Pathfinder’s commitment to helping us build the best product we can comes through very clearly. They’re a great partner, and we trust them.
Mark Griswold
Director of Technology, The Blue Book of Building and Construction.
Vu360 is an internet-tethered desktop application that has proved an invaluable aid for to contractors update and annotate blueprints and generate detailed and accurate estimates. The application, built using the Microsoft .net framework, is designed to integrate with BB-Bid’s online plan rooms and other online products.
Want to find out more? Contact the team that created Vu360.
Company:
The Blue Book of Building and Construction is the construction industry’s premier information source, publishing regional construction directories in most major markets throughout the United States. Thebluebook.com provides free, easy access to BB-Bid, a system for general contractors and developers to solicit detailed construction estimates from sub-contracts.
Problem:
Contractors visiting BB-Bid need to generate highly detailed estimates based on complex blueprints. Estimates for electrical wiring need to include the exact length of conduit required. Flooring needs to specify exact square footage of the building. HVACinstallation needs to calculate the volume of the space. Contractors have used a variety of expensive programs to accomplish these sorts of calculations and measurements. Few were specific to the construction industry and all were too complicated to use quickly and easily. Most lacked useful tools like area, volume and surface calculation and item counts that would help a contractor in bidding on projects. The Blue Book asked Pathfinder to create a tool that would allow contractors to download a PDF copy of a blueprint, mark it up with exact measurements and annotations, and automatically calculate lengths, areas, volumes and item counts. The tool needed to be fast and easy to use by contractors not used to CAD systems or other types of complex software.
Solution:
Pathfinder developed Vu360, a .net application designed to integrate with BB-Bid’s online plan rooms and other online products. Pathfinder’s user research and agile software development method resulted in an Internet-tethered desktop application that has proved an invaluable aid for to contractors update and annotate blueprints and generate detailed and accurate estimates. Among the capabilities of the software:
- Blueprints for projects seeking bids can be downloaded and annotated from the online plan room.
- Once a contractor is done annotating and marking up a blueprint, the file is easily saved back to the online plan room for viewing by the developer, general contractor or architect.
- While work is underway, the blueprint is saved on a users local computer. The tool does not require a persistent Internet connection to function.
- The tool includes a multitude of notations and graphing unique to the construction industry.
- The tool makes it easy to perform item counts and calculate length, perimeter, area and volume simply by drawing a square, line, cube or irregular, ad-hoc polygon directly on the blueprint.
- Sub-contractors can search BPM Select, Blue Book’s repository of contracting supplies and products within the tool. When quoting installation of flooring, for example, a sub-contractor can link to a product sheet for the specific type of wood flooring they propose to use.
Impact:
Users have responded enthusiastically to the release of Vu360 with over 20,000 downloads in the first month. The Blue Book’s contractor clients are excited to have tools automatically perform tasks, like recalculating the surface area of a roof that they previously would have done manually. Effective use of the plan rooms has increased through increased annotation of plans. In addition, since the contractors are using a tool specific to The Blue Book, the company receives increased brand recognition, even when the user isn’t online. You can download the application at http://www.thebluebook.com/vu360.shtml.
