SAGE TIMBERLINE SOFTWARE REVIEW


REVIEW SUMMARY

Arizona American Water, which provides drinking water, waste water and related services to residents and businesses in the region, is using Timberline to amass a wealth of company cost-data to evaluate the performance of capital projects and capital budgets, said Raymond Yang, who works from the company's Phoenix office.

"We can use the average costs-per-length of pipes or per MG for water storage tanks, to evaluate budgeting of annual capital projects of these types," he said. "I'd recommend it to any company that manages assets, as well as the delivery of assets by managing capital projects."

Although Yang found Timberline's user documentation lacking in detail and usability, the vendor's technical support staff is helpful. "Timberline's help desk was very useful. They can answer specific questions on issues, and are able to provide both clarification or direction on how to get things done," Yang noted.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 rating.

 submit review

 

USER PROFILE
  User: Raymond Yang
  Company: American Water Co.
  Location: Phoenix, AZ
  Website: www.amwater.com
  Type of business: Privately owned public utilities company. Arizona American Water is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Water.
  Business size: Entire company employs nearly 6,900 professionals who provide drinking water, waste water and other related services to approximately 16.2 million people in 32 states and Ontario, Canada
  Experience: 122-year-old company; 3 years using Timberline
  Software tools used: Timberline; Microsoft Project
  Tool & Version Timberline

REVIEW DETAILS


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?
Most of the projects I work directly with are over $1 million utility facilities' construction projects, such as utility plant construction, pump stations, distribution lines, storage tanks and reservoirs.

How long have you been using this tool?

I have been using Timberline for three years.

Where did you obtain it?

We bought it through our corporate engineering department.

How much did you pay?
We paid $4,000 per license.

How are you using this product?
We use Timberline to build up company cost data for evaluating capital projects' performance, as well as evaluating capital budgets.

Why did you pick this product?

N/A

Comparing the way you work now with the way you worked before you bought this tool, what has changed?
I do not know, because the software was here when I started with the company.

Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference?

We can use the average costs-per-length of pipes or per MG for water storage tanks, to evaluate budgeting of annual capital projects of these types.

Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this tool?
That information is not available.

What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
One location archive and automated creating detailed breakdowns on a given type of project.

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

What would you change about the product if you could?

I'd like automated annual upgrades for new features and/or functions.

Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
No.

Who would you recommend use this tool?
I'd recommend it to any company that manages assets, as well as the delivery of assets by managing capital projects.

How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
At least two to three years of hands-on experience under the Windows environments.

Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
No. To use it as a beginner, an in-house experienced user will do as a teacher. To become an advanced user, vendor-provided training will be utilized.

Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
Yes. Timberline's help desk was very useful. They can answer specific questions on issues, and are able to provide either clarification or direction on how to get things done.

How would you rate the user documentation? Is it helpful?

It was only available for the 'help' function in the software. It was ok, but only gives general instructions.

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?
7.5