AEC Solutions User Manual COMPLETE USER GUIDE FOR ALL PRODUCTS REVISION DATE: NOVEMBER 2017 (REV3)

Transcription

1 2017 AEC Solutions User Manual COMPLETE USER GUIDE FOR ALL PRODUCTS REVISION DATE: NOVEMBER 2017 (REV3)

2 Table of Contents User Registration... 6 Your FREE Personal Account... 6 User Profile Setup... 7 Account Registration... 7 Account User Roles... 8 FREE User... 8 Admin... 8 Project Admin... 9 Editor... 9 Viewer... 9 Tender System Access Tender Manager Tender User Ad Hoc Cost Estimate Feature Inspection System Access Inspector Coordinator Supervisor Admin Account Configuration Overview Project Groups Configuration Project Custom Fields Configuration Manage Field Group Names Lookup List Configuration Templates Configuration Tender Configuration Inspection Configuration Portal Options for Account Users Sharing AEC Project Map Create your First Project Additional Details P a g e

3 Manage Project Photos for Marketing Sheets Project Sheets Custom Project, List and Map Profile Sheets Project Map CAD Overlay Workflow using AutoCAD Civil 3D Adding the Overlay to AEC Project Map AEC Project Team Team Sheets Custom Team and User Profile Sheets AEC Tender Introduction AEC Tender Framework Add Tender User Configuration of the Tender System Standards Catalog Configuration Catalog Section Group Catalog Section Pay Item Table Fixed Pay Item Property Basic Catalog Section Table with Pay Items Adding Lookup Lists Pay Item Configuration Pay Item Table Group and Table Pay Item Table Properties Long Description Quantity Field Specification Documents Building a Pay Item Cost Estimate Query Building a Data Import Template for your Pay Item Setting up the Data Import Template Tender Template Configuration Tender Section Template Configuration Tender Section Group Configuration Tender Section Table Configuration What is the Getting Started Tender Template? P a g e

4 Standard Documents Adding a Standards Group Adding Standards Documents Configuring Standard Adding Standard to Tender Bidders List Adding a Bidder Group Adding a List of Bidders View Bidder Specifications Manager Adding a Spec Group Adding a Specification Configure Specification Assigning Specification to Items Assigning Specifications to Catalog Table Tender Navigation How to Create a New Tender Display Tender Type Legend Editing Tender Cost Sheet Details Populating Tender Section Table Pay Items for our New Tender Pay Items Data Entry Editing the Tender Section Pay Items Configuration on the Fly Historic Tender Data Entry Create Historic Tender Adding Unit Pricing Ad-Hoc Cost Estimating Summary Details Chart Bid Processing Sending the Cost Sheet Bid Review and Award P a g e

5 AEC Tender Workflow Training Bid Processing Workflow Create an Annual Price Book AEC Inspect Introduction Add Mobile User Inspection Form Configuration Create a Basic Photo Inspection Form Create a Tabular Excel report Create a Multi-Inspection Form with Contract Items Sending Inspection Groups Using AEC Inspect Mobile App Setting up the App Install Login to App Home Screen Forms Projects Menu Sync Logout Settings Form Entry General Map Details Photos Submission Sending Inspection via App Add Sub-Inspection Contract Item P a g e

6 Settings ios Sample Forms AEC Inspect Portal Viewing for New Forms Exporting Reports AutoCAD Integration Import Data Upload Alignment Support Contact Information P a g e

7 User Registration Every user in the AEC Solutions portal has a unique username and password. The username is based on the address of the registered user. Any notifications will then be sent to this address. Your FREE Personal Account Upon registering, all users can have a Personal user account which they can start using without paying for a subscription. Personal Projects with common details, images and bios can be added to the FREE account. The User Profile can be setup with common details, bio, keywords and resume details like education and experience. Project Sheets and Personal CVs can be created with the FREE personal account. Adding more team members and adding Mobile or Tender capabilities is not available in a personal account. However, it is easy to convert a personal account to a paid account that has access to these capabilities. 6 P a g e

