With CivCheck's AI plan review software, the Department of Permitting and Planning (DPP) reduced residential plan review times by 70% and total review times by as much as 90%.

The City and County of Honolulu is the most densely populated of five counties within the state of Hawaii, with an estimated population of 978,568.

The Challenge

Before implementing CivCheck, the city and county dealt with significant permit backlogs stemming from inadequate plans that required multiple review cycles, a lack of clear application guidelines for applicants, low staffing levels, and insufficient staff training.

The Solution

Honolulu initially launched a five-month CivCheck pilot and is now live with the full Guided AI Plan Review (GPR) Platform. The city and county's goals were to improve the quality of incoming applications, ensure only complete plans reached staff for review, and help staff maintain consistency while accelerating their reviews.

The pilot consisted of three phases:

• Defined pilot scope, use cases, and review checklists
• Identified internal code conflicts and enforcement preferences
• Calibrated CivCheck’s AI models to local standards

• Enabled DPP plan reviewers to use CivCheck on live applications
• Measured time savings and adjusted parameters
• Standardized review logic across reviewers

• Gathered feedback from applicants on user experience
• Improved transparency and communication between DPP and applicants
• Introduced prescreening and triage of submittals

Results

With CivCheck's AI plan review platform, the DPP reduced:

• Residential plan review time by 70% (from ~60–90 mins down to ~20–30 mins)
• Stormwater review time by 46%
• Overall review times by 32-90%