
cost-prediction
Predict construction project costs using Machine Learning. Use Linear Regression, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Random Forest models on historical project data. Train, evaluate, and deploy cost prediction models.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/datadrivenconstruction/ddc_skills_for_ai_agents_in_construction --skill cost-prediction- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads cost-prediction automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Construction Cost Prediction with Machine Learning
Overview
Based on DDC methodology (Chapter 4.5), this skill enables predicting construction project costs using historical data and machine learning algorithms. The approach transforms traditional expert-based estimation into data-driven prediction.
Book Reference: "Будущее: прогнозы и машинное обучение" / "Future: Predictions and Machine Learning"
"Предсказания и прогнозы на основе исторических данных позволяют компаниям принимать более точные решения о стоимости и сроках проектов." — DDC Book, Chapter 4.5
Core Concepts
Historical Data → Feature Engineering → ML Model → Cost Prediction
│ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Past projects Prepare data Train model New project
with costs for ML on history cost forecast
Quick Start
import pandas as pd
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.linear_model import LinearRegression
from sklearn.metrics import mean_absolute_error, r2_score
# Load historical project data
df = pd.read_csv("historical_projects.csv")
# Features and target
X = df[['area_m2', 'floors', 'complexity_score']]
y = df['total_cost']
# Split data
X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2)
# Train model
model = LinearRegression()
model.fit(X_train, y_train)
# Predict
predictions = model.predict(X_test)
print(f"R² Score: {r2_score(y_test, predictions):.2f}")
print(f"MAE: ${mean_absolute_error(y_test, predictions):,.0f}")
# Predict new project
new_project = [[5000, 10, 3]] # area, floors, complexity
cost = model.predict(new_project)
print(f"Predicted cost: ${cost[0]:,.0f}")
Data Preparation
Prepare Historical Dataset
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
def prepare_cost_dataset(df):
"""Prepare historical project data for ML"""
# Select relevant features
features = [
'area_m2',
'floors',
'building_type',
'location',
'year_completed',
'complexity_score',
'material_quality',
'total_cost'
]
df = df[features].copy()
# Handle missing values
df = df.dropna(subset=['total_cost'])
df['complexity_score'] = df['complexity_score'].fillna(df['complexity_score'].median())
# Encode categorical variables
df = pd.get_dummies(df, columns=['building_type', 'location'])
# Calculate derived features
df['cost_per_m2'] = df['total_cost'] / df['area_m2']
df['cost_per_floor'] = df['total_cost'] / df['floors']
# Adjust for inflation (to current year prices)
current_year = 2024
inflation_rate = 0.03 # 3% annual
df['years_ago'] = current_year - df['year_completed']
df['adjusted_cost'] = df['total_cost'] * (1 + inflation_rate) ** df['years_ago']
return df
# Usage
df = pd.read_csv("projects_history.csv")
df_prepared = prepare_cost_dataset(df)
Feature Engineering
def engineer_features(df):
"""Create additional features for better predictions"""
# Interaction features
df['area_x_floors'] = df['area_m2'] * df['floors']
df['area_x_complexity'] = df['area_m2'] * df['complexity_score']
# Polynomial features
df['area_squared'] = df['area_m2'] ** 2
# Log transforms (for skewed features)
df['log_area'] = np.log1p(df['area_m2'])
# Binned features
df['size_category'] = pd.cut(
df['area_m2'],
bins=[0, 1000, 5000, 10000, float('inf')],
labels=['small', 'medium', 'large', 'xlarge']
)
return df
Machine Learning Models
Linear Regression
from sklearn.linear_model import LinearRegression
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler
from sklearn.pipeline import Pipeline
def train_linear_model(X_train, y_train):
"""Train Linear Regression model with scaling"""
pipeline = Pipeline([
('scaler', StandardScaler()),
('regressor', LinearRegression())
])
pipeline.fit(X_train, y_train)
