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.



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