8 User Profile Setup The User Profile is where you can personalize your information for others to see and access as part of a Paid Account. It also includes data entry fields for short a Biography, Keywords, Education and Experience information. For more functionality select the Create an Account option Account Registration Once you select the Create an Account option, you may add complete Account Details, Marketing Blurbs. You may also Manage your Network and share people and projects, List Configurations and Users using the Account Option in the Portal Pulldown menu. 7 P a g e

9 Account User Roles 1. Select Account 2. Select the Manage Users tab option to start adding others to your Account. 3. In the address edit box, add addresses and select the submit option. This will send the user an with instructions to login and edit their profile. 4. Permissions and Rights for the users can be setup as well in this grid Admin, Project Manager, Editor, Viewer 5. Selecting add-on functionality for Mobile Inspection and Tender Management is also done here. FREE User Upon registering for FREE, the user login (based on address and password) determines if the USER is associated with any named Accounts. If they are NOT associated with any named Accounts, then they are considered a FREE user with restricted access and functionality. FREE users are allowed to: Create a Full User profile with Contact Info, Bio, Resume and Associated Personal projects Ability to Create a User resume or CV (Basic Template Only) Create Personal Projects with restrictions from adding other users and building custom project fields for search and display on sheets Create Project Profile Sheets, Project Lists and Project Location Maps Restricted Partner Network function is limited to sharing Personal Project Sheets and User Resumes with only paid Account holders this means you can be invited to share your public material with others who have a Full Account, but you cannot network with others or view others information Admin Full Account Administration functionality creating Project Groups, Teams, Adding Users and Configuring Lookup Lists. Full control over User Security and Permissions Full Functionality and Editing permissions for every project or user 8 P a g e

10 Full Partner Network function to partner with any FREE User ( address) or named Account holder Project Admin Full Functionality to Create and Edit Projects, Add Images, Team Members Full Admin to Configure Custom Project Details and any Lookup Lists related to Projects Create, Edit and Configuration of Project Sheets, Lists and Maps Ability to add other account users who can edit the project Ability to set the Share option to expose Project to Partner Network Editor Ability to Edit Projects if granted permission by Admin or Project Admin to edit the project Create, Edit and Configuration of Project Sheets, Lists and Maps Create, Edit and Configuration of Team Sheets and Resume CVs If Mobile Enabled, Full Mobile Data Collection and Editing of collected data If Tender Enabled, Ability to Edit Existing Tenders Viewer View and Download Access to all Portal Content Maps, Team, Sheets, Inspections, Tenders No Editing or Administration role Access to Partner Network if allowed by Admin Simple Cost Estimating if Account has Tender privileges 9 P a g e

11 Tender System Access AEC Solutions Product User Manual Tender Manager Portal Functionality equal to Project Admin Full Tender Administration functionality Configuring Tender Lookup Lists, Tender Configuration parts like Catalog, Pay Items, Section Templates, CSV Upload Templates, Document Manager Complete control over Cost Estimate Query Builder for Cost Estimating Complete Editing and Configuration of Tender Sections Complete Access to Bid Package Creation, Approval and Submission Tender User Portal Functionality equal to Editor Limited control over Cost Estimate Query Builder for Cost Estimating Complete Tender Editing and Configuration of Tender Sections Download Cost Sheet (Spreadsheet) No ability to create Bid Package or other Tender Management processes and analysis Ad Hoc Cost Estimate Feature Accessible to any Viewer in the System No settings required to provide access to Tenders for viewing 10 P a g e

12 Inspection System Access AEC Solutions Product User Manual Inspector Can create and edit own inspections Coordinator Inspector features Can create and modify forms, Lookup Lists Supervisor Inspector features Can edit/check others inspections Admin Full control over Forms and Inspections, Lookup Lists Can edit/check others inspections 11 P a g e

13 Account Configuration Overview Before adding users to teams or building projects, a corporate framework is necessary for organizing the online data. Select the Configuration tab in the Account Management tab Project Groups Configuration Select the Manage Project Groups option to start setting up the company project framework. Add Major Groups and Minor Groups which represent your firm s framework. For any users already registered and added to your Users List, you may add them to the group to allow them to create or edit projects under that specific group. 12 P a g e

