Select Products Exhibited at Technology for Construction 2005

In the last issue of the AECbytes newsletter, I captured the highlights of the sessions I attended at the recent Technology for Construction show, held from January 17 to 21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. In this issue, I will describe some of the construction-specific technology products that were on display at the show. Several of these were new to me, making my visit to the exhibit floor very informative.

Project Management and Cost Estimating

By far, the largest number of products on display at the show belonged to this category. Veterans included Primavera, Meridian Project Systems (see my review of MPS Prolog Manager), Constructware, CMiC, and Oracle. Constructware reported strong adoption in growth in 2004, with $40 billion in projects being managed through its web-based project management solution (see my review of this solution in the February 2003 issue of Cadence). Clients included owners, contractors, and program managers; in addition, the solution was gaining serious traction among architects as well. Oracle, which provides an enterprise-level project management solution, unveiled its new offering, Family Pack M, which provides expanded capabilities in automating project finances and operations.

I had the opportunity to see Corecon 4.0 in some detail, which is a web-based solution for the AEC industry that integrates both estimating and project management capabilities and includes a built-in interface to most general accounting software, eliminating double data entry. The previous version of the application was Windows-based, and Corecon 4.0 has been rewritten for the Web using Microsoft's .NET platform. Recall from AECbytes Newsletter #8 that .NET is a platform that supports the development of Web Services, a technology that integrates different Web-based applications from different sources by allowing them to directly communicate data, semantics, and processes with each other, independent of any specific operating system or programming language, and automatically, without human intervention. The future trend in computing appears to be a move away from traditional desktop and client-server based applications towards such applications, so Corecon is certainly on the right track. Being Web-based, the application can draw upon real-time data for pricing, scheduling, and so on, for more accurate estimates and efficient project management (see Figure 1). Corecon currently has no automatic takeoff of quantities from CAD or BIM for its estimating module, but will be introducing a digitizing solution soon and plans to have IFC support at some point. It comes in five different versions targeted towards different building professionals: General Contractor, Subcontractor, Home Builder, Remodeler, and Architect/Engineer.

There were several stand-alone estimating solutions for contractors on display at the show, most of which, like Corecon, cannot do automatic takeoff and have to rely on manual input into spreadsheets or digitization of CAD drawings for takeoffs. One solution in the latter category was ICE 2000, created with Microsoft development tools to provide the look and feel of Microsoft Outlook. It integrates the use of a digitizer to measure areas, perimeters, lengths, and counts from paper plots, and provides its own graphics with colors, fill patterns, and commenting to keep track of what's been done. These graphics are stored with the estimate, providing a permanent audit trail. If you have the drawing electronically in a CAD or image file format, you can use a similar set of tools to do takeoff directly from the screen, eliminating the need for paper drawings and digitizers. ICE 2000 includes a predefined 35x35 matrix that automatically generates the specified items for a selected component, saving the user from having to manually scroll through thousands of items. It links with popular scheduling and project management systems for easy setup of project schedules, resources, activities, and durations. It also includes 35 user definable WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) codes that provide the flexibility in breaking down the estimate as required.

Resource Scheduling

A new product that made its debut at the Technology for Construction show was ControlBoard, a scheduling, resource, and dispatch application for the commercial construction industry. Unlike traditional activity-based project management solutions, ControlBoard is focused on the resources used for construction. It allows owners, project managers, and dispatchers to quickly see up-to-date information on jobs, crews, equipment, and hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly schedules, allowing for efficient workday planning and optimal use of resources at the construction site (see Figure 2). The improvement in productivity directly translates into higher profitability. The capability to import a traditional construction schedule and use it as the starting point for a resource schedule in ControlBoard is expected to be available soon. Integration with accounting applications is also being planned.

Another product in the same space that was showcased by a leading provider of AEC enterprise and project management software is CMiC Resource Scheduling, a fully Web-based enterprise scheduling application that enables users to allocate both equipment and staff to any project quickly with a drag and drop interface. It is fully integrated with two other CMiC applications, CMiC Enterprise and CMiC Project Management, so the impact of any resource allocation can be measured and accounted for in the overall cost structure of the project, giving project managers and project accountants an accurate picture of all staff and resource expenditures. It also allows organizations to be proactive by enabling "soft allocation" of staff and equipment requirements based on potential projects and contracts coming down the pipeline.

CAD and Visualization

While most of the products on display at the show were focused entirely on different aspects of construction, I did come across a couple of CAD and visualization applications. A new version of one of the earliest CAD applications, VersaCAD 2005 for Macintosh, was announced at the show. VersaCAD is a cross-platform design and drafting application suitable for creating drawings across a range of disciplines such as architecture, interior design, facilities planning, plant design, mechanical design, and so on. Special features include an easy-to-use interface with minimum keystroke and mouse clicks required to perform an operation, parametric doors and windows, automatic cleanup of multi-line corners and joints, automatic cut-in of door and window symbols into walls, and real time coordinate dial for key-less entry of distances and coordinates (see Figure 3). The new version was redesigned for the latest Mac OS X operating system to provide a fast, versatile, and economical design/drafting software for the Mac-based architect, designer, engineer or drafter. Considering the general dearth of Mac-based building design and visualization applications, as was evident in the recent Macworld show (see AECbytes Newsletter #17), VersaCAD 2005 should be a welcome addition to the Macintosh family.

The only other CAD and visualization application that was on display at the Technology for Construction show was Canvas, which integrates a broad range of functionalities including high-precision technical drawing, professional-level image editing, page layout, web graphics, commercial printing, and PDF and HTML generation (see Figure 4). Highlights of the application include a Smart Toolbox which constantly tracks and displays all drawing tools that are related to the last tool chosen, a Properties Bar that keeps track of what objects and tools are selected and displays the most relevant options at all times, a Math Expression tool that allows plotting of complex 2D equations, auto dimensioning tools and the ability to mix English and metric unit measurements in a drawing, instant annotation of selected components, support for scripting, and support for over 60 CAD and image file formats. Like VersaCAD, Canvas is also a cross-platform application.

This concludes my two-part overview of the Technology for Construction 2005 show. I hope technology adoption in the construction industry picks up and that we see many more sessions, exhibitors, and attendees at the next Technology for Construction show, planned again in Las Vegas in January 2006.

About the Author

Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.

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