Predictika · Facade insulation systems

An AI sales agent's facade insulation system, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a quote for a StoTherm external thermal insulation composite system: which StoTherm system, how much insulation, what the wall is made of, how the boards are fixed, how much impact the facade must take, the finish and the shade. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the Sto StoTherm processing guideline and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: Sto StoTherm facade systems (Classic S1, Classic, Mineral, Vario, PIR): insulation thickness, substrate, fixing method, unevenness, impact, finish and light reflectance. See everything this validator covers

This validator models the choice and build-up of one StoTherm system, based on the public Sto StoTherm-Systeme processing guideline (Verarbeitungsrichtlinie), not just the scenarios shown below.

  • System limits — the most insulation each system takes (Classic S1 300 mm, Classic 400 mm, Mineral 300 mm, Vario 400 mm, PIR 200 mm) and which systems are described for which substrates; PIR and Classic S1 are described for solid masonry and concrete only.
  • Fixing — bonding up to 1 cm of unevenness per meter, bonding with dowels up to 2 cm, mechanical fixing with Sto-Rotofix plus up to 7 cm (green below 3 cm, black from 3 to 7 cm); bonding alone is not enough below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter; PIR has no mechanical fixing; an undefined substrate needs a pull-off test.
  • Impact and fire — the impact rating in joules for Classic S1 (20, or 120 with the high-impact two-layer build) and Classic (15, or 60); the other systems carry no figure; only Classic S1 and Mineral are described as non-combustible.
  • Finish and shade — ceramic or natural stone cladding only on Mineral and Vario and with at most 200 mm of insulation; the light reflectance limits (15 for Classic S1 and Classic, 20 for the others), with darker shades sent to a person.
  • Stated figures — a thickness or impact rating the quote claims is compared with the guideline.

Any StoTherm order that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: prices (the guideline has none, so this page shows no price build-up), dowel counts and layouts, window and base profiles, building height and fire barrier requirements, national approvals, other Sto systems, and whether a system is the right choice for the building.

The AI sales agentBuilds the facade system quote 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
Insulation thickness limits that differ by systemOnly with care
Five systems with five maximum thicknesses, a lower limit when ceramic or stone cladding is used, and stated figures to compare, are easy to leave out of step with the guideline.		Each limit is checked on every call and the answer names both numbers.
Fixing method chosen from unevenness and wall strengthOnly with workarounds
Bonding, bonding with dowels and mechanical fixing each allow a different unevenness, and a weak wall rules out bonding alone, so the choice depends on several fields at once.		The fixing, the unevenness and the wall strength are checked together, and the Rotofix type follows from the gap.
Impact rating that depends on system and buildOnly with workarounds
Only two systems carry a joule figure, each with a standard and a high-impact build, so a requirement needs a lookup on both before it can be compared.		The rating for the system and build is looked up and compared with the requirement, and with any rating the quote states.
Light reflectance limits and their exceptionsOnly with care
Two limits depending on the system, darker shades on request, and a coating that allows lower values: a person has to remember which case applies.		Below-limit shades are blocked or sent to a person depending on the system and the coating.
Systems described for only some substrates, finishes and fixingsOnly with care
PIR has no mechanical fixing, stone cladding exists on two systems, and Classic S1 is solid-wall only: each exclusion is a separate rule on separate lines.		All of them are checked together, in any order the choices arrive.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as 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.