14 Project Teams Configuration AEC Solutions Product User Manual Select the Manage Teams option to start setting up the company framework. Add Teams that represent your firm s framework. These teams will be accessible in the project information tab and will help when creating project sheets. Project Custom Fields Configuration For every account, the administrator can create custom project fields or attributes for search, presentation and reporting. Access to the list of custom project fields or attributes is done via the Custom Project Fields link in the Account Configuration manager. Attributes are added and categorized using Groups. The data type assigned to the project attribute can be a Yes/No (Boolean), number, string field or from a lookup list. 13 P a g e

15 Manage Field Group Names This is a manager to categorize the custom project attributes or fields to make them easier to find. It can be accessed from the upper right corner of the Custom Project Attributes editor. Lookup List Configuration The system has a variety of lookup list options which require some management. By default, the following lookup lists are included in every account and cannot be modified: Titles used in the User profile Roles this is used when you add people to projects, their actual role in the project may be different between projects and different to their title at the company Project Types From the project information page a project type is selected to help in filtering across the site The lookup list manager divides the lookup lists according to function and the lists are only accessible from the matching tools. The lists created under Project are only available from project information screens and likewise the team lists are only visible from team related screens. As many lists as is desired can be created with as many as items is necessary. In addition, they can be used for theming on the project map if they are assigned a colour and associated with an attribute as shown below. 14 P a g e

16 Templates Configuration The default content formatting like text style, font, size and background colours can be controlled using this configuration manager and applies to all project sheets, team sheets are resumes. Tender Configuration The List of Configuration Managers are accessed here and discussed later in this document. Inspection Configuration This configuration system allows the administrator to create and edit mobile form definition, field configuration and report type format. Portal Options for Account Users Selecting the Portal pulldown option, you will see the following portal options: Project Create, Edit and Manage online Projects Project Sheet Create, Edit and Manage Project Profile, List and Map Sheets Team View your online Corporate and Project Teams and User Profiles Team Sheet Create, Edit and Manage your Team User Profiles and List Sheets Tender Access existing or create new tenders and cost estimates Inspect Access to the Mobile Data Collection for Any Project 15 P a g e

17 Sharing The Sharing tab allows the user to configure users outside of the Account s organization. These outside users can be granted access to View, Create, or Edit Tenders and Inspections. Adding a user is as simple as entering his/her and setting their permissions. AEC Project Map A complete picture of all your online projects with Map Locations. Search any keyword to reduce the list and make finding specific projects easy. Instantly access details, custom details, images, marketing and team list for the selected project. Create your First Project Select the New Project from the Projects menu bar. 16 P a g e

18 You can add standard details and map location and a basic marketing profile. If you select Create then the project becomes active and is available to the portal users for any use. It s the main container for all data associated with the Online project. Additional Details Selecting the Create and Add Additional Details will put you into the Project Edit mode. Once created, you can now edit the Marketing, Keywords, Images, Custom details and Team member list. Once a project is saved it can be edited by Admin or anyone with Edit Permissions. 17 P a g e

19 Manage Project Photos for Marketing Sheets Under the Marketing Tab, you may select Manage Photos. This will allow you to add and edit the associated Images attached to the project. Select the Add Photo option to add as many photos as you want to the project. Project Sheets Project Sheets include 3 basic types of sheets Profile Sheet A detailed layout with Project Profile, Custom Details, Images, and Team selections Project List A selection of multiple projects with reduced summary profiles, custom details and images. Search can be used to filter the selected projects to add to the sheet. Project Map A selection of multiple projects with reduced summary profiles, custom details and images. Search can be used to filter the selected projects to add to the sheet. For every sheet type, custom formatting for background, text style, colour and font can be setup and saved. 18 P a g e

20 Custom Project, List and Map Profile Sheets The system includes several standard project sheet templates, we can however, deliver custom Project, List and Map PDFs upon request within 72hrs of request for a fixed fee. Please support@aecsolutions.ca for more information. 19 P a g e