# Feature importance (coefficients)
coefficients = pd.DataFrame({
'feature': X_train.columns,
'coefficient': pipeline.named_steps['regressor'].coef_
}).sort_values('coefficient', key=abs, ascending=False)
return pipeline, coefficients
# Usage
model, importance = train_linear_model(X_train, y_train)
print("Feature Importance:")
print(importance)
K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN)
from sklearn.neighbors import KNeighborsRegressor
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler
from sklearn.model_selection import GridSearchCV
def train_knn_model(X_train, y_train):
"""Train KNN model with optimal k"""
# Scale features
scaler = StandardScaler()
X_scaled = scaler.fit_transform(X_train)
# Find optimal k using cross-validation
param_grid = {'n_neighbors': range(3, 20)}
knn = KNeighborsRegressor()
grid_search = GridSearchCV(knn, param_grid, cv=5, scoring='neg_mean_absolute_error')
grid_search.fit(X_scaled, y_train)
print(f"Best k: {grid_search.best_params_['n_neighbors']}")
print(f"Best MAE: ${-grid_search.best_score_:,.0f}")
return grid_search.best_estimator_, scaler
# Usage
knn_model, scaler = train_knn_model(X_train, y_train)
Random Forest
from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestRegressor
def train_random_forest(X_train, y_train):
"""Train Random Forest model"""
rf = RandomForestRegressor(
n_estimators=100,
max_depth=10,
min_samples_split=5,
random_state=42
)
rf.fit(X_train, y_train)
# Feature importance
importance = pd.DataFrame({
'feature': X_train.columns,
'importance': rf.feature_importances_
}).sort_values('importance', ascending=False)
return rf, importance
# Usage
rf_model, importance = train_random_forest(X_train, y_train)
print("Feature Importance:")
print(importance.head(10))
Gradient Boosting
from sklearn.ensemble import GradientBoostingRegressor
def train_gradient_boosting(X_train, y_train):
"""Train Gradient Boosting model"""
gb = GradientBoostingRegressor(
n_estimators=200,
learning_rate=0.1,
max_depth=5,
random_state=42
)
gb.fit(X_train, y_train)
return gb
# Usage
gb_model = train_gradient_boosting(X_train, y_train)
Model Evaluation
Comprehensive Evaluation
from sklearn.metrics import mean_absolute_error, mean_squared_error, r2_score
import numpy as np
def evaluate_model(model, X_test, y_test, model_name="Model"):
"""Comprehensive model evaluation"""
predictions = model.predict(X_test)
metrics = {
'MAE': mean_absolute_error(y_test, predictions),
'RMSE': np.sqrt(mean_squared_error(y_test, predictions)),
'R²': r2_score(y_test, predictions),
'MAPE': np.mean(np.abs((y_test - predictions) / y_test)) * 100
}
print(f"\n{model_name} Evaluation:")
print(f" MAE: ${metrics['MAE']:,.0f}")
print(f" RMSE: ${metrics['RMSE']:,.0f}")
print(f" R²: {metrics['R²']:.3f}")
print(f" MAPE: {metrics['MAPE']:.1f}%")
return metrics, predictions
# Usage
metrics, predictions = evaluate_model(model, X_test, y_test, "Linear Regression")
Compare Multiple Models
def compare_models(models, X_test, y_test):
"""Compare multiple models"""
results = []
for name, model in models.items():
metrics, _ = evaluate_model(model, X_test, y_test, name)
metrics['Model'] = name
results.append(metrics)
comparison = pd.DataFrame(results)
comparison = comparison.set_index('Model')
print("\nModel Comparison:")
print(comparison.round(2))
return comparison
# Usage
models = {
'Linear Regression': linear_model,
'KNN': knn_model,
'Random Forest': rf_model,
'Gradient Boosting': gb_model
}
comparison = compare_models(models, X_test, y_test)
Cross-Validation
from sklearn.model_selection import cross_val_score
def cross_validate_model(model, X, y, cv=5):
"""Perform cross-validation"""
scores = cross_val_score(model, X, y, cv=cv, scoring='neg_mean_absolute_error')
mae_scores = -scores
print(f"Cross-Validation MAE: ${mae_scores.mean():,.0f} (+/- ${mae_scores.std():,.0f})")
return mae_scores
# Usage
cv_scores = cross_validate_model(rf_model, X, y)
Prediction Pipeline
Complete Prediction Function
import joblib
def create_prediction_pipeline(model, feature_names, scaler=None):
"""Create a reusable prediction pipeline"""
def predict_cost(project_data):
"""
Predict cost for new project
Args:
project_data: dict with project features
