Construction Punch List Automation: OpenAI + Google Sheets + Gmail

Turn construction punch list messages into routed tasks automatically—using OpenAI, Google Sheets, and Gmail

This n8n workflow takes incoming punch list text via webhook, uses OpenAI to structure each item (location, trade, severity, description), logs it to Google Sheets, and emails the responsible subcontractor via Gmail. It also notifies stakeholders in Telegram and sends a weekly status summary.

What this workflow does

• Receives a POST request through a webhook containing the punch list message, sender, and a Telegram chat ID.
• Validates the message text. If missing, it replies with usage instructions in Telegram.
• Extracts structured fields using OpenAI: location, trade, severity, and description.
• Routes to the right subcontractor by looking up the trade in a Google Sheets tab called TradeRoster (trade → company name → contact email).
• Validates parsed results. If key fields are missing, it requests a clearer message and/or a roster-mapped trade via Telegram.
• Logs every item to a Google Sheets tab called PunchLog, then emails the assigned subcontractor via Gmail.
• Sends alerts to the project manager in Telegram when severity is Critical or High.
• Weekly reporting: every Monday at 09:00, it pulls open items from PunchLog, uses OpenAI to generate a concise weekly report, and delivers it via Gmail and Telegram.

Use cases

• Automatically convert site punch list notes received in messages into assigned subcontractor work items.
• Reduce follow-up delays by emailing the correct trade from a maintained Google Sheets roster.
• Send guaranteed weekly punch status updates to stakeholders with one scheduled run.
• Escalate Critical/High issues instantly to a project manager through Telegram.

Technical details

• Webhook to accept punch list submissions.
• OpenAI for extracting structured punch list data and summarizing weekly reports.
• Google Sheets (OAuth2) with two tabs: PunchLog and TradeRoster.
• Gmail (OAuth2) to notify subcontractors and send weekly summaries.
• Telegram to confirm logging, request clarifications, and alert the project manager.
• Workflow logic uses nodes such as if, set, gmail, webhook, telegram, and summarize.

Setup requires creating the PunchLog and TradeRoster tabs in Google Sheets, and adding credentials for OpenAI, Google Sheets (OAuth2), Gmail (OAuth2), and Telegram Bot API in n8n.