We know what blueprints are and some of us are even familiar with pencil and paper sketches.  In the building industry, the client has a vision and the best way for the builder to translate that vision into a reality is by using the blueprints - whether a sketch or full set of drawings (specs included).   This is a good system as far as communicating the vision, but what about the conflicts that no-one can see before the first survey stake is slammed into the dirt?

In this current erra of technology advancements where doctors are performing surgery on the human eye with lasers to make our vision better, isn't there something that the construction industry can do to make our jobs run with fewer conflicts and at lower costs?  The answer is yes.  BIM.

What trends will take hold in the year ahead? According to a number of construction professionals, one answer is mobility. More contractors are looking to take their processes right out to where work is getting done—in the field.

Keeping aligned with this trend, technology providers are offering their software solutions on new mobile platforms. Many applications are being introduced for the various platforms, including Android, BlackBerry, and Apple.

Whether you are a big or small contractor, you know the value of saving time - especially in these economic times. So when you're building your project schedule, instead of doing it by hand, you'll enjoy using this Excel spreadsheet that is configured as a schedule. Not only does it look like a schedule, but it acts like one too!

BuildIT, a web based software for small to medium sized contracting businesses, is designed to help you in 3 main areas:
Schedule multiple concurrent jobs,
Organize all job related files and information online,
Communicate with ease (email, fax, text message, and sharing files and schedules online)

For years some of the most widely used scheduling systems in the construction industry came from Primavera. Now, nearly two years after Oracle, www.oracle.com, Bala Cynwyd, Pa., announced the acquisition of Primavera, executives at Oracle confirm it will cease sales of both P3 and SureTrak later this year.

Oracle continues to bring to market new releases of Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management—even announcing the latest release from Oracle OpenWorld last week. However, in the past few years, plans for both Primavera SureTrak and Primavera P3 have remained undefined.

Residential builders are committed to the technology investment, despite tough economic conditions.

For residential builders today, one thing seems to be ringing clear—every step you take, every dollar you spend, all needs to result in saving the company either time or money.

“Any initiatives we look at must always be cost effective and must improve the efficiency of the process without disrupting existing workflows.” These words come from Carlo Sistilli, CFO, Arista Homes Ltd., www.aristahomes.com, Vaughan, Ont., but could very well apply to just about any builder in the market today.

It’s a big week in the technology marketplace—one that may leave the construction industry with another viable tablet option for jobsite productivity. On Monday RIM (Research In Motion), www.rim.com, Waterloo, Ont., announced the details of its much-anticipated BlackBerry PlayBook tablet aimed toward business users.

The device will use the new BlackBerry Tablet OS, will feature a 7-inch screen, and weighs less than a pound. It will also feature dual front and rear-facing cameras, which RIM says are useful for video conferencing. This is just one example of the many ways RIM is gearing the PlayBook toward the business user.

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As you may already know, the internet is becoming the central point of information and management.

We've found the internet to be a valuable resource for collaboration as well.  What does this mean?  It means that we've been using the internet as a platform to communication between our teams to store, organize and share project specific information like:  Documents, pictures, notes, plans, specs, change orders, RFI and RFPs, and more.

ConstructionOfficeOnline.com is working on a platform where you can do the same.  Our goal, outlined in the tabbed section below, is to provide the same strong platform for your business as well.

Take a minute to browse the features we're developing.  If you are interested in staying informed about this new development, sign up here and you'll be among the first to know.

