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Bridging 2D to 5D: Using Timberline and MC2 in Model-Based Estimates

Are you starting to receive more and more Building Information Models for your projects? Are you interested in how to start using them for quantity takeoff and estimating? If you are like many of our clients, you want to use BIM-based cost planning and you are worried about losing all the data and the investment your firm has already made in Timberline or MC2. It turns out that companies who have built good data sets and good assembly structures have prepared themselves well for the world of Virtual Construction!

Now there’s a new Virtual Construction best practice that permits the best of both worlds: access the rich database you’ve compiled in Timberline or MC2 and apply it to BIM projects.

Join us on the next Fridays with Vico to learn this new workflow and discover how you and your Estimating Team can future-proof the department by handling 2D, 3D, and 5D environments.

What:	Bridging 2D to 5D: Using Timberline and MC2 in Model-Based Estimates
When:	Archived for your convenience
Where:	A free online webinar
How:	Use the form at the bottom of the page to download the archived webinar

Many construction firms have invested heavily in creating Timberline or MC2 estimating databases. Unfortunately, the platforms haven’t evolved to handle projects which include BIM. This is where Vico Office bridges the traditional 2D world and the new 5D world of models. Consider this your Lean Construction transition to BIM-based estimating: leveraging your current costing database and applying it to new model-based projects. Here’s how it works:

Step 1. Simply organize your cost plan elements and scheduling activities in your database and save as a *.csv file.

Step 2. Format this spreadsheeted data and organize the code levels (e.g., uniformat and masterformat classification structures); include resource unit rates as desired.

Step 3. Use the Excel Import function in Vico Office to bring in this data-rich information set and then format it to match the assembly-component structure which ties the database to BIM elements.

Step 4. Save the selection set so that all of your future uploads to Vico Office won’t require special field mapping.

Step 5. Mix and match which quantities will be sourced from the model, those that will be sourced from your database and/or past projects, and finally those that will be entered manually.

Step 6: Save this version of your cost plan so that your team can see how the estimate evolves as more and more detail about the project is revealed and more cost information becomes model-based.

Step 7: Filter your project based on your manual quantity entries so you can review these assumptions. Filter your project based on your model-based quantity takeoff and review the construction-caliber quantities and their formulae.

Step 8: Create detailed (and fully-customizable) reports from Vico Office, such as cost plans with graphs, cost variance, costs per location, etc.

So many times with technology, you need to abandon your past investments and start from scratch. Isn’t it great to know that Vico Office can leverage your investment in Timberline and MC2 AND move your firm forward to handle BIM-based estimating and scheduling? Plus, Vico has paid particular attention to making this transition easy for your team:

A. The product looks and feels like an Excel spreadsheet which we all know
Estimators love;

B. Your estimators don’t need to learn how to model to navigate and interrogate the
BIM files they receive and they can adjust quantities easily inside Vico Office;

C. Models don’t have to be perfect – we allow the estimator just enough flexibility

to fix mis-labeled and mis-modeled elements;

D. Our reporting engine is outrageously powerful and comes with a multitude of
templates which you can customize to easily match your current reports, including

branding.

This webinar is for you and your team if:

1.) You need some help getting your Estimating team interested in using models;

2.) You’ve started to receive BIM files for projects but are struggling with how to merge

the traditional processes with the new 5D workflow;

3.) You want to see how manual entries, 2D quantities, 3D quantities, and 5D

quantities are managed in the same estimate;

4.) You’re interested in leveraging the intellectual property contained in past project

data to your new projects;

5.) You don’t want to be left behind as more and more Owners are requiring BIM-

based project deliverables.

This isn’t a patch. It’s not a band-aid. This is a full-fledged strategy already being used by major Construction Management firms to migrate your team from traditional paper-based estimating to BIM-based cost planning. The future is here and you can trust Vico to lead the way.

So gather your team and join us for the next Fridays with Vico webinar:

What:	Bridging 2D to 5D: Using Timberline and MC2 in Model-Based Estimates
When:	Archived for your convenience
Where:	A free online webinar
How:	Use the form at the bottom of the page to download the archived webinar

Here is a snippet from the webinar for you to review. If the content is relevant for you and your team, please use the form at the bottom of the page to download the entire webinar.