Charlan Brock Architects
AI Drawing Review for A/E Firms: 750+ Drawings, Real Results
97+ issues caught that escaped internal review
Charlan Brock ran a several-hundred-unit multifamily permit set with over 750 drawings through InspectMind. The tool flagged most of the major issues they already knew about—and at least 97 others that had escaped their pre-IFC review. Even with roughly a quarter of flagged issues being legitimate, that represents highly significant construction cost and schedule implications left unaddressed.
"After my first call with Aakash Prasad, I knew they were head and shoulders above their peers in the marketplace. Working with someone who treats us like a partner instead of just a client—we can communicate and document the non-issues for future improvement, and help steer the tool toward higher accuracy."
— Martin Lehr, AIA, COO, Charlan Brock Architects
Why Charlan Brock Chose InspectMind
Charlan Brock Architects evaluated several drawing review tools. One vendor returned results in four minutes with only 11 issues identified—on a permit set the firm knew had at least nine readily identifiable code violations, to say nothing of the 309 items they had flagged in their own pre-IFC review. The 11 items were largely "nothing burgers."
With InspectMind, the first project communicated a delay due to processing—because reviewing 750+ drawings properly takes real work. Results came two weeks later: the tool had flagged most of the major issues they knew about, with a hit rate of roughly 30%, plus 97 or more that had escaped their review processes. Aakash was extremely communicative, explaining the issues and how they intended to resolve them moving forward.
The second project showed clear improvement: results in just two days and an improved UI. Feedback is taken seriously—the product team has been able to rapidly implement several suggestions. As Martin notes, "While the tool is currently checking against codes and standards, Aakash and his team have also expressed openness to letting us list out other pain points and things to check for." That includes leveraging processed RFI data to help ensure they do not repeat mistakes of the past.
Key Results
Scale That Matches Real Projects
A several-hundred-unit multifamily project with over 750 drawings, every discipline—not a small retail or office set. InspectMind processed it and delivered meaningful results instead of instant, superficial outputs.
97+ Issues That Escaped Internal Review
Even with ~30% of flagged issues being legitimate, the volume of real findings—including many that had escaped Charlan Brock's own rigorous processes—represents significant construction cost and schedule implications. AI serves as another set of eyes where humans tend to struggle: fatigue, confirmation bias, and missing the "obvious" on the third pass at 11:30 PM.
Partner Approach, Not Just a Client
Working with InspectMind means communication and documentation of non-issues for future improvement, and input into steering the tool toward higher accuracy. The product team takes feedback seriously and has rapidly implemented several suggestions. Progress is expected to follow an exponential path.
"We want to augment, not replace. We are not outsourcing our QA/QC to some tool—we will continue to rely on our own rigorous processes. The value here is that AI can serve as another set of eyes, especially in areas where humans tend to struggle."
— Martin Lehr, AIA, COO, Charlan Brock Architects (from "Misadventures in AI: Notes from an A/E Firm," January 2026)
This case study is based on Martin Lehr's article "Misadventures in AI: Notes from an A/E Firm" (January 2026), documenting Charlan Brock Architects' journey with AI for drawing review, RFI response, data analytics, and visualization—including their experience with InspectMind AI for Use Case #02: Drawing Review.