21 Project Map CAD Overlay Workflow using AutoCAD Civil 3D Set Drawing Coordinates 1. Launch AutoCAD Civil 3D, Open Overlay Drawing 2. Using Prospector Toolspace, Select Settings Tab 3. Right Click Drawing name, Edit Drawing Settings 4. Assign Drawing Coordinate System Assumption that the CAD work is geo-located in the right location 20 P a g e

22 5. Verify Geo-Location, Select the Geo-Location ribbon menu tab 6. Select Map Aerial option to display Bing Map 7. Verify location turn Map Off 21 P a g e

23 Export Linework Vectors to GIS Compatible Overlay for AEC Project Map 8. Before Exporting, verify all objects are 2D Polylines 9. Use the MapExport command 10. Select name and filetype export use the ESRI Shapefile (*.shp) export format 11. Select Line object type 12. Manually Select Linework or Select All by Layer Filter 13. Select the Data Tab, 22 P a g e

24 14. Select option to Create unique key field option 15. Select Options tab, 16. Select the Convert Coordinate to: option 17. Add LL84 this will translate the CAD work to Lat/Long WGS 18. Select OK button to export the data 23 P a g e

25 Adding the Overlay to AEC Project Map 1. In the Portal Menu, Select Project opion 2. Select the Project 3. Select the Edit General Information option in lower right panel 4. Select the Overlay Tab option 5. Select the Add Feature Tab in lower grid 6. Browse and Select each filetype generated by Exporting the Shapefile 24 P a g e

26 7. Select Add Overlay button 8. Select Features Tab 9. Adjust Overlay Colour and Thickness 25 P a g e

27 AEC Project Team A complete list of all your online corporate and project teams populated with registered users. Search any keyword to reduce the list and make finding specific people easy. Instantly access details, keywords, resume details, user images for the selected team or user. Selection of the User profile in the summary list will show User Profile Details with a complete Projects List and their role on the project team. 26 P a g e

28 Team Sheets Team Sheets include 3 basic types of sheets User Profile Sheet A generic layout with User Details, Bio, Images, and Resume Details User CV profile Sheet A generic layout with reduced Bio, Images and Resume Details combined with Selected Projects for that Person Team Summary - A selection of multiple users with reduced summary profiles, details and images. Search can be used to filter the selected users to add to the sheet. For every sheet type, custom formatting for background, text style, colour and font can be setup and saved. 27 P a g e

29 Custom Team and User Profile Sheets We can custom deliver custom Team and User Profile PDFs upon request within 72hrs of request for a fixed fee. Please support@aecsolutions.ca for more information. 28 P a g e

30 AEC Tender AEC Solutions Product User Manual Introduction This is our complete Form of Tender Bid Package Preparation, Approval, Distribution, Analysis and Cost Estimating system. Standardizing the Process Since the AEC Tender product replaces various non-digital processes used by contract administration groups working at any AEC firm, standardization of systems and process is required to ensure a successful implementation. The implementation process combines seven (7) separate systems and integrates them into a connected database. These systems include: 1. Standards Catalog All items to be constructed are combined into a standardized catalog which can be shared and used in any project type. This provides the backbone of the standardized tendering system. They are Fixed Pay Item Properties which do not change from project to project. Typical Example of a Sewer Pipe fixed catalog section table with item properties are: a. Item Code b. Description c. Diameter d. Material e. Class 2. Pay Item Table Configuration These are Flexible Project Pay Item Properties which can be combined with fixed catalog properties to be more project type specific. Using the Sewer Pipe example we might want to add the following Pay Item properties: a. Start Manhole Name b. End Manhole Name c. Length d. Street Name e. Average Depth The resulting Long Description defined in the Pay Item Table Configuration is ultimately shown in the Tender Cost Sheet and could look something like this: 86.87m x 600mm Dia Concrete Sewer Pipe Class 65-D on Street A (Average Depth = 2.6m) 3. Cost Estimating System Pay Item Tables are also used as the method to build Cost Estimate Query definitions into the system. Users can define the level of detail of cost estimating based 29 P a g e

