Estimating templates break and don’t scale — so why are you still using them? Today’s projects don’t fit the templates estimators have been using, which makes it impossible to structure project data in an effective way. These dated processes are a key reason preconstruction is too slow, and Ediphi is laser-focused on making estimating more efficient to shorten that process.
We’re making it happen with two key features: Use Groups and Area Sheets. They’re essential parts of speeding up the preconstruction process, driving cost modeling and conceptual estimating. They allow all stakeholders to clearly understand costs and get on the same page for a faster preconstruction phase.
With sophisticated formulas and intuitive use of historical data, Ediphi makes it far faster to ideate with owners and to give them the collaborative experience and quick pivots they expect.
Use Groups categorize different aspects of your estimate by asset class, use case, or location, — like above- or below-grade parking, retail, apartments, or hotels — or any other way the client prefers.
Use Groups gives a codified system that allows you to benchmark projects by the different uses they contain — laying the foundation for cost modeling in the future. This removes the tedious work of trying to do cost modeling when your data isn’t well-structured.
When you build estimates for customers using Use Groups, you can easily break out costs for customers — and you’re adding to your database with each new one you create. This process allows anybody in the organization to contribute to developing clean, accessible data for the benefit of the entire organization. Your work will be faster and more flexible, and you can make effortless cost comparisons between like-for-like uses, even when projects differ.
You can forget about using side sheets because everything is in the cloud — as it should be. Using data from past projects to access better, more accurate cost information, you can help owners make quicker decisions and get projects off the ground faster.
Because you can quickly give clients a breakdown of costs by use, clients who are funding a project by use will be able to make clearer decisions and work with their own stakeholders more efficiently.
But beware of fake cloud solutions that hide behind a remote desktop with a Citrix login. They don’t deliver what an actual cloud-based platform can.
Ediphi’s cloud infrastructure lays the foundation for real-time collaboration and data accessibility. When your estimating data is accessible in any browser on any device, you can get more value from it and drive the entire preconstruction process forward faster.
See Use Groups in action:
Today, estimates are built in complex, fragile spreadsheets by master estimators and require manual inputs and complicated formulas to produce early-stage estimates. Often other team members can’t work with these spreadsheets because they’re locked or too hard to understand.
Area Sheets are Ediphi’s solution to the black box of bulky templates that estimators currently use for conceptual estimating. They enable junior estimators to effectively operate them while being powerful enough for master estimators to drive very accurate conceptual estimates. They also can adapt to any project type, allowing you to customize them to accommodate any unique project features.
When projects progress using these older templates, the estimate is essentially started from scratch because the final drawings don’t align with the estimate from the early design conversations. Using Ediphi means you start with the right data in the first place and simply refine it with each conversation. When you get the final drawings, you’re making small adjustments to the work you’ve already done — not starting over.
Area Sheets also let you drive estimates based on the detailed geometry of your building. With the parameters of your design — like number of floors, perimeter, and floor-to-ceiling height — and unbreakable dynamic formulas, Ediphi helps you avoid costly mistakes caused by manual entry.
Area Sheets can populate estimating components like Unit Mix and Systems with the necessary data and automatically refactor them as designs change. By seamlessly connecting all these elements, you drastically cut the potential for delays and miscommunication and make it easier to collaborate with owners on a building’s design.
See an example of how to use Area Sheets
Get the estimating solution built for speed and efficiency
Beyond Use Groups and Area Sheets, Ediphi is packed with ways to work smarter and win more jobs. To see how Ediphi can improve your estimating process, get in touch and we’ll show you what it can do.
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