MCA Internet Plans Room available now!!!
The Montana Contractors’ Association explored the use of the Internet to help solve some of the inefficiencies in the construction industry, and evaluated ways to help our members save time and money, and to assist with streamlining their business processes and decided the iSqFt Program that was endorsed by National AGC would be most beneficial to our members.
The iSqFt service offers access to project plans and specifications 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year from the MCA Internet site. Some of the features of the program include:
• Ability to view plans and specifications anywhere, any time.
• Ability to view plans on your computer screen.
• Create custom queries to view only the projects that meet your interest, searching by project category, dollar range, location, public or private projects, etc.
• Access private projects using a unique code created by the owner or owner representative General Contractor.
• Use computer technology such as zooming in and positioning to view specific plan details more efficiently.
• Ability to do takeoffs and estimates on line.
According to Mark Pursell, AGCA, Senior Director of Business Development, “Market surveys revealed a desire on the part of our membership to use the Internet as a way to more conveniently and more cost effectively find new work and follow these projects throughout the bidding process; our partnership with iSqFt delivers this functionality to our members.”
ISqFt has developed a comprehensive market development strategy that utilizes the iSqFt/MCA Internet Plan Rooms as a catalyst to enable general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to conveniently share and distribute important construction project information, including plans and specifications. The iSqFt Toolset enables general contractors to significantly reduce the hard dollar costs associated with the traditional distribution of paper plans, specs and addenda that occur during the project life cycle.
The iSqFt network is composed of Internet Plan Rooms, Construction Offices and Project Desktops. They host or provide access to project information for both public and private construction projects.
Internet Plan Rooms house project information, including bidding information, blueprints and specifications for public and private projects occurring in a local or regional market. Project information that had previously only been available in the MCA’s physical plan room is scanned and loaded into the online iSqFt Internet Plan Room. These plan rooms are public in nature and access to the plan room is granted on a statewide or regional basis. Many local markets have introduced an online project listing service in conjunction with their Internet Plan Rooms. Information such as bidding general contractors, design firm, project size and scope is included in these listings.
iSqFt Features
Construction Offices are created for general contractors to host project information for their private work. Each general contractor has their own Construction Office where project information is stored. Blueprints, specifications, addenda and other project documents are uploaded into the Construction Office for access by iSqFt subscribers. Using the new “ Project Pass ” feature, access is opened up to non-iSqFt subscribers regardless of their location. Using the “Invite to Bid” feature, each general contractor controls subcontractor or other subscriber access to the projects housed within a users’ Construction Office.
Subcontractors, suppliers and other construction professionals utilize a Project Desktop to access the iSqFt network. The Project Desktop allows access into those Internet Plan Rooms and Construction Offices that the subscriber has been granted access to. The Project Desktop incorporates a toolset which includes query and search functions, keyword searches on specification documents, online estimating tools and a scrolling window that displays notifications/messages from GC’s related to projects housed on iSqFt.
The Construction Office empowers the general contractor to act as an electronic publisher of his project information. This capability can save a medium sized contractor thousands of dollars each year. General contractors can generate email or fax notifications to selected subcontractors to invite them to bid on a project. They can issue “Project Passes” to non-iSqFt subscribers, enabling their access from any location. Subcontractors and suppliers are able to view or download the project plans and specifications from the Construction Office, thus eliminating the need for the general contractor to have project documents reproduced and delivered to the large number of potential bidders on a project.
As addenda are created for a project, the general contractor can upload them into his Construction Office. The Construction Office also includes a document management system that allows the general contractor to upload and distribute any type of document or picture. As addenda are posted or documents changed, iSqFt generates an automatic email and fax message and Project Desktop notification to all subcontractors or subscribers who are affected by the change. Subcontractors and general contractors can communicate with one another throughout the project lifecycle using the communications tools provided via iSqFt. Each component of the Construction Office can be assigned its own security level allowing the general contractor to control access to all segments of the Construction Office for both his external users and internal employees.