31 on both Project and Pay Item Properties. Example: Estimate a 600mm Dia Concrete Pipe, +/- 0.5m Average Depth, 50km from current project location 4. Data Import System Pay Item Tables are also used to configure seamless Comma Separated Value (CSV) Formatted Data Import Templates to streamline CAD Import or any other formatted text file in CSV format. AutoCAD Civil 3D QTO using XML format is also supported. 5. Tender Template Configuration The Tender Template is used to combine the Fixed Catalog Section Table to the Flexible Pay Item Table in order to define the Tender Section Table Item Properties for Data Entry. The Tender Template also allows you to configure the sorting, grouping, enumeration and any associated Cost Estimate Query and/or QTO Data Import templates in order to further customize the system to meet specific project requirements. This provides the standardized entry system for any staff to build the Cost Sheets for Estimating or full blown Bid Packages distributed to contractors. 6. Standard Documents System any standard or specification document in PDF format can be attached to a Master Catalog Section Table or Pay Item Table. This means if you have supporting documentation for a specific item(s) it can be included automatically included in the Bid Documents Package if the Tender Template uses the Catalog or Pay Item with an attached standard. 7. Lookup List Manager the system can have any number of standard Lookup Lists to speed data entry and keep data entry standardized. This is critical during Ad-Hoc Cost Estimating or Cost Estimate Query building. AEC Tender Framework Standards Catalog Manager this is the main system which allows the user to build a standardized items catalog using 2 main components: Catalog Section Group and Catalog Section Table. Pay Item Table Manager this system manages the flexible Pay Item Tables containing all of the Pay Item properties used to build the Tender Section Cost Sheet. Tender Template Manager this system allows the user to create a Tender Template for any project type. Like the Standards Catalog, the Tender Template consists of 2 main components: Tender Section Groups and Tender Sections. 30 P a g e

32 The purpose of the Tender Section Template is to connect the Standards Catalog Pay Item Table with a Selected Pay Item Table. The Tender Section Table also configures the item grouping, sorting and Cost Estimate Query used to do cost estimating. Cost Estimate Query Manager - This system provides the enhanced feature functionality to do real-time cost estimating during tender cost sheet creation. The system enables the user to specifically set the Project and Tender Section properties used to query cost data on previously submitted bids. Quantity Take Off (QTO) Data Import Manager - This system provides the basic connection to the typical design software export file formatted ASCII file - Comma Separated Value (CSV). Data can be imported from any CAD system directly into the Tender Section Table. Lookup List Tables - Under the Lookup Table configuration, users can create and manage the lookup lists which can be used as specific string datatype in the Catalog and/or Pay Item Table. Bidder List Configure Bidder Groups and the List of Bidders for each group. Specifications Manager - Manage and create Specification Documents that can then be attached to items within a tender. 31 P a g e

33 Add Tender User In order to access the Tender System functionality, the user must have the Tender option in the Manage Users table turned on. By turning on the Tender option, the user will get an notifying them with details about subscription account changes. Tender Manager vs Cost Estimator A Tender Manager has full access and control of the tendering system, from setup to bid management. To enable Tender Manager the User Permission needs Project Admin level access and Tender option set to ON. A Cost Estimator has limited access, allowing only Cost Estimate Creation, Editing, document management and Cost Sheet Download. To enable Cost Estimator the User Permission needs to be Editor level access and the Tender option set to ON. 32 P a g e

