Often produced as part of a construction cost estimate, takeoffs can be complex and time-consuming. They involve establishing all the materials required for the successful completion of a construction project, including all the associated costs. Labour costs, storage costs, operational overheads, and other components are then added to produce the final and a detailed construction cost estimate. With the best takeoff software, you can estimate anything from drywall materials to even the quantity of paint required, and with a degree of accuracy.
Traditionally, contractors and subcontractors conducted takeoff by hand, using pencils, rulers and calculators. Drawing this information from printed project blueprints was incredibly tedious, difficult and often prone to inaccuracies. There have been improvements in the form of digital tools such as handheld pen-like tools that can track lengths as you drag it across. However, it is computer software applications that have indeed revolutionized the process by turning it entirely digital and significantly improving speed and accuracy. Contractors no longer need to comb through design documents to generate a list of materials.
Many contractors in the industry now employ some of the best takeoff software available in the market to perform this part of the project cost estimation process. They include residential building projects, home renovations, plumbing, masonry, roofing, and commercial building projects among others. Having the best takeoff software in the market means that you can do your construction takeoff in half the time (if not less) you would take if you did it by hand. Scaling and taking measures by hand is extremely time-consuming and difficult to get perfect accuracy. Using takeoff software will ensure you focus your precious time on the important aspects of your project.
The process of construction takeoff becomes more complex as the size of the project increases, never mind that it requires a specialized skill set to produce any construction takeoff. Of course, the importance of the process often outweighs the time investment. As the old saying goes, time is indeed money, and for every hour you save, you also save your firm some money. Therefore, the best takeoff software helps to streamline the workflow process. It helps to improve overall efficiency, especially since the process itself is time-consuming and often fraught with possibilities for errors and inaccuracies.
So, what are the essential features of construction takeoff software? One of the most important considerations has to be the ability to read blueprints. This will ensure that the entire process is then fully automated. The best takeoff software applications can easily read design documents and blueprints. They can then pull a full list of all the required materials and even check to ensure that nothing is left out. All this is performed in a fraction of the time it would take with a manual process.
Some of the standard features of construction takeoff software include counts (and auto-counts), which is the ability to count items on digitized plans, usually with simple, point and click methods. Takeoff software should also allow for linear measurements, that is, the ability to identify and measure linear plans on the digital plans and to pull the necessary lengths of the required materials. They should also allow for volume measurements, area measurements, and advanced surface measurements.
Changes to a project are not uncommon in the construction industry, even before the bids go out. Construction takeoff software often allows for the processing of change orders and also account for every specific change. With the best takeoff software, it only takes a few clicks, and everything is recalculated and totalled up in a breeze. Some types of takeoff software such as the Cubit Pro allow for a fully interactive BIM model display. This makes navigation easy so that you can quickly and confidently create or recalculate estimates.
The best takeoff software in the market usually comes with predefined assemblies. Many of the components within a construction project are usually assemblies of several components. Some takeoff software come with several assemblies already included so that the estimator can simply call them out from project plans instead of defining individually, part-by-part. However, some contractors may be particular with the configurations required. Therefore, takeoff software often allows for custom assemblies where users can develop their own custom assemblies to speed up their takeoffs.
Collaboration takeoff and the ability to edit takeoffs has also become increasingly important, particularly for larger teams. Many takeoff software is now designed to allow multiple contractors to work within the same digital space to perform takeoffs. Note that not all takeoff software come with estimating capabilities. In fact, many takeoff software applications, mostly focus on pulling quantity data from design plans. They often output the list of the materials, with counts, volumes, lengths, etc., which are then exported into other formats such as Excel or CSV or even straight into estimation tools.
Normally, takeoff software supports input of the most common file types of blueprints including, DXF, SVG, DWG or even PDF. When the digital blueprints are successfully uploaded, estimators simply extract information from the plans as opposed to manually measurements and calculation of values, which are prone to errors. The specific methods and workflows will, of course, depend on the type of software.
Many building and construction companies now work with BIM files. Software applications such as Cubit Enterprise have additional tools like the BIM takeoff module which allows users to import their own BIM modules. With a range of intuitive features, Cubit Enterprise has now made it easier to interact with your BIM models and to create accurate estimates. It also allows estimators to work within one vie, that is, for both their takeoff and estimation, including the ability to automatically calculate complex volumes.
Contractors or estimators still using manual methods and paper plans rather than on-screen takeoff systems are at a great disadvantage. They are missing out on massive productivity gains in terms of efficiency and savings of the company resources. The best takeoff software will certainly add a few more hours of productivity to your typical workday and will justify any acquisition and deployment costs.
