Side Story: Going Green With Software

Words: Dan KamysMarch 2009 Software & Technology

Gray Construction, an ENR Top 100 Green Contractor, has reduced construction submittal response time by 60 percent and cut printing and shipping costs by 50 percent by going paperless with Bluebeam PDF Revu. The product is a PDF creation, markup and editing software for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The firm has achieved significant results by sharing construction submittals electronically in PDF, rather than printing and shipping paper.

This greener, more sustainable workflow is being deployed on various projects, including the construction of a new 165,584-square-foot distribution center for Kentucky Eagle Beer in Lexington, Ky. Project team members located throughout the United States communicate faster with Bluebeam PDF Revu than paper submittals allow. The team creates PDFs, compares revisions of PDF drawings with the Document Compare feature, and redlines PDFs with customizable markup tools, such as text boxes, shapes, symbols and images. Project documents are then emailed, eliminating the need to print and ship.

Gray Construction has deployed Bluebeam PDF Revu Standard Edition and CAD Edition to more than 200 users.



The Practicality Behind Cavity Walls
February 2026

The construction industry tends to chase certainty. We want walls that never leak, materials that never move, and systems that behave the same in the field as they do on paper. Every generation pushes for a tighter envelope, a thinner assembly, or a smart

Bonding with Masonry 2026: Q1
February 2026

This issue’s questions come from a Mason Contractor and an Engineer. What questions do you have? Send them to info@masonrymagazine.com, attention Technical Talk. Q. A Mason Contractor states they were asked to construct a brick veneer on a multi-story pr

No Shortcuts: The Journey of Real Stone
February 2026

Have you ever stopped and really thought about how that stone on the wall got there? I don’t mean the install...not the mortar, the scratch coat, or the clean-up. I mean the whole journey. From the first cut in the earth to the

Stop Gambling on the Wall: Why the Modern Jobsite Demands a Sure Thing
February 2026

If you have spent any time walking the carpeted aisles of the World of Concrete, you know the vibe. It is a sensory overload of heavy machinery, slick demos, and the collective optimism of thousands of contractors. We are in Las Vegas, the gambling capita