Bentley Systems has released V8i, a “software portfolio for infrastructure professionals” that aims to make it easier for engineers, architects, contractors and project owner/operators to share information as they collectively design, build, operate and maintain things.

In a conference call last week, Bentley CEO Greg Bentley said the release comes at a key time, as sustainability initiatives face a global bottleneck and aging infrastructures increasingly pose a risk to the public. An “intelligent infrastructure cycle,” in which participants benefit from interoperable software tools, increases the return on investment since “information reuse [is] a rule and not an exception,” Bentley said. “All of us who create infrastructure…we can keep adding value as information is reused. Information modeling is the key.”

V8i’s core capabilities can be stated as the five things that the “I” in its name stands for, said Bentley senior vice president Bhupinder Singh. These capabilities are the following:

• Intuitive design modeling, with conceptual tools for solids and surfaces and the new Luxology rendering engine;
• Interactive dynamic views, with a simplified process for creating 3D models;
• Intrinsic geo-coordination, which offers the ability to locate files in Bentley’s ProjectWise or in Google Earth;
• “Incredible” project performance, which is aided by integration with Microsoft SharePoint; and
• Interoperability, as the software can use documents from file formats such as PDF, DGN, DWG and ISO 15926. (Additional information about this functionality is available in Bentley’s Interoperability Platform White Paper.)

The V8i home page includes links to the product’s core capabilities and to user testimonials (both in print and in video).

Maxwell Systems has released an updated version of American Contractor, its construction business management software product. Version 8.0 introduces three main feature sets, Maxwell said in a statement:

• One, the user interface has been revamped to mimic Microsoft Outlook. This gives users the ability to do things such as open multiple records at the same time.
• Two, users can now sort lists by dragging and dropping column headers. There’s also a Find feature for lists and a new set of list filters, Maxwell said.
• Three, construction estimating documents such as RFIs and transmittals are now available for proposals.

You can learn more about American Contractor 8.0 over at the Maxwell Systems website.  

BID2WIN Software has released BID2WIN 2009, which is an updated version of its estimating and bidding software for heavy/highway contractors.

New features of BID2WIN 2009, product manager Kevin Flynn said in a statement, include the ability to attach documents to estimates, find/replace functionality for editing cost components and the ability to copy templates from one item database to another. (A complete list of new features in BID2WIN 2009 is available to the company’s existing customers once they log into the BID2WIN support website.)

BID2WIN’s estimating and bidding software runs on a Microsoft SQL Server database. It offers role-based security, supports offline mobile estimating (which lets estimators gather information in the field and then sync their data to BID2WIN when they return), and uses XML-based Web services to communicate with other enterprise software applications.

BID2WIN Software also makes BUILD2WIN, a browser-based field management and analysis tool. The latest version of this product, v1.1, came out in September.

Clear Estimates, the company founded by a father and son remodeling team, just released version 2.5 of its estimating software. While it’s only a point release, the update brings several new features and functions that were requested by users. (A video tour of Clear Estimates 2.5 has been posted on the company’s blog.)

For instance, a new search mode was added to the software in order to help users quickly find specific fields, no matter the size of the database. Also, column totals were added below the part list for quick and easy access to information.

Other features of Clear Estimates 2.5 include the following:

• the ability to add different markups for material, labor, and subcontractor costs,
• a new “Part Adjuster” tool that eliminates the hassle of creating a custom part in the
  project manager,
• the ability to rearrange and customize the Parts Tools windowpane, and
• a button that can export a job as a PDF to an email message

The new version is available for download on the Clear Estimates website for a $59 a month subscription. Technical support, community forums and video tutorials are all included with a membership.

Seven years ago, the International Institute for Learning released UPMM, an enterprise-level project and knowledge management suite. Short for Unified Project Management Methodology, UPMM is fully aligned with the PMBOK Guide methodology, a project management standard, and provides templates, examples and guidelines for putting together a thorough project and knowledge management process. (Our sister site WhatIs.com defines knowledge management as the process by which a company “gathers, organizes, shares, and analyzes its knowledge in terms of resources, documents, and people skills,” for what it’s worth.)

Last month, the New York-based IIL released new Standard and Professional editions of UPMM, bringing the product to smaller teams.

“We had some individuals and small groups who wanted to purchase [UPMM] but lacked the resources to install it on a server,” Sasha Law, UPMM product manager, noted in a chat with ConstructionSoftwareReview.com. So, Law continued, the IIL made the product more accessible — the new editions are hosted on the IIL website — and less expensive.

