Predictika · Portable and modular building orders

An AI sales agent's portable building order, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares an order for portable cabins and modular buildings: the building range and unit size, the number of units and storeys, buying new, hiring or buying refurbished, the interior options, the people it must house and the total it states. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the product line and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: Portakabin Solus, Titan, Pacemaker and Pullman portable cabins and Duplex, Ultima and Titan Building System modular buildings, bought new, hired or bought refurbished, with options, occupancy and price. See everything this validator covers

This validator models a Portakabin building order, based on the product pages on portakabin.com, not just the scenarios shown below. Every price and every rule that Portakabin does not publish is typical for this kind of building, and items marked with an asterisk are illustrative.

  • Building ranges — the portable cabins Solus (up to 36 m²), Titan (up to 67 m²), Pacemaker (7 to 36 m²) and Pullman, and the modular buildings Duplex (21 to 35 m², the refurbished range), Ultima (23 to 47 m²) and the Titan Building System (62 to 110 m²). Unit sizes between the published ends are illustrative*.
  • Storeys and access — portable cabins can be configured as two-storey buildings, modular buildings as multi-storey ones; any building above one storey needs an external staircase.
  • Buy new, hire or buy refurbished — Portakabin offers all three; hire is paid monthly and can include Damage Waiver, and only Duplex and Pullman are offered refurbished here.
  • Interior and exterior options — climate control, fire and security, data, acoustic panels, the glazed wall that is an option on Titan, toilets and the external staircase.
  • Occupancy and price — the people the building must house against its floor area and toilets, a discount that needs sign-off above 7 percent, and the total the order states, which must equal the computed one.

Any order for these buildings that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: Alta, Arkive and other ranges, bespoke design-and-build projects, site preparation and groundworks, taxes, and any real Portakabin price: prices here are typical, not Portakabin prices, in pounds sterling.

The AI sales agentBuilds the building order from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
Unit sizes that belong to one range (each range has its own set of sizes)Only with workarounds
The range sits on one line and the size on another, so a rules-based CPQ needs a size table per range, and each new range adds another.		The range and the size are in one request and checked together.
Refurbished, glazed wall and other options tied to one rangeOnly with care
Duplex is refurbished only, Pullman can be bought refurbished, and the glazed wall is a Titan option: dependencies between fields that are easy to leave out of a product rule.		Range, buying method and options are compared on every call, in any order.
People housed against floor area and toiletsOnly with care
The floor area is computed from size, units and storeys, and the capacity and toilet rules depend on that computed figure.		Area, people and toilets are checked together, from the figures the validator computed.
Upper storeys that need a staircase and a storey limit by rangeOnly with workarounds
Storeys sit on one line, the staircase on another, and the limit depends on whether the range is a cabin or a modular building.		The storeys, the staircase and the range are in the request and compared.
Stated total that must equal the computed oneOnly with care
A stated figure is a free-entry field; a rule can compare it with a computed total, but every price change means editing that rule.		The stated total travels with the order and is compared with the computed one on every call.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the order is saved or a step is completed, so a person often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1A floor area of 50 square meters per unit is not one of the sizes of the selected building range.
2A floor area of 45 square meters per unit is not one of the sizes of the selected building range.
3A floor area of 30 square meters per unit is not one of the sizes of the selected building range.
4The order has 0 units; an order covers 1 to 50.
514 people need at least 5 square meters each, and the buildings have 0 square meters in total.
6A Titan building is for up to fifteen people, and 14 people are on the order for the units quoted.
7The order has 51 units; an order covers 1 to 50.
82295 square meters of floor area is a large project that needs design and planning review.
93 storeys is more than the selected building range can be configured to; portable cabins make two-storey buildings and modular buildings up to four.
105 storeys is more than the selected building range can be configured to; portable cabins make two-storey buildings and modular buildings up to four.
11A building of 2 storeys needs an external staircase, and the order does not have one.
12Duplex is the refurbished range and only Duplex and Pullman are sold refurbished; the order does not match.
13The floor-to-ceiling glazed wall is an option for the Titan building, and the order has a different range.
14The order houses 0 people; at least 1 is needed.
1519 people need at least 5 square meters each, and the buildings have 90 square meters in total.
168 people need at least 5 square meters each, and the buildings have 36 square meters in total.
17A Solus building is for up to seven people, and 8 people are on the order for the units quoted.
1816 people need at least 5 square meters each, and the buildings have 67 square meters in total.
19A Titan building is for up to fifteen people, and 16 people are on the order for the units quoted.
20The order has 1 toilets for 21 people, and each toilet serves at most 20 people.
21Classrooms and healthcare buildings are quoted with climate control, and the order does not have it.
22A healthcare building is quoted with fire and security systems, and the order does not have them.
23Damage Waiver is offered for hire buildings, and the order is a purchase.
24A hire term of 60 months is a long commitment that needs credit approval.
25A hire term of 61 months is outside the 1 to 60 months offered.
26A hire term of 61 months is a long commitment that needs credit approval.
27A hire term of 0 months is outside the 1 to 60 months offered.
281034 square meters of floor area is a large project that needs design and planning review.
29A discount of 8 percent is above the 7 percent that sales can give without sign-off.
30A discount of 12 percent is above the 7 percent that sales can give without sign-off.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Classroom block: Four Pullman units of 50 square meters, to buy new, as a classroom block for 40 people with one toilet and no climate control

