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EPOCH COST MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE REVIEW

Faithful+Gould is not in the business of writing software, but when the construction project management and cost consulting firm could not find a satisfactory cost-management solution on the market, the company tasked its IT department to develop a program. The result of their efforts was EPOCH, and the program has been so successful that Faithful+Gould not only uses the software but also sells licenses to clients such as BP and General Mills.

"We actually use the [construction project management] software to help sell our services and our in-house tools which are then marketed outside of our business to customers. Often we get work or commissions generated by the software," said Paul Lakin, director of operations. "We now have a suite of software used by all our divisions around the world, that uses a common platform to use and share data. With EPOCH, our cost-management tools are very detailed and provide enhanced reporting and earned-value reviews."

Lakin added that, since the construction project management software was customized to the firm's needs, Faithful+Gould continues to rely extensively and successfully on its IT department for support and upgrades.

Lakin rated EPOCH as a 9 out of 10.

What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
 
How long have you been using this tool?
 
Where did you obtain it?
 
How much did you pay?
 
How are you using this product?
 
Why did you pick this product?
 
Did you look at other tools on the market before picking this one? What was it you didn't like about them (or made    this product better)?
 
Comparing the way you work now with the way you worked before you bought this tool, what has changed?
 
Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference?
 
Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this    tool?
 
What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
 
Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
 
What would you change about the product if you could?
 
Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
 
Who would you recommend use this tool?
 
How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
 
Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
 
Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
 
How would you rate the user documentation? Is it helpful?
 
When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
 
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this tool?

What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
Faithful+Gould is a project management and cost consulting firm.

I have been using EPOCH for about five years.

Faithful+Gould created EPOCH in-house.

How much did you pay?
I do not know.

How are you using this product?
EPOCH is our in-house cost-management software that we use for a variety of clients, such as BP, AMGEN, General Mills and Kraft. Our clients purchase licenses, so it has actually become a revenue-generator for the company.

We are a U.K.-based company, and Faithful+Gould wanted to implement the same software around the world. We wanted to have a common, in-house platform to use across our business, worldwide.

Yes we looked, but we could not find anything available commercially that fit our business model.

We now have a suite of construction project management software used by all our divisions around the world, which provides us with a common platform to use and share data. With EPOCH, our cost-management tools are very detailed and provide enhanced reporting and earned-value reviews.

We actually use the construction project management software to help sell our services and our in-house tools, such as EPOCH, which are then marketed outside our business to customers. Often we get work or commissions generated by the software.

Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this tool?
We have seen time-savings of 25% on estimates.

What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
The program has a wealth of knowledge, collected from people in our divisions around the world, which we can effectively use for project and cost management.

Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
Yes.

There are only minor issues, and our firm's always reprogramming and modifying as needed to ensure best practices.

Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
Some, but in general the features we use depend on the clients' fee and commission requirements.

Who would you recommend use this tool?
I'd recommend it to cost managers.

How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
If you understand cost management, you just need an average amount of computer experience.

Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
Not really. I'd say anywhere from two to five days, depending on the user's experience.

Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
Yes, the technical support is provided by our IT department.

Yes, it's provided by our IT department.

When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
Yes.

Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this tool?
9