Cleber SouzaEstimating & systemsLet’s talk
Commercial construction · Pre-construction · TechnologyAdelaide, Australia

Understand the build.
Make the numbers work.
Improve the process.

I’m Cleber, a commercial estimator with 20 years across construction, engineering and design in Brazil and Australia. Now the sole estimator at Beek Build, I connect drawings, commercial decisions and the systems people use to get work done.

Explore my work
Architecture → Design management → Estimating & systemsSee how it comes together
AI & Systems

I build the process
into the tool.

Custom estimating skills, calculated construction programmes and software shaped around real business rules.

Explore the systems
How I work

From information
to a confident decision.

Construction problems rarely sit in one discipline. My strength is following the connections between design, cost, people and delivery, then making them easier to manage.

Swipe to explore, or tap a stage

Understand

Read beyond
the drawing.

What this producesA clear scope, with gaps and responsibilities identified.

My architectural background helps me see how a building comes together, not just what appears on a quantity sheet. I look for the interfaces, missing information and construction constraints that can become commercial problems later.

That means questioning the scope early, aligning trade packages and making assumptions visible before they become part of a tender price.

Next: Evaluate →
Evaluate

Give decisions
a commercial basis.

What this producesOptions that can be compared on cost, risk and practical value.

A lower price is only useful when the scope still works. I compare trade offers, test material and design alternatives, and bring the cost implications back to the people making the decision.

At Beek Build, renegotiating subcontractor rates and sourcing alternative trades brought a $6.6M mixed-use tender within the client’s budget, reducing the price by $350,000.

I use the same approach with technology: define the problem, model the time and cost involved, and establish what would need to improve for the investment to make sense.

← PreviousNext: Connect →
Connect

Make the handover
part of the work.

What this producesA workflow people can follow across departments.

A tender board, a production schedule and a delivery team can each look organised while still working from different information. I focus on the points where information changes hands.

At Beek Build, I replaced a five-year-old estimating workbook with one that makes the commercial position clear and hands over cleanly to project managers and contract administrators. Clear ownership and shared information help the process fit the team’s actual capacity.

← PreviousNext: Improve →
Improve

Build something
that keeps working.

What this producesA repeatable process with less dependence on individual memory.

Automation works best after the process is understood. I look for repeated manual work, inconsistent naming and avoidable re-entry, then standardise the information before connecting the tools.

Adoption matters as much as configuration. A practical pilot, clear instructions and feedback from the people using the system help make an improvement last beyond handover.

← PreviousExplore selected work ↓
Selected work

Different problems.
The same connected thinking.

Three examples across business cases, pre-construction operations and manufacturing data. Each starts with a practical problem and connects the technical work to its commercial purpose.

SHAPE Australia

A business case for
less meeting administration.

Commercial analysisAI evaluationStakeholder alignment
The problem

Meeting minutes, action registers and follow-up instructions consumed time across project teams. The opportunity was clear, but choosing an AI tool required more than a convincing demonstration.

My contribution

I developed a comparative business case for AI meeting intelligence, assessing Fireflies, Otter.ai, Jamie, Read.ai and Plaud. The evaluation considered capture quality, construction-site conditions, Microsoft Teams and Procore integration requirements, data handling and licensing at scale.

I translated the potential time savings into a financial model so the proposal could be discussed with IT and delivery leadership on a commercial basis.

Read the evaluation approach

The assessment brought together operational requirements and the economics of adoption: how meetings were recorded, how actions reached the right person, how the tool would fit the existing software environment and what a rollout would cost.

The financial case used a 300-seat scenario and a three-year horizon. The figures shown are projected business-case outputs, rather than a claim of realised savings.

SHAPE Modular

One workflow, from
opportunity to production.

Workflow designCapacity planningMonday.com
The problem

Opportunities, estimating and factory planning were spread across different teams. Information had to be requested again at handover, and tender commitments were difficult to reconcile with production capacity.

My contribution

I designed a connected pre-construction workflow in Monday.com, with six stages, defined responsibilities and automated board and task creation. The structure linked tender development with resourcing, review, submission and the transition into production.

A mid-bid review made scope and pricing risks visible while there was still time to act. Capacity views brought factory availability into the tender conversation earlier.

Read the workflow logic

Task generation reflected the tender’s scope and value. Rather than asking each estimator to recreate a process from scratch, the workflow provided a consistent starting point and clear review gates.

The important connection was between the promised delivery date and the production resources needed to meet it. Shared views helped teams work from the same information through handover.

MyModular

Make design information
usable on the factory floor.

BIM & parametric designData standardsERP / MES
The problem

Part codes had become long and inconsistent. The same component could be difficult to recognise across the design model, procurement records and factory labels, creating friction between drafting and production.

My contribution

I reworked the classification and naming structure around shorter, consistent parametric tags. The aim was to make component data understandable and reusable across Revit families, Excel master data, NetSuite and Tillit MES.