As a UPMM demo shows, the application’s user interface uses a graphical flow chart to divide each process into a stage. The number of stages is contingent upon whether a user has deemed it a small, medium or large project.

Within each stage is a common interface that includes Microsoft Word- and Excel-based templates, related project management knowledge resources such as white papers, and links to applicable tools required to complete that stage. (It is here that UPMM can link to construction scheduling tools such as Primavera and Microsoft Project management software. All UPMM editions provide an interface with MS Project, Law said.)

According to the aforementioned WhatIs.com definition, “A knowledge management plan involves a survey of corporate goals and a close examination of the tools, both traditional and technical, [which] are required for addressing the needs of the company. The challenge is to select or build software that fits the context of the overall plan and encourage employees to share information.”

The hosted UPMM Standard Edition could be a good fit for small contractors that need help defining the precise steps in construction project management; the ties to the PMBOK Guide and to the IIL itself mean that users are going to get an established knowledge management methodology.

Earlier this month Hard Dollar released Project Portfolio Analysis, the newest module in its estimating and job cost accounting software suite.  With this setup, users will have a host of tools — estimating and budgeting, scheduling, and project portfolio analysis, among others – all within one program. 

In a recent phone interview with ConstructionSoftwareReview.com, Hard Dollar’s CEO, Doug Nicholas, outlined the company’s new Web-based module designed to inform small and medium-sized construction firm executives and managers about current projects.  The new service, Project Portfolio Analytics, is a departure from SQL Server-based database analysis tools, but it will allow users to view more than 20 analytics, in a customizable format, without taking away resources from accounting and back-office operations.

“We noticed some of the market doesn’t want to deal with SQL,” Nicholas said. “However, they don’t use database administrators, but have data 50-100GB range, so there needs to be someone monitoring it.”

Once users sign up for Project Portfolio Analytics, all they need is a web browser to receive the following resources:

• cost item details
• forecast cost, cost per unit of measure and cost breakdown analysis
• man and equipment hours, man hour details, production hours per unit of measure, and work hours
• price breakdown
• productivity and performance, revenue and profit
• actual vs. planned vs. forecast man-hour and equipment hour details and costs

There are even more metrics intended for executives, such as a backlog and pipeline analytic and a maximizing profit margins tool. For more information on Project Portfolio Analytics, or just the company in general, hop on over to the Hard Dollar Web site.

AspenTech’s update to its integrated process engineering software includes several features that aim to ease the cost estimating process.

The release, officially known as aspenONE 7.0 for Process Engineering, is built upon what AspenTech is calling “the seven best practices of engineering excellence.” These cover concepts such as operations decision support, process modeling and integrated conceptual engineering workflow, the latter of which is best demonstrated in a screenshot of the aspenONE v7 activity pane.

As the screenshot shows, economic analysis is a key part of this workflow. In the past, notes Ron Beck, product marketing manager at AspenTech, each product stood alone — and, thus, so did each specific function within a project’s workflow. The clearly defined workflow, on the other hand, “support[s] moving around the pieces of software by task and taking the data sets along with it.”

The workflow lends itself to an integration of the cost estimating and modeling processes. Beck provides two examples of new functionality in aspenONE v7 that makes this happen:

• Chemical engineering firms draft dozens of models and typically have to wait a while for the cost estimates to come back. With aspenONE v7, process engineers can, as Beck describes it, “run a model, hit a button and get an estimate.” This figure won’t be as accurate as the data the cost estimator produces, mind you, but it will a) give the process engineer a rough idea of the feasibility of a model and b) ensure that cost estimators aren’t wasting time with models that will never see the light of day.
• The biggest cost element in a chemical plant is piping — and, depending on the material that is needed for a particular series of pipes, those costs care vary widely. aspenONE v7 lets cost estimators put together a preliminary piping layout and determine its cost. Again, this preliminary cost data won’t be 100% accurate, but, Beck notes, it will give cost estimators a figure to work with as they communicate with the rest of their organization.

Along with these enhancements, AspenTech has introduced a Microsoft Excel-like interface throughout aspenONE v7. This is particularly useful for applications such as Aspen Capital Cost Estimator, a product in the company’s Economic Evaluation family, as it helps bridge the gap between spreadsheet-based estimating software and more purpose-built software, Beck says. (Capital Cost Estimator used to be called Kbase. It is but one of many AspenTech products to get a new name that’s more directly related to what it does. A full list is available in the aspenONE V7.0 Product Name and Installation Guide.)