Returns:
Predicted cost and confidence interval
"""
# Create DataFrame from input
df = pd.DataFrame([project_data])
# Ensure all required features
for col in feature_names:
if col not in df.columns:
df[col] = 0
df = df[feature_names]
# Scale if necessary
if scaler:
df = scaler.transform(df)
# Predict
prediction = model.predict(df)[0]
# Confidence interval (simple estimation)
confidence = 0.15 # 15% margin
lower = prediction * (1 - confidence)
upper = prediction * (1 + confidence)
return {
'predicted_cost': prediction,
'lower_bound': lower,
'upper_bound': upper,
'confidence_level': f"{(1-confidence)*100:.0f}%"
}
return predict_cost
# Usage
predictor = create_prediction_pipeline(rf_model, X.columns.tolist())
# Predict new project
new_project = {
'area_m2': 5000,
'floors': 8,
'complexity_score': 3,
'material_quality': 2
}
result = predictor(new_project)
print(f"Predicted Cost: ${result['predicted_cost']:,.0f}")
print(f"Range: ${result['lower_bound']:,.0f} - ${result['upper_bound']:,.0f}")
Save and Load Model
import joblib
# Save model
def save_model(model, filepath):
"""Save trained model to file"""
joblib.dump(model, filepath)
print(f"Model saved to {filepath}")
# Load model
def load_model(filepath):
"""Load model from file"""
model = joblib.load(filepath)
print(f"Model loaded from {filepath}")
return model
# Usage
save_model(rf_model, "cost_prediction_model.pkl")
loaded_model = load_model("cost_prediction_model.pkl")
Using with ChatGPT
# Prompt for ChatGPT to help with cost prediction
prompt = """
I have historical construction project data with these columns:
- area_m2: Building area in square meters
- floors: Number of floors
- building_type: residential, commercial, industrial
- total_cost: Total project cost in USD
Write Python code using scikit-learn to:
1. Prepare the data for machine learning
2. Train a Random Forest model
3. Evaluate the model
4. Predict cost for a new 3000 m² commercial building with 5 floors
"""
Quick Reference
| Task | Code |
|---|---|
| Split data | train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2) |
| Linear Regression | LinearRegression().fit(X, y) |
| KNN | KNeighborsRegressor(n_neighbors=5) |
| Random Forest | RandomForestRegressor(n_estimators=100) |
| Predict | model.predict(X_new) |
| MAE | mean_absolute_error(y_true, y_pred) |
| R² Score | r2_score(y_true, y_pred) |
| Cross-validate | cross_val_score(model, X, y, cv=5) |
| Save model | joblib.dump(model, 'file.pkl') |
Best Practices
- Data Quality: More historical data = better predictions
- Feature Selection: Include relevant project characteristics
- Inflation Adjustment: Normalize costs to current prices
- Regular Retraining: Update model with new completed projects
- Ensemble Methods: Combine multiple models for robustness
- Confidence Intervals: Always provide prediction ranges
Resources
- Book: "Data-Driven Construction" by Artem Boiko, Chapter 4.5
- Website: https://datadrivenconstruction.io
- scikit-learn: https://scikit-learn.org
Next Steps
- See
duration-predictionfor project duration forecasting - See
ml-model-builderfor custom ML workflows - See
kpi-dashboardfor visualization - See
big-data-analysisfor large dataset processing
FAQ
What does the cost-prediction skill do?
Predict construction project costs using Machine Learning. Use Linear Regression, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Random Forest models on historical project data. Train, evaluate, and deploy cost prediction models.
How do I install cost-prediction?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/datadrivenconstruction/ddc_skills_for_ai_agents_in_construction --skill cost-prediction in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/cost-prediction/ (personal) or .claude/skills/cost-prediction/ (project).
Which AI agents can use cost-prediction?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is cost-prediction safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains cost-prediction?
It is published by datadrivenconstruction in datadrivenconstruction/ddc_skills_for_ai_agents_in_construction. It has 117 recorded installs.
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