• Benefits
• Features
• Requirements

Benefits

		ACCESS ANY TIME - ANYWHERE Construction Office Online allows you to access all your important project information anytime no matter where you are. No bulky software to download - just login.				PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION With COO, your information is protected from hard disk and hardware failures, theft or hacking, fires, and virus attacks. All data is backed up regularly.
		INTEGRATED INFORMATION Enter the data one time and let it populate throughout your workflow. Your organization, team members, project info, and contacts all integrate seamlessly into the projects.				LOW INVESTMENT AND ZERO TRAINING COSTS COO is an immediate solutions you can begin using right away. Built to be simple and easy to use, you don’t have to spend money for training and lose productivity.
		PRODUCTIVITY Simply Tasks. Keep Recoreds, Analyze resources, Organize data, increases productivity while reducing overhead burden.				NO WORRY UPGRADES - WE DO ALL THE WORK No more complicated upgrades. As a web application, COO makes upgrades in the background so you don’t have to. It’s already done.
		COMMUNICATE WITH CLIENTS AND TEAM COO is the place to centralize your communication. Collaborate and share project documents, messages, pictures, tasks, schedule, change orders, RFIs / RFCs, Bid Logs, Plans, Billings, Releases, Submittals and more.				COLLABORATE AND CENTRAL MANAGEMENT With your entire project in one location, everyone will be up to speed with the current status of your projects at all times. No more doubling up on information. NO DOUBLE HANDLING.

Features

		DASHBOARD This is the overview area where you can see a summary of your projects.  You'll find relevant information like Scheduling of current activities, tasks, Change Orders, pending RFCs, upcoming Bids, messages, and more.				DOCUMENT MANAGER Store your documents and share them with your team or clients.  The system keeps record of the idfferent versions, comments, and a controlled access to optimize the collaboration.  Edit your documents online without the requirement of additional software.
		INTEGRATED INFORMATION Enter the data one time and let it populate throughout your workflow. Your organization, team members, project info, and contacts all integrate seamlessly into the projects.				LOW INVESTMENT AND ZERO TRAINING COSTS COO is an immediate solutions you can begin using right away. Built to be simple and easy to use, you don’t have to spend money for training and lose productivity.
		PRODUCTIVITY Simply Tasks. Keep Recoreds, Analyze resources, Organize data, increases productivity while reducing overhead burden.				NO WORRY UPGRADES - WE DO ALL THE WORK No more complicated upgrades. As a web application, COO makes upgrades in the background so you don’t have to. It’s already done.
		COMMUNICATE WITH CLIENTS AND TEAM COO is the place to centralize your communication. Collaborate and share project documents, messages, pictures, tasks, schedule, change orders, RFIs / RFCs, Bid Logs, Plans, Billings, Releases, Submittals and more.				COLLABORATE AND CENTRAL MANAGEMENT With your entire project in one location, everyone will be up to speed with the current status of your projects at all times. No more doubling up on information. NO DOUBLE HANDLING.

Requirements

		ANY TIME - ANYWHERE Construction Office Online allows you to access all your important project information anytime no matter where you are. No bulky software to download - just login.				PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION With COO, your information is protected from hard disk and hardware failures, theft or hacking, fires, and virus attacks. All data is backed up regularly.
		INTEGRATED INFORMATION Enter the data one time and let it populate throughout your workflow. Your organization, team members, project info, and contacts all integrate seamlessly into the projects.				LOW INVESTMENT AND ZERO TRAINING COSTS COO is an immediate solutions you can begin using right away. Built to be simple and easy to use, you don’t have to spend money for training and lose productivity.
		PRODUCTIVITY Simply Tasks. Keep Recoreds, Analyze resources, Organize data, increases productivity while reducing overhead burden.				NO WORRY UPGRADES - WE DO ALL THE WORK No more complicated upgrades. As a web application, COO makes upgrades in the background so you don’t have to. It’s already done.
		COMMUNICATE WITH CLIENTS AND TEAM COO is the place to centralize your communication. Collaborate and share project documents, messages, pictures, tasks, schedule, change orders, RFIs / RFCs, Bid Logs, Plans, Billings, Releases, Submittals and more.				COLLABORATE AND CENTRAL MANAGEMENT With your entire project in one location, everyone will be up to speed with the current status of your projects at all times. No more doubling up on information. NO DOUBLE HANDLING.