We all know that more people are competing for fewer projects these days, so making sure your process is as efficient, fast and effective is critical.

Late last year we upgraded our Sub-Hub bid communication tool with tools that turbocharge productivity, make last minute changes easy and fast to implement, and create more ways for your bid or bid management efforts to pay off.

Three new features are attracting the most attention as more and more contractors sign-up for the service.

1. Self-publishing – Create your own projects and upload documents directly from your computer; no outside intervention, document indexing, or handling is necessary.
2. Total flexibility in document format – TIFF, PDF, DWF and more; flexible document formats allow you to use almost any take-off tool and costing application; it also makes simple exchanges, RFI’s or other collaborative activities involving marked up documents easy, fast and efficient.
3. Upload/Downloads – Posting documents to your project, or downloading drawings for review and bidding is fast, clean, and simple.

Sub-Hub allows anyone to send or receive bid notifications from a private address book via email or fax, and share documents in an easy-to-use and effective online application. You can visit the Sub-Hub website here. To find out more about how you can use Sub-Hub, or for a demonstration, contact your local sales exec or request information here.

To get more details, click on the links below:

• PlanWell DataBridge is a new data transfer tool being used to synchronize documents and contact lists between PlanWell Enterprise planrooms and Meridian’s Prolog project management tool
• Our Abacus print cost recovery tool recently went through some significant upgrades that can help you capture more reimbursable revenue, or at the very least, manage your printing costs more effectively.
• Sub-Hub, our web-based planroom and bid notification tool also got a lift in several key areas that makes this self-managed construction document management tool even more…well, manageable.
• If your work requires reprographics products and services to be used in far-off places, business in Shanghai just got a lot easier with our new sister company there called Shanghai UNIS Printing Technology.
• ARC, the parent company of more than 40 different reprographic company brands all over North America, also made its first foray into the BIM space acquiring RCMS, an Atlanta-based consultancy practice that creates building information models on an outsourced basis for a variety of purposes and clients, all from two-dimensional plans.

Finally, we’re not the only ones moving and shaking these days. For those of you keeping track of the digital printing market, Canon announced their intention to purchase Océ in the near future, and Océ appears to be embracing the offer. We’ll let you know more about the deal as we learn about it ourselves.

Abacus keeps track of printing activity on a network. When a computer user sends a file to a printer on their own network, or to a printer on a WAN, Abacus asks the sender to assign a billing or job code to the print job. The codes are stored and used to enhance cost recovery when billing jobs, among a host of other tracking functions.

The new release of the software enhances user experience through user interface improvements, upgrades to administrative tools, and close integration with imaging equipment from industry leading manufacturers Océ, KIP and others.
Jon Styrlund is the product manager for Abacus and he told us, “The upgrade is seamless from a user perspective. Most of the enhancements improve specific functions without disturbing the workflow of our clients. Instead of having to navigate screens or learn new procedures, most people will simply find it easier to set preferences, configure devices, or edit usage data.”

By way of an example, Jon told us that several of our larger customers who often manage and print hundreds of thousands of documents during a month can now utilize improved grouping, project searching and updating tools within the Abacus Manager, saving a lot of time and reducing costly data entry errors.

If you are a user of reprographic imaging equipment from Océ and KIP, you can now track walk-up printing and copying from a touch-screen device on Océ Plotwave 300’s, TDS450 & TDS700’s, and the full line of KIP IPS devices including the KIP3100 multi-function system, KIP5000, KIP7000 and KIP9000. Billing data from the on-board interface is automatically integrated with tracking information from other devices on the user’s network, and consolidated accounting reports can be generated quickly and easily.

Everyone’s watching costs today, and Abacus can help. If you’re interested to see how it stacks up against other products, or would like to see how you could integrate it into your existing workflow and machines, contact your sales rep, call our product manager Jon Styrlund at 925-949-5100, or visit www.abacuspcr.com.

Sub-Hub is a simple and elegant web-based application that allows anyone to send bid notifications from a private address book via email or fax. Once the ITB’s have been sent out, Sub-Hub collects, organizes and tracks responses from subcontractors, and you can decide to distribute paper bid sets from your offices, have your local repro shop handle the distribution, or use digital plans for downloading, digital takeoffs, and more.

Recent upgrades add functionality to the bidding process and the application itself, including the ability to create your own projects without any intervention from a hosting reprographer. “Having the ability to create and upload our own project documents, especially addenda, is a huge time saver,” said Monte Griffin , Estimator for Wells Construction, Inc.

Customers have also been fans of being able to quickly upload their own digital plans, specifications, addenda and other documents, and having greater flexibility in filtering contact records for selecting bidders.

The Sub-Hub Team posted a quick primer video on YouTube and new release notes on sub-hub.com to help you get familiar with the new features and functionality.

Click on the screen shot to go to YouTube to watch!

There are also new features that allow users to publish, un-publish, and republish projects as project workflows change, and even track a sub’s willingness to bid. In addition, customers can now choose from three different levels of access for different roles in their company, and control who can see or manage what parts of their project.

Check out the video for more detail on the new upgrade to Sub-Hub, and then start bidding faster, better, and win more jobs!

If you have questions or need assistance on an existing account you can get in touch with your local rep, or you can contact us here.

In mid-October, our parent company, ARC, announced a corporate addition of a highly-respected technology services provider in the building information modeling (BIM) market. Atlanta-based RCMS specializes in using conventional two-dimensional construction drawings to provide three-dimensional modeling and analysis of commercial construction projects on an outsourced basis. The firm focuses on improving business processes for construction professionals in every segment of the AEC industry.

Not sure what BIM is?

It involves the use of specialized software and analytical expertise to represent buildings and building components in three dimensions on a computer screen. BIM users build their projects “virtually” in a computer model prior to actual construction to increase the accuracy and speed of bidding, plan the workflow of a job, project costs and schedules, and identifying conflicts long before they are encountered in the field.

Given the recent adoption of BIM as a requirement for GSA and other government projects, not to mention a growing number of private projects, the need for BIM is growing quickly. But purchasing the software and hardware require to run it, and learning to use the software applications and analytical packages are often major obstacles to its use.

“Using BIM is becoming a necessity in construction” said K.P. Reddy, ARC’s Vice President of BIM Services . “By offering an outsourced BIM solution, we can dramatically reduce costs, while delivering critical decision support data, risk mitigation, and building process improvement that come from using the technology. For a customers who prefer managing project-based costs as opposed to adding overhead and infrastructure to their business, it’s an ideal way to amortize the adoption of BIM.”

Curious to know more about how we might be able to bring BIM to bear on your projects? Ask your sales rep for more information, or contact us here.

Drop in and find out…

• How to bid more jobs in less time and get more bidders on bid day
• How to manage your database of contacts more accurately and efficiently
• How to enhance your competitive position with better communication

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