricing and the quote number, and gives it a final read before anything is sent.

Why are some Includes lists short or empty?

The Engine only writes scope it can confirm — from the banked library or this job's factory selection. Anything unconfirmed goes to the engineer handoff instead of being padded to look complete.

A brand on the drawings didn't get quoted. Why?

Default-EXCLUDE: grilles, diffusers, louvers, and non-repped manufacturers are recognized but never quoted. The run report lists exactly what was excluded and why.

Can I edit a finished draft?

Yes — small wording/bullet fixes in Word (see the editing guide), or use Edit & regenerate on the run page. Scope changes should be a fresh run.

Need to change a finished draft?

Wording, bullets, header fields — see the proposal editing guide for the safe way to edit the .docx in Word (and what should go back for a rebuild instead).

Drafts only — every proposal is completed by an engineer before it is sent. No pricing is ever generated.