DesignSure 101

Accuracy

How DesignSure handles drawings that are not fully detailed, what to upload for the best result, and what happens when a plan set is not suitable for assessment.

How does DesignSure manage drawings that are not fully detailed, or plans that may not be suitable for assessment?

DesignSure compares the values it finds on your drawings against the values you enter on the project form. Where there is a meaningful discrepancy, you will be asked to resolve it before payment — confirm one value over the other, or mark the field as not applicable. This is part of how DesignSure protects you from a misread.

The more values confirmed by your plans, the stronger your compliance report. If DesignSure cannot find a dimension on your drawing, the report will flag that value as unconfirmed — which may reduce confidence in the assessment.

Confirmed by plans

Value annotated on the drawing and matches your form entry.

Form value used

Not found on the plans — your manually entered value was used instead.

Discrepancy

Extracted value differs from your form entry — you will be asked to resolve this before payment.

What is the best format for drawings uploaded into DesignSure?

Following our Plan Preparation Guidelines is the most important thing you can do to ensure an accurate assessment.

Drawing quality is the single biggest factor in extraction accuracy. A vector PDF exported directly from CAD software will always produce better results than a scan of the same plans. If you have access to the original CAD files, export a fresh PDF — do not scan a printed copy.

Annotate all boundary dimensions and setbacks (boundary to wall face), and include a north point. Scale-only drawings may result in lower confidence extractions.

Format	Recommendation	Notes
PDF (from CAD)	Preferred	Export directly from CAD. In AutoCAD use the “DWG to PDF.pc3” plotter (not “Microsoft Print to PDF”). In Revit use Export → PDF. In ArchiCAD use File → Save as PDF. Text stays selectable and linework is crisp at any zoom.
PDF (from scan)	Avoid	Scanned paper plans are low-resolution images — dimension text becomes blurry pixels that DesignSure may misread. If scanning is unavoidable, use 300 DPI minimum in colour (not greyscale). A 150 DPI scan will have significantly reduced accuracy.
JPG / PNG	Acceptable	Minimum 300 DPI. Ensure annotation text is sharp and legible. PDF from CAD is always preferred.
Phone photos	Not recommended	Photos of plans suffer from uneven lighting, perspective distortion and low effective DPI. Results will be unreliable.

What happens if DesignSure considers my drawing set is not good quality for assessment?

Before DesignSure completes its extraction and reporting steps, you will be asked to complete some critical project information. The information you provide helps improve analysis and compliance confidence.

Before paying for your report, you will be given a summary page showing the drawing extraction quality and how many items require your confirmation. You can cancel payment at this stage, improve the plans, and re-run it for a more accurate result.

If information is not present on the drawings or the form fields, your report may state “Not Applicable” or “Needs Further Assessment”.

What makes DesignSure different from other free AI tools?

DesignSure is the first tool of its kind in Australia. It is a patent pending compliance assessment engine that uses AI to read your plans and check them against Part 5 of the Building Regulations.

DesignSure was built from the ground up by Deemed to Perform Consulting — practising registered building surveyors who know and understand the day-to-day life of our industry.

It is a custom-built tool designed to meet the specific requirements of our building industry, aiming to improve technical efficiency for designers and building surveyors alike. It is not a generic product wrapped up to look like a compliance tool.

Our vision for DesignSure aligns with our values for early intervention and collaborative knowledge sharing.

Ready to check your plans?

Check Your Plans Back to resources