For Public Sector Owners, the standardization of Bid Items and Unit Cost data is something we wanted to deliver as a basis for many other integrated workflows. Having the ability to connect specifications and details to bid items, external contract docs and reports makes the bid preparation workflow easy for project designers and coordinators looking to generate accurate cost estimates and ultimately bid the project out to contractors.

Our cost estimating strategy is not unlike GIS or BIM concepts leveraging configurable item attributes and project attributes. Estimating the item based on historic Item Code and Description is just not enough for the owner engineers. With the prevalence of model based design we can add actual design attributes to more accurately estimate costs using the variation in object characteristics. Teaming this up with Project attributes means we can base cost on non-item parameters like where the project is, who is building it and any other attribute that changes cost of the same item.

Connecting with eProcurement or using Excel as a the method of bid release and analysis means we can scrape data from contractors on every project, every bid. Building the actual costs as an owner engineer means more accurate budget forecasting for next years projects.

Integration of the awarded bid with the mobile inspection system is where Builterra really performs. Field staff can connect directly to the bid sections and items, add quantities built and any other daily diary data required for reporting. Daily reports can be approved and emailed to the contractor for quantity review.

Finally, generating the real-time progress payment details at month end is completely integrated and automatic. Change management, holdbacks, releases and so much more are available for the project manager or contract administration manager looking to streamline this entire stage of the project.