We get asked this question all the time...    

   "Do you charge per project?"

Short answer - No.

Thanks to our competitors, many of whom charge "per project" pricing, it does drive a chunk of business our way. Many of you see that being charged more and more for the same software seems a bit odd.

And what's really fascinating is that the market by and large is willing to accept this. Some of your competitors are on the hook monthly for their project management system, and what they pay fluctuates depending on the number of projects they do.

One of our software competitors recently announced a multi million dollar round of investment (curious why they need millions more if they are also boasting a huge user base... shouldn't their revenue cover their operating and development costs!?). And in that press release, they claim they stand out by offering construction software tools in a single platform, charging per project rather than per user.

Imagine if Microsoft found a way to charge you "per Word document", or "per Outlook email"... same software, yet they get into your pocketbook each time you click [save and close] or [send] !! I think if that were the case, many of you would be hitting the road looking for alternatives.

And we're seeing many users of such project management systems jumping ship... they may like the software, but they're only using a fraction of the features available, and they need to stop hemorrhaging from the high monthly charges. The party may be soon be over for software companies that charge too much. And adding more features won't be the remedy - there are many solutions out there that will meet your scheduling and project management needs, question is, who can do it without breaking your bank each month.

Smaller, agile, low cost alternatives. Live support from someone who actually has a background in construction.

Speaking of which...

BuildIT. Our pricing is simple. Our customers pay a low monthly rate. And you can do as many projects as you wish without being penalized.

No long term contracts. And... you can suspend any time if you go through a season in your business where you don't require our service. We'll still keep your account backed up and ready to go... for when you return.

Pay per project... it's like paying through the nose. No thanks.

 Scott Hutchinson
 scott@builditsystems.com
 1 866 585 5050 ext 1

Most of the world is still dealing with 2 dimensional drawings/blueprints. Plan view, section details, quantity takeoffs... then simple construction schedules to plan out the work. If that's you, you're in the right place.

Well, simple schedules can get very complicated very quickly. While doing a search online for construction schedule examples, I stumbled across this image that stopped me dead in my tracks:

Wha !?

Welcome to the world of BIM (Business Information Modeling) and 4D BIM Scheduling.

If you haven't come across it yet, here's what you're missing...

BIM essentially allows companies (with very expensive software) to "build the building" digitally before it's built on site. The 2D drawings that have been the mainstay of construction for decades are turned into 3D models... great for impressing clients, spinning the building around on a computer screen, and seeing how the building will fit into its environment. 

Now, add the schedule to these 3D BIM geometric shapes, and well, you have 4D BIM scheduling, and the schedule may look something the picture above.

When I saw this, I had to take a second look. People actually create these, understand them, and can build off them.

Reminds me of an except from Brian Regan on when he came across a Nova documentary on String Theory. It's worth a few minutes of your time, trust me. He tops it up with a beautiful reference to Einstein.

Fortunately BuildIT schedules are simple to create, and simple to read (as shown below).

And you don't have to be an Einstein to figure it out.

So you've made a change to your schedule. People affected by that change need to know what's going on, as soon as possible.

With BuildIT, your people can be notified... automatically... by email.

There are 2 general types of notifications:

1. Immediate, based on changes to tasks
2. Overnight, based on upcoming tasks

You get to set the rules - who gets notified, when, and under what circumstances.

Immediate Notifications

When you open a task in BuildIT, make one or more changes, then click [save and close], you can configure the system to send out an email notification. There are several options here (as shown in this partial screen shot), and we can help you make the proper adjustments so the right people are getting notified about the right things.

For example, based on the configuration above, if you add extra days to a task, and that task is shared with an outside vendor or sub-contractor, that person will get an email notification that may look something like this:

Easy to see who it's for, what job, the task name, and what changed. The contact can even click a link below and go directly to their shared schedule web link (Contact Schedule) - a feature that sets BuildIT apart from the rest – where they can see ALL tasks for ALL jobs you have assigned to them, as well as ALL related job files you wish to share with them.

Overnight Notifications

Your contacts (vendors, employees, sub-contractors, clients, etc.) can now be given a "heads up" email notification several days in advance of a task you've assigned them to. Now, if there are any scheduling issues, they can be dealt with in advance, not the morning of!!

For more information on BuildIT's task notification system, and how to get it working for your team, give us a shout.

 Scott Hutchinson
 scott@builditsystems.com
 1 866 585 5050 ext 1