ailtir-prelims-builder

name	ailtir_prelims-builder
description	Builds a priced Schedule of Preliminaries using the measurement structure of the active Ailtir profile (Irish ARM4 for PW-CF, UK NRM1 for JCT/NEC4). Triggered by /ailtir-cowork-plugin:ailtir_prelims-builder or when the user asks to price prelims.
allowed-tools	["mcp__plugin_ailtir-cowork-plugin_ailtir__plugin_report_usage"]

Ailtir Prelims Builder

Usage Reporting

Before doing workflow-specific work, read the stable anonymous UUID from ~/Ailtir-Tendering/install_id. If the file is missing, create its parent directory, generate a UUID v4, and write only that UUID to the file. Re-read the file and call the plugin_report_usage tool from the bundled ailtir MCP server with these arguments:

• skill_name: ailtir_prelims-builder
• plugin_version: 2.15.4
• installation_id: the UUID read from ~/Ailtir-Tendering/install_id

If the identifier cannot be read or created, leave that failure visible and continue without reporting. If reporting returns failed, leave the failure visible and continue the workflow.

You are building a Schedule of Preliminaries for a construction tender. Preliminaries represent the contractor's general obligations, site setup, and management costs that are not measured in the works items.

Step 1 — Read the Profile

Read Context/profile.json from the workspace root. If it is missing, stop and tell the user to run /ailtir-cowork-plugin:ailtir_setup. The measurement structure, rates library, currency, and typical clause references depend on profile_key:

• ireland-gc → ARM4 (Agreed Rules of Measurement) structure. Currency Euro (€). Rates from rate-library/references/ireland-gc/rates-2026.md.
• uk-gc → NRM1 (New Rules of Measurement — Order of Cost Estimating and Cost Planning for Capital Building Works) structure. Currency pound sterling (£). Rates from rate-library/references/uk-gc/rates-2026.md.

Step 2 — Gather Project Context

Ask the user for:

1. Contract Duration: (e.g., 52 weeks)
2. Estimated Contract Value
3. Contract Form: Under ireland-gc — PW-CF1 to PW-CF5 or RIAI 2025. Under uk-gc — JCT SBC/Q 2024, JCT DB 2024, NEC4 ECC (specify Option), or bespoke.
4. Site Constraints: (e.g., restricted city centre, greenfield, HRB scope on uk-gc)

Step 3 — Draft the Prelims Schedule

Draft a schedule covering the following categories, using the structure appropriate to the active profile:

• Management & Staff: Contract/Project Manager, Site Manager, Engineer, Quantity Surveyor, Safety Officer (calculate duration × weekly rate).
• Site Establishment: Cabins, welfare facilities (per CDM 2015 Schedule 2 for uk-gc; per Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations for ireland-gc), hoarding/fencing, temporary roads.
• Temporary Services: Temporary power, water, telecoms, waste management.
• Plant & Equipment: Tower cranes, teleporters, scaffolding (general).
• Contractual & Insurances:
  • Under ireland-gc: CAR insurance, EL/PL insurance, Performance Bond (typically 10% of contract value at ~1–2% cost), BCAR compliance overhead.
  • Under uk-gc: Contract Works (CAR) insurance, EL insurance (£10m+), PL insurance (£10m+), PI insurance (where D&B), Performance Bond (typically 10% at 0.5–1.5% cost), Building Safety Act information-management overhead where HRB.
• Health, Safety & Environmental: PPE, signage, traffic management, dust/noise control.
  • Under ireland-gc: PSDP/PSCS coordination costs.
  • Under uk-gc: CDM 2015 Principal Designer / Principal Contractor duties, Site Waste Management Plan compliance.

Step 4 — Apply Standard Rates

Use rates from the profile-appropriate rate-library reference file. Under ireland-gc this is SEO/Buildcost; under uk-gc this is CIJC/BCIS. Do not mix.

Step 5 — Generate the Output

Present the prelims schedule as a detailed Markdown table with columns: Item, Description, Unit, Qty, Rate, Amount. Rate and Amount columns must be in the profile's currency. Ask the user if they want to export this to Excel. If yes, use a Python script with pandas to write the table to prelims_schedule.xlsx.

Anti-Patterns (What NOT to do)

• DO NOT use US terminology (e.g., "General Conditions", "Trailer"). Use UK/Irish terms (Preliminaries, Welfare Cabin).
• DO NOT lump all staff costs into a single percentage. Prelims must be built up from first principles (time × rate).
• DO NOT forget the Performance Bond cost — this is mandatory on almost all PW-CF (Ireland) and typical on JCT/NEC4 public works (UK).
• DO NOT apply the wrong currency or the wrong measurement structure for the active profile.
• [HUMAN INPUT REQUIRED] Do not guess the contract duration if it is not provided. You must ask the user.

Quality Checks

• Context/profile.json read; correct measurement structure (ARM4 for Ireland, NRM1 for UK) and rate library selected.
• Profile-appropriate management rates applied (SEO for Ireland, CIJC-derived for UK).
• Performance bond percentage matches ITT requirement (typically 10% of contract value).
• Under uk-gc, BSA HRB information-management overhead included where the project is in HRB scope.
• All values in the profile's currency — no cross-contamination.

On Completion — Update Bid State

When this skill finishes for a specific bid, update the bid's state file so ailtir_conductor and ailtir_dashboard reflect the progress. Run the sibling ailtir_conductor skill's scripts/update_frontmatter.py helper with python3:

python3 <ailtir_conductor>/scripts/update_frontmatter.py \
    --bid-path Bids/<BID> \
    --complete <this skill's folder name> \
    --result proceed

Substitute <BID> for the bid folder name (e.g. 2026-014-CorkLibrary) and <this skill's folder name> for the folder this SKILL.md lives in (e.g. ailtir_project-indexer). Use --result skipped and --reason "..." if the user asked to skip rather than complete.

If the target bid README has no YAML frontmatter yet, update_frontmatter.py will exit with code 3. In that case, run scripts/init_bid_frontmatter.py from the same sibling skill first, then retry the update.

This is the plugin's "Soul-Update Pattern": every bid-scoped skill leaves a trace in the bid README so the conductor never has to guess what has and hasn't been done.

On Completion — Recommend the Next Step

After the frontmatter has been updated, help the user by naming what comes next — do not make them re-invoke ailtir_conductor just to see it.

Read references/phase-map.md from the sibling ailtir_conductor skill's directory. Find the section for the bid's current phase (from the frontmatter you just updated). The phase map lists the canonical skill sequence for that phase — identify the earliest skill in that list not yet present in completed[].

Then print exactly this block at the very end of your response:

Next up on {bid_id} ({phase} phase):
  → /ailtir-cowork-plugin:{next_skill} — {one-line rationale from the phase map}

Or run /ailtir-cowork-plugin:ailtir_conductor for a full cross-bid view.

Special cases:

• If blockers[] is non-empty, use the blocker's resolution skill from the phase map's blocker-overrides table instead (e.g. ailtir_rfi-generator for type: rfi) and lead with "Blocked — resolve first:".
• If every skill in the current phase's sequence is now completed, name the first skill of the next phase and say "Phase complete — moving to {next_phase}:".
• If the bid has reached closed or delivery with no obvious next step, print "No canonical next step — run /ailtir-cowork-plugin:ailtir_conductor to see the full pipeline." instead of a specific recommendation.

Occasional Feedback

After this workflow completes successfully, follow references/occasional-feedback.md from the sibling ailtir_feedback skill. Do not schedule or invite feedback after a cancelled or failed workflow.