About a decade ago, proven construction estimating software began shipping, and Fluor saw an opportunity to reduce the costs associated with manual processes and in-house software applications.

"The company realized it was very expensive to maintain an IT group to support these programs," Bradley said. "It was more economical to work with a third-party that would have its own staff and software updates. All we had to do was understand how it works and how to utilize it."

Through vendor meetings, word-of-mouth recommendations from other industry sources and clients and product demonstrations, Fluor eventually selected AspenTech Kbase, now known as Aspen Capital Cost Estimator.

Kbase was most appropriate, in part due to clients' adoption of the estimating software and in part because it was the sole volumetric cost estimating program that specifically addressed process plant projects and that featured a database of cost and work hours, which Fluor updates each year, he explained. This database is invaluable, since it allows Fluor to use its vast wealth of internal knowledge to keep current and accurate estimating-related information on-hand, Bradley noted.

On any given day, 40 to 50 Fluor employees use Kbase, Bradley said. These employees typically collect data, share it with large clients and then meet with the customer's group to compare estimated fees and time frames, he said. At that point, the two businesses agree on terms. In the best-case scenario, both organizations' estimates are close, reducing the time and cost associated with reworking numbers and improving the customer's satisfaction with Fluor, added Bradley.

In the hands of an experienced estimator, the software improves accuracy. "I don't want to kill a project by being too high or coming in too low, and giving a false sense of hope. By using experience and estimating software, what you're left with, you hope, is a really accurate determination of what a project's going to cost," Bradley said.

Providing training, and lots of it, at users' leisure

Whether its employees use Kbase or a more general-purpose program, Fluor knows they need training. While some schools offer estimating training, these programs generally do not address Fluor's needs, said Bruce Bradley, manager of the estimating department in the company's Sugar Land, Texas headquarters; such programs usually focus on commercial construction, not EPC-related rules and requirements.

To meet its training challenges, Fluor outsources some of its courses to e-learning provider SkillSoft. "We have an extensive online training opportunity that people can do on their own, at lunch or after work," said Bradley. "We've [also] developed things internally that we've turned into online training."

In addition, Fluor uses its own in-house experts and third-party providers -- often smaller firms with a particular specialty -- to teach classes on subjects ranging from technology to business. During the budgeting process, human resources determines demand for a particular program and then schedules classes accordingly, he said. Training can target specific technologies -- such as project management, accounting or computer-aided design -- or general business topics, such as diversity awareness, management training and employee-retention.

"We've always had a very pronounced focus on training. It's a global issue," Bradley said. "The [training] budgets in this office have grown over the years because of the volume of our business."

Half of Fluor's 4,000-member workforce in Sugar Land was hired in the last three years, he said. Worldwide, the corporation has more than 46,000 people on staff. "Because of that we do a lot of training at a lot of different levels," Bradley said. "Across the board, I think my department's training budget for this year was $8 [million] to $10 million. It’s a huge budget."

The signals are strong that the need for training, and the training budget, will only increase, since the three main business lines of Fluor's Energy and Chemicals Group -- Upstream, Downstream and Chemicals -- are growing rapidly each year. "It used to be cyclical, and groups took turns," he said. "What we've seen over the last few years is that they're all up. It creates its own challenges and opportunities."

The importance of user training, combined with certain technological hurdles, also means that Fluor does not immediately -- or blindly -- rush to begin using the latest version of any software product. The company still uses Windows XP and Microsoft Office XP. Although the construction firm plans to migrate to Vista this year, the company's IT group will spend time "Fluorizing" the operating system and accompanying Office suite, possibly by removing capabilities or features, said Bradley.

"I think everybody's learned from trial and error -- if you're in the middle of something and a new version comes out, you don't load it up and change versions," Bradley said.

Instead, senior estimators who are not involved in a major project may, independently, test drive the latest Kbase update and share any qualms or praise with both colleagues and AspenTech, said Bradley. "The real users come out, pound on it and look under the hood, and find out if there are glitches," he added.

Still on the lookout for new estimating software

Just as Fluor constantly offers employee training, the company must also constantly look out for enhanced estimating software tools. Fluor does extensive research, interviewing and testing before adopting a new application, said Bradley, and is always looking for add-on tools or specialty programs that can further improve productivity and efficiency.

"We probably err on the conservative side in doing a lot of extensive testing," he noted. "Right now, in our global estimating group, we're looking at several tools for the real, intricate detailed estimates."

After spending three to four months investigating tools, the company generally invites the top four to eight vendors to demonstrate their solutions on-site. In some cases, Fluor compiles a list of specifications that prospective suppliers can use to customize their presentations, said Bradley. Each vendor is given a half-day to tout their wares and, after all presentations are over, a group of decision-makers reviews and hones down the list of prospects, he added.

"You're obviously going to have a couple [vendors] who bubble up. Maybe you bring a couple back," said Bradley. "To make that investment -- not just in terms of money, but in terms of time and the whole development process -- you want to make sure you've done all the right things. We take a lot of effort to evaluate any new tool that comes on the market."

Fluor also considers the tools in use by its clients -- after all, some clients could show preferential treatment to those partners that use the same estimating software, said Bradley. Heavyweight customer Conoco Philips, for example, has standardized on AspenTech Kbase -- one of the reasons that Fluor, too, selected this solution over its competitors, he said.

"They're not going to go to a company that won't give them the estimate in the format they use," Bradley said. "It's probably not a corporate criterion, but to some extent it does have some impact."

About the author: Alison Diana is a freelance writer and editor with Professional Ink, a firm that partners with publications, public relations firms and marketing professionals to produce articles, trade show coverage, press releases and corporate newsletters. As a writer with Professional Ink, Diana's bylines have appeared on LexisNexis, Florida Today, the New Jersey Star-Ledger and 2020 Software. Her prior roles include managing editor at Computer Reseller News.