    
The agent's request. Please quote 4 Pullman units of 50 square meters each, 1 storey, to buy new, for classroom use housing 40 people with 1 toilet, with data, at a 5 percent discount. The order states a floor area of 200 square meters and a total of £213,465. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Unit size not offered for this building. A floor area of 50 square meters per unit is not one of the sizes of the selected building range.
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  • Not enough toilets. The order has 1 toilets for 40 people, and each toilet serves at most 20 people.
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  • Climate control for classrooms and healthcare. Classrooms and healthcare buildings are quoted with climate control, and the order does not have it.
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2. Classroom block: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 4 Pullman units of 55 square meters each, 1 storey, to buy new, for classroom use housing 40 people with 2 toilets, with climate control and data, at a 5 percent discount. The order states a floor area of 220 square meters and a total of £263,587. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 220 square meters of floor area, list subtotal £277,460, total after discount £263,587.
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3. Hire: Three Solus units hired for 72 months, with a glazed wall, climate control and Damage Waiver

    
The agent's request. Please quote 3 Solus units of 36 square meters each, 1 storey, to hire, for office use housing 18 people with 1 toilet, for 72 months, with climate control, the glazed wall and Damage Waiver, at a 5 percent discount. The order states a floor area of 108 square meters and a total of £244,648. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Glazed wall is a Titan option. The floor-to-ceiling glazed wall is an option for the Titan building, and the order has a different range.
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  • Hire term out of range. A hire term of 72 months is outside the 1 to 60 months offered.
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  • Long hire needs credit approval. A hire term of 72 months is a long commitment that needs credit approval.
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4. Hire: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 3 Titan units of 45 square meters each, 1 storey, to hire, for office use housing 18 people with 1 toilet, for 48 months, with climate control, the glazed wall and Damage Waiver, at a 5 percent discount. The order states a floor area of 135 square meters and a total of £201,407. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Long hire needs credit approval. A hire term of 48 months is a long commitment that needs credit approval.
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  • Order summary. 135 square meters of floor area, list subtotal £212,007, total after discount £201,407.
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5. Hire: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 3 Titan units of 45 square meters each, 1 storey, to hire, for office use housing 18 people with 1 toilet, for 36 months, with climate control, the glazed wall and Damage Waiver, at a 5 percent discount. The order states a floor area of 135 square meters and a total of £163,886. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 135 square meters of floor area, list subtotal £172,511, total after discount £163,886.
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6. Three-storey office: Four Titan units of 45 square meters on three storeys, for 80 people, with climate control, data, fire and security and no staircase

    
The agent's request. Please quote 4 Titan units of 45 square meters each, 3 storeys, to buy new, for office use housing 80 people with 4 toilets, with climate control, fire and security and data, at a 6 percent discount. The order states a floor area of 180 square meters and a total of £725,624. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Too many storeys. 3 storeys is more than the selected building range can be configured to; portable cabins make two-storey buildings and modular buildings up to four.
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  • Upper storey needs a staircase. A building of 3 storeys needs an external staircase, and the order does not have one.
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  • Stated floor area does not match. The order states 180 square meters of floor area; the units quoted give 540 square meters.
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7. Three-storey office: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote 4 Ultima units of 47 square meters each, 3 storeys, to buy new, for office use housing 80 people with 4 toilets, with climate control, fire and security, data and an external staircase, at a 6 percent discount. The order states a floor area of 564 square meters and a total of £1,028,759. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Order summary. 564 square meters of floor area, list subtotal £1,094,424, total after discount £1,028,759.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares an order for portable cabins and modular buildings: the building range and unit size, the number of units and storeys, buying new, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the product line and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please quote 4 Titan units of 45 square meters each, 3 storeys, to buy new, for office use housing 80 people with 4 toilets. The order states a floor area of 180 square meters and a total of £725,624. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with three findings, all in one answer. 3 storeys is more than the selected building range can be configured to; portable cabins make two-storey buildings and modular buildings up to four. A building of 3 storeys needs an external staircase, and the order does not have one. The order states 180 square meters of floor area; the units quoted give 540 square meters.
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  6. The validator returned three blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for upper storeys that need a staircase and a storey limit by range, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the building range to ultima, the floor area per unit to 47, the external staircase to yes, the stated floor area to 564 and the stated total to £1,028,759.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with Ultima and Climate control; the other five lines are on screen.
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  13. All three earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's total, £1,028,759, matches the quote.
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  14. Three problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean £1,028,759 quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    15.