According to the CFMA's 2008 Information Technology Survey for the Construction Industry, 91% of contractors are using cost estimating software. And the reasons are clear. The right construction estimating software gives you faster estimates with fewer errors, synchronizes with your job cost accounting, and enhances your ability to communicate with clients, suppliers and contractors. Choosing the right estimating software, however, can be a confusing and frustrating task. Want to know more about estimating software before you buy? Then read on for product overviews, end-user reviews from construction professionals and competitive analysis about an array of construction cost estimating software tools.

Ezy Estimator by Ezy Estimator

Ezy Estimator software features advanced data entry, accurate cost calculation, automatic task scheduling, time and cost tracking, advanced reporting, personalized formulas and more. The software was designed to provide users with a flexible system that can be tailored to suit all businesses ranging, from manufacturing to construction to corporate, the vendor said.
 

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An introduction to heavy and highway software

By Duane Craig

Heavy, highway, infrastructure and utility contractors have the same choices of enterprise level software packages as any other contractors. There are some offerings, however, that tailor their packages for this segment or that incorporate modules or functions that are tailored to the needs of the heavy, highway, and infrastructure/utility sectors. This functionality addresses needs such as equipment and asset management, service management, maintenance and even heavy and highway estimating. 

Three such heavy and highway software systems are detailed here:

Categories: Field Management, Cost Estimating, Job Cost Accounting, On Screen Takeoff, Project Management, Heavy and Highway

Maxwell Systems heavy and highway software: A closer look

By Duane Craig

Maxwell Systems’ StreetSmarts is a custom enterprise package for heavy, highway and utility contractors. The software includes typical business functions such as accounting, payroll and construction job costing as well as specialized modules for the heavy and highway sector.

Categories: Cost Estimating, Job Cost Accounting, On Screen Takeoff, Heavy and Highway

HCSS software for heavy and highway: A closer look

By Duane Craig

Heavy Construction Systems Specialists Inc. (HCSS) cut its teeth creating software for the heavy, highway, infrastructure and utility sectors in the mid-80s. Mike Rydin, president and only employee at that time, started the company in his bedroom. Today HCSS occupies a 45,000-square-foot facility, is 30% employee owned and was recently named one of 15 Top Small Workplaces in the country by the Wall Street Journal.

Categories: Field Management, Cost Estimating, Project Management, Heavy and Highway

Internet Plan Room by iSqFt

Internet Plan Room gives subcontractors anytime access to access to project information, including plans, specs and addenda, for public construction projects in the geographic area they have specified.

Subscribers can search for and bid on projects based on geographic parameters as well as project or service-specific criteria such as CSI codes, the vendor said. (These projects are posted by general contractors who use the vendor’s Private Construction Office.)

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Private Construction Office by iSqFt

iSQFt’s Private Construction Office is construction bid management software that lets general contractors upload project documentation, including plans, specs and addenda, onto a secure website and invite subcontractors and suppliers to view and download relevant documents. The use of iSQFt’s servers eliminates the need for a contractor’s IT staff to support the service, the vendor said.

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Construction software applications for the Palm OS

This article lists applications for the Palm OS (operating system) useful to those in the AEC industries. Some Palm devices use Windows Mobile as their operating system, so check your OS version to be sure these applications are indeed compatible with your device. You may also want to check out the tools available at the Palm Software Store.

Security applications for Palm OS

Categories: Field Management, Cost Estimating, Engineering/CAD, Project Management

Construction software for Windows Mobile devices

This article lists software for Windows Mobile devices that may be useful to those in the AEC industries. Although Windows Mobile is largely backwards compatible, this list includes applications for Pocket PCs and smartphones as well, so check your operating system versions to be sure they are indeed compatible with your device.

Security software for Windows Mobile devices

Categories: Field Management, Cost Estimating, Engineering/CAD