34 Configuration of the Tender System The first step in building your AEC Tender system is to configure and connect the 3 primary systems. Keep in mind that the Tender Manager is the key person(s) to do this work. The Cost Estimator will only be able to create a cost estimate from the templates built by the Tender Manager. How-to: 1. Sign into the Account 2. Select Configuration tab 3. Under Tender Configuration, you will see the various pages listed which are used to configure the system. They are ordered in level of priority when building the system. 4. Get started by selecting Standards Catalog Standards Catalog Configuration The Standards Catalog consists of 2 components: Catalog Section Groups and Catalog Pay Item Section Tables. Catalog Section Group The Standards Catalog is used to organize your company s Master Catalog and the Items used for any project. Catalog Section Groups can be used to help with that organizational structure. Let s start by creating a new Catalog for our tendering system. How-to: 1. Under the Configuration Tab in Account Management, Select Standards Catalog option 2. Select the Account 3. Add a Catalog Name into the Edit Box 4. Select the New Catalog icon, a New Catalog will appear under the account 5. Add a Catalog Section Group 33 P a g e

35 Catalog Section Pay Item Table A Catalog Section Pay Item Table contains user defined Fixed Pay Item Properties and their associated Datatype and Units. These can be access through the Configuration tab. Every Catalog Section Pay Item Table has at least 2 common mandatory properties: Item Code and Description. 1. ItemCode: A unique code which can be used for searches and cost estimates 2. Description: A Common Description for the Item. The Catalog Pay Item Description appears in the tender section editing panel used for drag n drop data entry. Fixed Pay Item Property The Catalog Pay Item Table is used mainly to store the Fixed Pay Item Properties which do not change between project types. As an example, a 300mm Diameter Concrete Class 65-D Pipe would have 3 additional properties Diameter, Material, Class. These properties are common to all projects and can be used in any Tender Section Template. 34 P a g e

36 Basic Catalog Section Table with Pay Items Catalog Section Table with Enhanced Pay Item Properties 35 P a g e

37 Adding Lookup Lists Adding a Lookup List to the tender system is quick and easy. Lookup lists allow the user to standardize the data entry process to ensure complete standardization and accuracy when doing cost estimating. The lookup list system can accommodate all the aspects of the product, including Project Map, Team and Inspect. Each system requires lookup lists and the Tender product is a part of this overall management system. Let s start by creating a new Tender Lookup List for our Catalog. How-to: 1. Under the Configuration Tab in Account Management, Select Lookup List option 2. Select the Tender option under the Account, a list of existing Lookups List will appear in the tree view 3. Add a Lookup List Name into the Edit Box 4. Select the Add List option, a new Lookup List will appear under the account Tender list 5. In the Lookup List grid, ADD a new entry, set the index order and Lookup List value 36 P a g e

38 The Tender Lookup Lists can be used in any Catalog or Pay Item Section Table configuration. The same technique is used to create and edit Lookup Lists for the other product systems. Specifically, the Project Custom details definition system uses Lookup Lists for project based search properties and map themes. Pay Item Configuration Once the Tender Catalog has been created you can move to the Pay Item Configuration required to create the complete AEC Tender system. In the Tender Catalog configuration we detailed how to build the standard Catalog framework with Catalog Section Groups and Tables. The Catalog Pay Item Tables were configured with Fixed Catalog Item properties. The Pay Item configuration system is where we actually add the project or industry type Pay Item properties required for building the complete tender. In our example above we looked at the Circular Concrete Pipe with Fixed Catalog properties like Item Code, Description, Diameter and Material. In this example we will expand this into a Tender PayItem with properties unique to the project or industry type. The additional properties in this example might be Start Manhole Name, End Manhole Name, Length of Pipe and Average Depth of Pipe. These are the properties which may be required in order to display in the Tender Schedule of Unit Prices or for use in the Cost Estimating Query system. It is possible to have another Tender Pay Item definition for the same Catalog example with simply Length of Pipe as an additional Pay Item Property. This means we can use the same Catalog and display the Tender information differently based on project requirements. Pay Item Table Group and Table Like the Catalog, the user may manage the Tender Pay Item Tables using groups. This will help organize the system as it gets more complex. Let s start by creating a new Tender Pay Item Table for our tendering system. How-to: 1. Under the Configuration Tab in Account Management, Select Pay Item Manager option 2. Select the Account 3. Add a Pay Item Group Name into the Edit Box 4. Select the New Group toolbar option, a New Group will appear under the account 5. Add a Pay Item Table Name into the Edit Box 6. Select the New Pay Item Table toolbar option, a New Pay Item Table will appear under the group 37 P a g e