    
1An insulation thickness of 401 mm is above the 400 mm the guideline gives for this system.
2An insulation thickness of 301 mm is above the 300 mm the guideline gives for this system.
3An insulation thickness of 350 mm is above the 300 mm the guideline gives for this system.
4An insulation thickness of 450 mm is above the 400 mm the guideline gives for this system.
5An insulation thickness of 201 mm is above the 200 mm the guideline gives for this system.
6This system is described for solid masonry or concrete only; the substrate chosen is timber construction.
7This system is described for solid masonry or concrete only; the substrate chosen is steel construction.
8For a substrate of timber construction the guideline lists the system but gives its fixing figures for solid masonry and concrete only; a person should confirm the fixing against the technical approval.
9For a substrate of an existing ETICS the guideline lists the system but gives its fixing figures for solid masonry and concrete only; a person should confirm the fixing against the technical approval.
10For a substrate of steel construction the guideline lists the system but gives its fixing figures for solid masonry and concrete only; a person should confirm the fixing against the technical approval.
11Ceramic or natural stone cladding is described only for StoTherm Mineral and StoTherm Vario.
12With ceramic or natural stone cladding the guideline allows at most 200 mm of insulation; the order has 220 mm.
13With ceramic or natural stone cladding the guideline allows at most 200 mm of insulation; the order has 300 mm.
14A light reflectance value of 14 is below the general 15; the guideline says darker shades are possible on request or with X-black coatings but gives no lower limit, so Sto should confirm.
15A light reflectance value of 10 is below the general 15; the guideline says darker shades are possible on request or with X-black coatings but gives no lower limit, so Sto should confirm.
16A light reflectance value of 19 is below the 20 the guideline gives for the finish coat of this system.
17A light reflectance value of 19 is below the general 20; the guideline says darker shades are possible on request or with X-black coatings but gives no lower limit, so Sto should confirm.
18A light reflectance value of 10 is below the 20 the guideline gives for the finish coat of this system.
19A light reflectance value of 10 is below the general 20; the guideline says darker shades are possible on request or with X-black coatings but gives no lower limit, so Sto should confirm.
20A light reflectance value of 120 is outside the 0 to 100 scale.
21A light reflectance value of -5 is outside the 0 to 100 scale.
22An unevenness of 2 cm per meter is above the 1 cm per meter this fixing method allows.
23An unevenness of 3 cm per meter is above the 2 cm per meter this fixing method allows.
24An unevenness of 8 cm per meter is above the 7 cm per meter this fixing method allows.

  

  

    
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. Thick insulation on timber: PIR with 240 mm of insulation on a timber wall, fixed mechanically in a dark shade

    
The agent's request. Please quote StoTherm PIR with 240 mm of insulation on a timber construction, with a pull-off strength below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter, mechanical fixing with Sto-Rotofix plus, for an unevenness of 4 cm per meter. The finish is render in a shade with a light reflectance value of 12. The quote says the system takes up to 240 mm of insulation. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Insulation thicker than the system allows. An insulation thickness of 240 mm is above the 200 mm the guideline gives for this system.
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  • Substrate not described for this system. This system is described for solid masonry or concrete only; the substrate chosen is timber construction.
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  • Light reflectance below the system limit. A light reflectance value of 12 is below the 20 the guideline gives for the finish coat of this system.
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  • Mechanical fixing on StoTherm PIR. StoTherm PIR is described with bonding, or bonding and dowels, only, not with mechanical fixing by Sto-Rotofix plus.
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  • Stated maximum thickness does not match. The order says the system takes up to 240 mm of insulation; the guideline gives 200 mm.
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2. Thick insulation on timber: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote StoTherm Vario with 240 mm of insulation on solid masonry or concrete, with a pull-off strength below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter, mechanical fixing with Sto-Rotofix plus, for an unevenness of 4 cm per meter. The finish is render in a shade with a light reflectance value of 25. The quote says the system takes up to 400 mm of insulation. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • System summary. This system takes up to 400 mm of insulation; impact rating 0 J for this build (0 means no figure published); unevenness limit 7 cm per meter for this fixing; lowest general light reflectance 20.
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3. School wall with high impact load: Classic S1 bonded to a weak wall for a high impact load