Other aspenONE v7 features not specific to cost estimating include plant operation simulation software, a model for calculating carbon offsets and virtualization support for Microsoft SoftGrid, VMware and Citrix. Virtualization lets corporate servers run several different versions of Capital Cost Estimator, Beck says.

After a year of minor updates and tweaks, Bid4Build Enterprises has released a major update to its Enterprise and Lite construction estimating software packages. The latest installment, version 3.5, boasts more than a dozen new features - many of which fall outside the realm of estimating.

For starters, Bid4Build Version 3.5 is now compatible with Microsoft Vista and Access 2007, as well as VirtualBoss Construction Scheduling and Project Management software.

But that’s not all. “This [update] is a combination of some specific features that customers were looking for, as well as things that we developed on our own,” Charles Molloy of Bid4Build said in a recent chat with ConstructionSoftwareReview.com. “We realized that customers want functionality while not spending a lot of money.”

Some of the new functionality that Malloy alluded to is listed below. (Click on the links to see a screenshot.)

• Quick Start Advanced Menu Navigation System –The new UI provides users a step-by-step outline on how to create and manage an estimate from start to finish. To go along with the walkthrough, video tutorials explain how to perform each function. “We found that people don’t want to read documentation,” Molloy said. “This way, every operation is broken down by a single video stream.”
• Expression Calculator – In addition to numerous preloaded calculators, this tool allows contractors to “build” their own calculators depending on the specifications of the job. A wizard is available within the application to help users define and calculate various dimensions. According to Molloy, this feature first appeared in HomeTech software; Bid4Build added it at the request of several customers.
• Advanced To-Do List — This is a task management tool that allows a contractor to track multiple estimates. It will also prompt a user when an action is required on a project.

While the Lite edition offers a scaled-down version of the Enterprise software, it, too, received a comprehensive update. Both versions can be downloaded from the Bid4Build Web site, with the Enterprise edition going for $395 and the Lite fetching $199. Existing customers who subscribe to Bid4Build’s yearly customer service and support package should note that version 3.5 can be updated for free, Molloy said.

The Bid4Build site also offers more information about the new features of Bid4Build 3.5 and a side-by-side comparison of the Enterprise and Lite Bid4Build offerings.

(Editor’s note: This is the first blog post by Keith Kessinger, who will be helping us out on ConstructionSoftwareReview.com throughout the summer and fall. Welcome aboard, Keith!)

Having established the core functionality of Prolog, Meridian Systems aimed to improve usability when it developed Prolog 2008. The latest version of the company’s flagship construction project management software, first previewed at a user conference in April, was officially released on June 4.

This focus on ease of use suggests that the construction software industry is beginning to mature, Sue Watkins, Meridian’s director of marketing, said in a recent interview.

[The construction] industry has very specific work processes and business processes that need to be followed. The early [software] products…focused on that capability. Now companies are changing the way they do business — from spreadsheets and pie charts that are faxed in to a more formal system — and it’s all about ease of use.

One way to make software easier to use is to model it after something users already know. Meridian thus modeled Prolog 2008 after Microsoft Outlook. Gone is the Switchboard-style interface for choosing modules. In its place is the collapsible folder system familiar to Outlook users.

Prolog 2008 also adds drag-and-drop functionality to the key process of adding file attachments to RFIs (requests for information). The concept of drag-and-drop is taken for granted in many types of software, but Watkins deemed it a relatively new concept for construction software.

Other Prolog enhancements include the ability to limit who revises PCOs (purchase change orders), the use of the 3D capabilities of Rasterex 9 for redlining, and support for Master Format 2004 cost codes. (A full list of new features is available in the PDF file What’s new in Prolog 2008.)

Prolog 2008 supports Microsoft SQL Server. On the interoperability front, Primavera software and Microsoft Project management software can be integrated with Prolog 2008, and SDKs (software development kits) are available for integration with Sage Timberline Office and JD Edwards accounting software, Watkins said.

Additional information on Meridian Systems and Prolog is available from ConstructionSoftwareReview.com’s Meridian Prolog software overview and Meridian Prolog user reviews.

*** Editor’s note: If you are a construction software vendor and you have a press release about a new product, send it to me for inclusion in a future article.