This was a design-management problem as much as a data problem: the system needed to describe what was being built in a way that both designers and production teams could use.

Read the standardisation approach

The work started with the information itself: what identified a component, which attributes needed to be retained and how the naming structure could stay consistent as the product library grew.

That common structure supported the connection from the Revit library through Excel and Celigo into NetSuite and Tillit, reducing the need to reinterpret the same component at each stage.

Experience & foundations

Built across disciplines.

From site surveys and architectural documentation in Brazil to design leadership and commercial estimating in Australia. Each role added a different way to understand the work.

20 yearsConstruction, engineering & design
Brazil → AustraliaTechnical foundations, commercial focus
Since 2024Dedicated to estimating

Explore a role to see the work and its outcomes.

Jul 2026 to PresentAdelaide, SABeek BuildEstimator
Commercial ownership

Sole estimator, managing concurrent commercial tenders valued $1.5M to $6.6M from enquiry through to submission.

$350knegotiated out of a $6.6M tender
  • Renegotiated subcontractor rates and sourced alternative trades to bring a mixed-use development tender within the client’s budget.
  • Identified $120,000 of uncovered scope in an inherited tender and corrected trade-package cost allocations, reducing the submitted price and improving margin.
  • Provide ECI support for an occupied-building refurbishment: drawing review, RFIs, buildability, value engineering, trade packaging, staging, tenant access and long lead procurement.
  • Rebuilt the estimating workbook to show the commercial position behind each submission and support a clear handover to delivery teams.
Aug 2024 to Jul 2026Adelaide, SASHAPE AustraliaEstimating Coordinator
Commercial & modular

Prepared and coordinated tenders across commercial fit-out, new build and modular construction.

$2M–$12M+commercial and modular tenders
  • Supported the Commercial Manager on $30M to $60M concept-stage cost plans, engaging specialist subcontractors from concept drawings and outline specifications.
  • Produced quantity take-offs and cost plans in CostX, and managed RFQs across a subcontractor network of 100+.
  • Reviewed 30+ trade quotes per tender for scope, exclusions and commercial risk; contributed to bid strategy, value engineering and scope-gap reviews.
Mar 2021 to Aug 2024Adelaide, SAMyModularDesign Manager
Design & operations

Led design coordination and practical improvements connecting design, project delivery and manufacturing.

30%productivity increase through Revit adoption
  • Led Revit adoption through R&D and ROI analysis, delivering a 30% productivity increase verified by senior management.
  • Coordinated 100+ modular wiring projects and projects with budgets exceeding $3M through scheduling, cost reporting and cross-functional collaboration.
  • Introduced project-management processes and software that saved approximately $30,000 annually, verified by senior management.
  • Originated a dual-function luminaire concept, developed with the Innovation Manager into a product delivering approximately 10% cost benefit.
Jun 2020 to Mar 2021Lonsdale, SAMyModularElectrical Engineering Draftsperson
Technical foundations

Produced detailed electrical drawings across multiple concurrent projects to tight turnarounds.

  • Built an internal database to standardise drawing templates and reduce repeated design errors.
Feb 2015 to Dec 2017BrazilWhite House DesignArchitectural Designer
Architecture & coordination

Delivered construction documentation for high-end commercial office refurbishments and luxury residential projects.

  • Produced AutoCAD drawing sets, materials and finishes specifications, and written trade scopes of work.
  • Coordinated two to three designers and drafters, allocating work and reviewing output against project requirements.
Jun 2011 to Aug 2013BrazilConcremat Engenharia e TecnologiaDesign Draftsperson
Portfolio delivery

Combined design documentation, site surveys and team coordination across major client programmes.

50–70corporate buildings in a national refurbishment portfolio
  • Produced issued-for-construction documentation for a new Petrobras research centre alongside the services team.
  • Coordinated two drafters and two cadets on a rolling refurbishment programme for a telecommunications client.
  • Completed site surveys at 25+ buildings nationally, capturing existing conditions, furniture and end-user requirements; prepared and tracked design delivery schedules.
  • Developed standard layouts and finishes specifications for reuse across the portfolio.
May 2006 to Jun 2011Rio de Janeiro, BrazilOTZ Engenharia / embedded at PetrobrasCAD Drafter
Site to documentation

Worked within Petrobras client teams through OTZ, documenting corporate-office and industrial-laboratory refurbishments.

15%reduction in proposal development time
  • Met client teams on site to capture requirements and existing conditions.
  • Introduced a scope checklist to standardise joinery and fit-out specifications for proposals.
  • Created reusable AutoCAD templates and drawing models that reduced proposal development time by 15%.
  • Produced photographic condition reports, space-planning studies and detailed architectural and joinery documentation.
Contact

Let’s talk about
what comes next.

For conversations about estimating, pre-construction, or making construction processes work better.

Emailcleber.arq@gmail.comConnectLinkedInCall0493 189 041