Masonry Magazine March 2003 Page. 43
MASONRY COMPUTER ESTIMATING
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CIRCLE 163 ON READER SERVICE CARD
March 2003
Masonry 41
Buzzsaw is an Internet service that allows you to store, manage and share project information with team members, clients and consultants. Vital information, such as AutoCAD® drawings, schedules, photographs and notes, can be easily viewed, shared and, depending on the permission level of the person using the system, even modified on the spot. The fact that this is a web-based collaboration tool means that those involved in the project can have these items at their fingertips anywhere they have an Internet connection-at work, home, on the road or at the job site.
"The concept is we provide a central place where anyone on the project can come and get the latest information and status of a particular project," says Chris Bradshaw, Vice President of Autodesk Building Collaboration Services. "That's very helpful, especially for specialty contractors who don't want to come to a site before the site is ready for them, and don't want to have to move crews around in the middle of the day.
"The specialty contractors that use our service most often report their ability to find out about things ahead of time that are happening on the project that might impact them downstream as one the greatest benefits of using a system like ours. Many specialty contractors operate on fixed, firm price contracts, and not getting notification of a change can be an expensive and time consuming delay."
The Initiation
GENERALLY SPEAKING, mason contractors are not going to be the ones initiating a Buzzsaw account, but rather owners and other primary players.
"The system is set up in such a way that anyone can initiate an account and invite other members. More often it is the owner initiating accounts, followed by architects and engineers, and then general contractors. It's a subscription-based, fee system, and whoever initiates the account pays the fees and all the other members can use the account for free."
Benefits and Features
EVEN THOUGH MASONS may not be the ones to initiate the use of such systems, as a team player, the free benefits that masons will receive are beyond compare. On top of the instant access to the information, these benefits include improved project communication, shortened project cycles, increased ownership and accountability, and improved record keeping. These benefits are due to the some of the features of this online tool, including:
Browser-like interface offering functionality such as drag-and-drop, shortcut menus and hierarchical file trees.
Store and manage standard file types, including AutoCAD DWG and DWE, MicroStation DGN, Adobe Acrobat PDF, CALS G4, CGM, Microsoft Office, and many of the popular photograph file types.
The Voice of the Mason Contractor