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O N - SCR EEN TA K EO FF A N D Q UICK BID FO R G L AS S A N D G L A ZIN G
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efore digital te chnologie s, the rolling
line a r sc ale, c olore d pe ncils, highlighte r s,
le gal pads, a nd c alculator s we re the tools of the
e stimator. A s the use of pe r sonal c ompute r s grew
in busine s s, e stimator s re plac e d their c alculator s
with ele c tronic sp re adshe ets, digital drawings,
a nd spe cialize d for mula s. Ma ny c ontrac tor s still
use traditional tools to ma nually pe r for m mate r ial
take of f s a nd ge ne rate e duc ate d c ost
"gue s stimate s" for their bids.
Ma nual p roc e s se s a re time - a nd labor-inte nsive.
Estimator s c a refully c omb through nume rous
drawings spre ad acros s a table to tabulate
window a nd spe cialt y gla s s door c ounts, some
line a r fra ming c ompone nts, a nd the squa re
footage. It take s substa ntial time a nd sk ill to
dete r mine the re al value s due to unique c onditions
a nd dra matic shape s whe re it is challe nging to
me a sure c or re c t value s by ha nd.
Contrac tor s inve st a lot of time a nd money into
their take of f a nd e stimating p roc e s se s in the hope
of winning bids. While ma nual p roc e s se s wor k,
c ontrac tor s have double d their bid p roduc tion
with O n - Scre e n Take of f a nd Q uick Bid. Bidding on
more p roje c ts a nd delive r ing profe s sional
package s le ads to winning more wor k .
Manual processes are a drag on
productivit y