Monday, July 30, 2007
Selecting the Right Software for Building Construction Estimation
Building Construction is a fast growing Industry around the globe. Today, in this highly competitive scenario, your success relies on your ability to prepare quick accurate estimates and implementing effective cost control on your projects. Estimation and cost control are the key factors that determine your position in the industry. They demand your time and expertise for the successful completion of these tasks.
With the advent of the information technology, construction industry showed a steadfast growth of technical advancements especially in the areas of planning, designing and implementation. They also succeeded in packaging and distributing the technical expertise, which in term boosted up the implementation of latest technologies. Estimating and cost control software programs are powerful tools for preparing estimates and implementing cost control with speed and accuracy. Increasingly, these programs offer incremental firepower that’s critical for managing your business and staying competitive. With all the functionality that new estimating and cost control programs offer, you can increase productivity, control costs and improve your bottom line.
The following points should be considered before buying a software
Is it the right software for your requirement? Your estimating software should be flexible and easy to use, or it won’t do you much good. The company you buy from should ideally understand both the software and construction businesses, and absolutely should offer support after the sale. And remember that price shouldn’t be the determining factor. Considering these things before you purchase will go a long way toward ensuring that you end up with estimating software that’s right for your business.
Does it comply with the construction standards prevailing in your location? A software is of no use if it doesn’t comply with the standards( eg: BIS, CPWD etc.) prevailing in your country/location. It should be compatible with the style of construction you usually follow in your location.
Is it customizable? It's nearly impossible to find one construction estimating software program which fulfills all of your estimating needs, so you may want to consider a program which can be customized to suit your business. The construction estimating software program itself may offer options so that it can be tailored to your needs, or the company which designed it may have programmers that can re-write portions of the program for you. If you choose ready to use software package, check whether there are options for updates.
Does it provide accurate management Information? The software should be capable of providing critical management Information reports such as Comparison reports, Graphs, Charts etc.
Is it easy to use? Unless you have days to devote to learning your new construction estimating software program, you'll want one which is very intuitive. The useful features shouldn't be buried in obscure menus that are difficult to access.
Is the package consists any self learning tools? Apart from user guide and product documentation, The product should have a self learning tool such as a video tutorial. It will help you to learn the software quickly right from the beginning.
Does it have a built-in Set Library? If your company does repetitive work on the same types of projects, your software should offer the ability to create and customise work sets, or groups of associated items with unit costs (e.g., materials, labor and equipment, man-hours, quantities). By creating a work set for a specific portion of your estimates, you can save considerable time and money.
Is help readily available? If your construction estimating software program crashes or isn't functioning the way you would like, the software company should have a help desk that is easy to contact, either online, by e-mail or by phone.
Will it work with your operating system? Most construction estimating software programs are written to work with Microsoft Windows 2000 or newer. If you have an older operating system or you use Macintosh computers, you'll need to make sure the construction estimating software program you've chosen is compatible.
Once you've narrowed down your choices based on the above criteria, contact each software company. Nearly all construction estimating software programs offer a free trial period or an extensive online demo. These can be a great way to get a feel for a program.
Building Construction is a fast growing Industry around the globe. Today, in this highly competitive scenario, your success relies on your ability to prepare quick accurate estimates and implementing effective cost control on your projects. Estimation and cost control are the key factors that determine your position in the industry. They demand your time and expertise for the successful completion of these tasks. With the advent of the information technology, construction industry showed a steadfast growth of technical advancements especially in the areas of planning, designing and implementation. They also succeeded in packaging and distributing the technical expertise, which in term boosted up the implementation of latest technologies. Estimating and cost control software programs are powerful tools for preparing estimates and implementing cost control with speed and accuracy. Increasingly, these programs offer incremental firepower that’s critical for managing your business and staying competitive. With all the functionality that new estimating and cost control programs offer, you can increase productivity, control costs and improve your bottom line.
The following points should be considered before buying a software
Is it the right software for your requirement? Your estimating software should be flexible and easy to use, or it won’t do you much good. The company you buy from should ideally understand both the software and construction businesses, and absolutely should offer support after the sale. And remember that price shouldn’t be the determining factor. Considering these things before you purchase will go a long way toward ensuring that you end up with estimating software that’s right for your business.
Does it comply with the construction standards prevailing in your location? A software is of no use if it doesn’t comply with the standards( eg: BIS, CPWD etc.) prevailing in your country/location. It should be compatible with the style of construction you usually follow in your location.
Is it customizable? It's nearly impossible to find one construction estimating software program which fulfills all of your estimating needs, so you may want to consider a program which can be customized to suit your business. The construction estimating software program itself may offer options so that it can be tailored to your needs, or the company which designed it may have programmers that can re-write portions of the program for you. If you choose ready to use software package, check whether there are options for updates.
Does it provide accurate management Information? The software should be capable of providing critical management Information reports such as Comparison reports, Graphs, Charts etc.
Is it easy to use? Unless you have days to devote to learning your new construction estimating software program, you'll want one which is very intuitive. The useful features shouldn't be buried in obscure menus that are difficult to access.
Is the package consists any self learning tools? Apart from user guide and product documentation, The product should have a self learning tool such as a video tutorial. It will help you to learn the software quickly right from the beginning.
Does it have a built-in Set Library? If your company does repetitive work on the same types of projects, your software should offer the ability to create and customise work sets, or groups of associated items with unit costs (e.g., materials, labor and equipment, man-hours, quantities). By creating a work set for a specific portion of your estimates, you can save considerable time and money.
Is help readily available? If your construction estimating software program crashes or isn't functioning the way you would like, the software company should have a help desk that is easy to contact, either online, by e-mail or by phone.
Will it work with your operating system? Most construction estimating software programs are written to work with Microsoft Windows 2000 or newer. If you have an older operating system or you use Macintosh computers, you'll need to make sure the construction estimating software program you've chosen is compatible.
Once you've narrowed down your choices based on the above criteria, contact each software company. Nearly all construction estimating software programs offer a free trial period or an extensive online demo. These can be a great way to get a feel for a program.
Labels: bill of quantity software, Construction estimation Software, estimating buildings
# posted by Anilkumar : 1:38 PM
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Its true that estimate is necessary to give the owner a reasonably accurate idea of the cost to help him decide whether the work can be undertaken as proposed or needs to be curtailed or abandoned, depending upon the availability of funds and prospective direct and indirect benefits. http://comsoft.org/construction-estimating-software/
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