Could
ByGERFA
Industry
The construction industry
Year
2025
Services
AI, Operations, Software Development
ByGERFA
BygerFA is a foundation that develops and disseminates technical guidelines for the construction industry targeted at professional actors such as bricklayers, contractors and other professionals. The organization functions as a central knowledge bank for the industry and makes practical, documented knowledge available to its members.
Over many years, BygerFA has built up an extensive archive with more than 800 professional guides and manuals. The content ranges widely from concrete instructions on the correct installation of fire doors to the interpretation of applicable rules, standards and best practice within specific construction technical areas.
Challenge: With over 800 subject instructions in the archive, users could only search for precise keywords, so it often took minutes of groping to find the right document – even when the answer had to be used urgently on the construction site.
A large knowledge archive, but a limited user experience
Historically, BygerFA's content has been published in printed form and later as PDF documents on the organisation's website, accessible via a subscription-based solution. Although the content is both thorough and professionally solid, it became increasingly difficult for users to navigate the material.
With more than 800 PDFs in the archive, search was primarily based on simple keywords.
This meant that users often had to know the exact wording to find the right document a challenge, especially when the need for answers arose urgently on the construction site.
Precision before creativity and full control over data
As a knowledge communicator, BygERFA has a great responsibility. It was therefore crucial that a new solution:
- Always provided correct and verified information
- Not generated free or misleading interpretations
- Respected high requirements for data security and privacy
At the same time, ByGERFA wanted to avoid their content being shared with third parties or placed on foreign servers without full insight and control. Any new technological solution therefore had to be transparent, controllable and European-based.
Construction technical teacher, Jacob Friderichsen from BygERFA, puts the collaboration into words:
“I can only say that the collaboration has been really good. KOLLAB has throughout the process had a good understanding of our wishes and needs.”
A new AI-based knowledge platform built from scratch
The solution was the development of a completely new knowledge platform, built from scratch based on BygERFA's existing content and clear quality requirements.
At the heart of the platform is a new database where the documents are structured so that they can be accessed via context-based search.
Instead of looking for exact words, the system now understands the context and intention behind the user's query.
He adds:
“After all, we have had to continuously adjust the project and new needs have appeared in the process, which then had to be implemented. It requires close cooperation and a good understanding of our wishes and requirements for the AI search chatbot.”
Documented knowledge in dialogue form
On top of the context-based search, a chatbot has been implemented that gives the user intuitive and dialogue-based access to the content inspired by the ChatGPT experience.
The user can ask questions in natural language, e.g.:
“What can be done about a damp basement?”
The system responds by first generating a short, factual summary and then presenting a list of the 10 most relevant BygERFA documents. This gives the user both a quick overview and direct access to the underlying sources.
Privacy as a design principle
Data security has been a guiding principle in the entire solution. The platform is self-hosted and all services used are located in Europe. No documents are shared or sent to external platforms outside BygERFA's control.
It ensures that both content and user data are handled responsibly and in accordance with applicable requirements for compliance and data protection.
Responsible implementation with an eye to the future
The solution is initially used internally at BygerFA, where it is thoroughly tested and validated before it is made available to members and subscribers. A central focus has been to ensure a responsible use of AI, where the answers are based exclusively on verified content in the database and not general knowledge or free interpretations.
In this way, ByGERFA's professional authority and high level of quality are preserved.
With this solid foundation, the ambition is to expand the solution and integrate it directly into BygERFA's website in the long term. The result is a future-proof knowledge platform where AI supports, but does not replace, the professional quality. ByGERFA thus strengthens its role as the industry's trustworthy knowledge bank, while at the same time giving users faster and more precise access to the knowledge they need in everyday life.