    
The agent's request. Please quote StoTherm Classic S1 with 160 mm of insulation on solid masonry or concrete, with a pull-off strength below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter, bonding only, for an unevenness of 2 cm per meter. The finish is render in a shade with a light reflectance value of 12. The facade must take an impact of 60 joules. The quote says the build resists 60 joules. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Unevenness above the fixing method limit. An unevenness of 2 cm per meter is above the 1 cm per meter this fixing method allows.
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  • Bonding alone on a weak substrate. Bonding alone is not enough on a substrate below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter pull-off strength; add dowels or fix mechanically.
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  • Impact requirement above the rating. An impact requirement of 60 joules is above the 20 joules this system and build reach.
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  • Stated impact rating does not match. The order says the build resists 60 joules; the guideline gives 20 joules for this system and build (0 means no figure).
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  • Darker than the general limit. A light reflectance value of 12 is below the general 15; the guideline says darker shades are possible on request or with X-black coatings but gives no lower limit, so Sto should confirm.
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4. School wall with high impact load: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote StoTherm Classic S1 with 160 mm of insulation on solid masonry or concrete, with a pull-off strength below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter, bonding and dowels, for an unevenness of 2 cm per meter. The finish is render in a shade with a light reflectance value of 12. The facade must take an impact of 60 joules with the high-impact two-layer build. The quote says the build resists 120 joules. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Darker than the general limit. A light reflectance value of 12 is below the general 15; the guideline says darker shades are possible on request or with X-black coatings but gives no lower limit, so Sto should confirm.
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  • System summary. This system takes up to 300 mm of insulation; impact rating 120 J for this build (0 means no figure published); unevenness limit 2 cm per meter for this fixing; lowest general light reflectance 15.
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5. School wall with high impact load: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote StoTherm Classic S1 with 160 mm of insulation on solid masonry or concrete, with a pull-off strength below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter, bonding and dowels, for an unevenness of 2 cm per meter. The finish is render in a shade with a light reflectance value of 18. The facade must take an impact of 60 joules with the high-impact two-layer build. The quote says the build resists 120 joules. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • System summary. This system takes up to 300 mm of insulation; impact rating 120 J for this build (0 means no figure published); unevenness limit 2 cm per meter for this fixing; lowest general light reflectance 15.
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6. Tile cladding on mineral wool: Ceramic cladding on Mineral with 260 mm of insulation

    
The agent's request. Please quote StoTherm Mineral with 260 mm of insulation on solid masonry or concrete, with a pull-off strength of 0.08 newtons per square millimeter or more, bonding and dowels, for an unevenness of 2 cm per meter. The finish is ceramic or natural stone cladding in a shade with a light reflectance value of 30. The quote says the system takes up to 400 mm of insulation. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Cladding with more than 200 mm of insulation. With ceramic or natural stone cladding the guideline allows at most 200 mm of insulation; the order has 260 mm.
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  • Stated maximum thickness does not match. The order says the system takes up to 400 mm of insulation; the guideline gives 300 mm.
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7. Tile cladding on mineral wool: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote StoTherm Mineral with 200 mm of insulation on solid masonry or concrete, with a pull-off strength of 0.08 newtons per square millimeter or more, bonding and dowels, for an unevenness of 2 cm per meter. The finish is ceramic or natural stone cladding in a shade with a light reflectance value of 30. The quote says the system takes up to 300 mm of insulation. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • System summary. This system takes up to 300 mm of insulation; impact rating 0 J for this build (0 means no figure published); unevenness limit 2 cm per meter for this fixing; lowest general light reflectance 20.
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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 a quote for a StoTherm external thermal insulation composite system: which StoTherm system, how much insulation, what the wall is made of, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the Sto StoTherm processing guideline and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please quote StoTherm PIR with 240 mm of insulation on a timber construction, with a pull-off strength below 0.08 newtons per square millimeter. The finish is render in a shade with a light reflectance value of 12. The rest of the request is on screen.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with five findings, all in one answer. An insulation thickness of 240 mm is above the 200 mm the guideline gives for this system. This system is described for solid masonry or concrete only; the substrate chosen is timber construction. A light reflectance value of 12 is below the 20 the guideline gives for the finish coat of this system. The other two are on screen.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned five 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 insulation thickness limits that differ by system, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the system to StoTherm Vario, the substrate to solid masonry or concrete, the light reflectance value to 25 and the stated maximum thickness to 400 mm.
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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. All five earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's figure matches the quote.
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  13. Five problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer.
    14.