The iSqFt network enables the general contractor to distribute the project information, bid documents and addenda to a greater number of subcontractors for a fraction of the cost that is incurred today leading to a greater number of bids and more competitive bids for each project. The iSqFt communications tools enable the general contractor to communicate plan changes or clarifications to this expanded base of subcontractors at one time and with immediate delivery to all project participants.
There is also a Powerful keyword search feature available with-in the specifications. ISqFt allows the user to enter the name of a manufacturer, or other keyword and the system will search through every page of every specification book on the site. This new feature allows the supplier or specialty contractor to quickly identify where his or her product or service is specified. Manufacturer’s Representatives will love the ability to locate projects where his competitor is specified with the click of the mouse.
For the subcontractor, iSqFt is a powerful tool for finding new work. AGC Chapters that provide plan room services recognize that traveling to a physical plan room can become a time consuming and costly process. iSqFt enables subscribers to conveniently view public plan room projects 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the user’s home, office or remote location via the Internet. The Project Desktop provides subscribers with a powerful search and query capability that enables them to quickly identify projects that meet their specific geographic region or criteria of interest. Plans and specifications that reside in the Internet Plan Room or in Construction Offices can be viewed online immediately.
On-Screen measuring capability is included at no additional charge. The iSqFt Toolbox, which is included in the Project Desktop subscription, enhances the use of the Internet Plan Room by giving the subcontractor the ability to estimate and bid new projects online or offline. The iSqFt Toolbox estimating software allows measurement of the blueprint using the mouse, reducing or eliminating the need for paper prints. The estimating tool can calculate linear, area, and volume measurements as well as counts. Measurements can then be transferred into the iSqFt Toolbox software’s built-in spreadsheet or to other estimating software to allow preparation of the bid document. For those subcontractors who are more comfortable working with paper, the online plans can be printed with a standard printer or to scale on a full size plotter. Detail views may be printed to full scale, even on 8 ½ x 11” paper. If desired, paper prints can also be ordered online from a local reprographics house or the Montana Contractors’ Association office.
The iSqFt network brings another additional benefit to all participants. Through its query capabilities, the general contractor can search the subcontractor database to locate qualified prospective new bidders for upcoming projects. Even viewing the prospective subcontractors profile and listing of recently completed projects online. Similarly, the subcontractors can search the database of Construction Offices for new general contractors with whom they might develop a business relationship.
Through its licensed compression technology, iSqFt is able to deliver large-scale blueprints to subscribers at high speeds, even over a slower “dial-up” type modem. Additional licensed proprietary software is used to “sharpen” the on-screen image allowing the scanned image to remain crisp and clear to the user regardless of how much the image is enlarged when using the zoom feature of the Toolbox.
Today’s construction professionals are constantly under pressure to find more sources of potential revenue. He or she is, therefore, under constant pressure to bid more work, with increased accuracy in a short amount of time. The iSqFt Toolbox significantly reduces the time involved in locating relevant projects and compiling bids while increasing the accuracy of the estimates used for bidding. iSqFt’s network of projects, online delivery system, communication and estimating tools enable the subcontractor to locate projects and create bids in a fraction of the time that it takes today.
In Conclusion:
The iSqFt network delivers value to its membership by streamlining communications during the bidding and estimating process and reducing the reproduction and delivery costs associated with getting paper construction documents into the hands of the potential bidders. The iSqFt network also acts as a powerful communications tool for all parties involved with the construction project, especially by providing notification of changes to the project plans or specifications and notifications of addenda to project documents.
iSqFt’s network of projects and construction professionals provides a wealth of new business opportunities and building relationships throughout the industry. By creating new bid and sales opportunities to all segments of the industry, iSqFt provides cost savings and revenue growth opportunities to all of its subscribers.
The system requirement for running the program include a 486-class micro-processor or better, 16 MB of RAM (32 recommended), Windows 95, 98, or NT, Internet Access, and a modem of at least 28.8 kbps. Each subscriber receives viewer plug-in software program, along with a user ID and password to access the system. Click here for a 2-week trial! or call 1-888-768-4569.