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40 Pay Item Table Properties Once the Pay Item table has been defined, you will note that every new pay item table has three (3) default pay item properties: Item Code, Description and Note. This is the opportunity to add more item properties to reflect both the Catalog Item Properties and the Project based requirements. Let s add the item properties which match the desired Catalog for our sample. How to: 1. ADD a Pay Item property, a. Set the Index (order in which you want the fields to go across the top of the pay item table) b. Set the Name of the Property c. Set the Type for the Pay Item Property. You can specify Boolean (yes/no), String (Text), Number (where (0) denotes number decimals) and a Lookup-List name. d. Set the Units for the Pay Item Property e. Set the Required field to ON if the Property is required f. Set a Sample value for previewing the Long Description 39 P a g e

41 Long Description The Long Description is a very important configuration which allows the user to configure the actual text shown in the Description Cell of the Schedule or Unit Pricing (Cost Sheet). The Long Description can be coded where any Pay Item Property can be displayed as long as the property name is enclosed with square [ and ] brackets. This tells the system to use the tender data in the description wherever the property is enclosed with square brackets. Our example would have a long description coded as follows: The Preview shows how the text in the Cost Sheet would look using the sample values provided above. 40 P a g e

42 Quantity Field One of the most important pay item configuration settings is the selection of the QUANTITY FIELD used for this pay item. This is the property with their units that is shown in the final tender cost sheet. The Pay Item Properties are populated in the Quantity Field pulldown list once toy have added them to the pay item properties list. Also listed are system quantity types, 1. Lump Sump uses the LumpSum unit, just a lump sum cost to build this item 2. Each uses the Each unit, assumes cost for 1 item 3. Allowance uses the Allow unit, allows the user to add the unit cost allowed to build this item 4. Manual this adds 2 columns to the Tender Pay Item Table to allow user to type in anything for Quantity and Units. Basically used for tender tables that have mixed units and no way to categorize them 41 P a g e

43 Specification Documents You can add any number of Pay Item Specification documents to the Pay Item definition should it be required in the bid package. Use the Standard Documents Manager to add documents to the site first and then reference them using this interface. Final Pay Item Configuration Sample 42 P a g e

44 Building a Pay Item Cost Estimate Query A Cost Estimate Query can be added to the Pay Item Table for real-time pay item unit cost estimating when building a tender. A Pay Item Table can have any number of Cost Estimate Queries in order to suit the need of the project. The Cost Estimate Query (CEQ) is an easy system to use in order to build a sophisticated database query without programming. The CEQ uses both Project and Item based Properties to search for past project pay items that closely match or exactly match the same pay item property used in a project tender. Setting up the Pay Item Cost Estimate Query 1. Percentile - Assign the Percentile location where the estimate value might fall in the resulting query. 50 means the median or centre of the query results. 75 would take from the higher priced items, whereas, 25 would take from the lower unit prices. 2. Trim Amount automatically remove samples from the extreme high and low of the query results. This is used to remove anomalies from the samples 3. Apply Inflation apples the current rate of inflation derives from national inflation rate sources 4. Awarded Only will only use pricing from awarded tenders 5. Pay Item Query Builder add any payitem properties used in the query. a. Condition - Setting the AND OR criteria with multiple pay items properties, the query will use AND as a default but user can set the OR criteria. OR is used if they want to select the query the same property with differing values. ie.. Pipe Material = PVC OR Pipe Material = Concrete. 43 P a g e

45 b. Open and Close Brackets this will allow complex queries to be evaluated where items within brackets are evaluated first, similar to a math function. c. Assign an Operator to the property to property set the criteria for database query and results. Standard operators include exact match, greater than, less than, +/- expression, not equal to. d. Value sets the query property value for Match or Evaluation e. Sample you can test the query by adding actual values in the expression for test against the current database 6. Property Query Builder add any project related property to the query a. Adding proximity will evaluate and filter only project cost data within a set distance from the current project tender b. Adding standard project properties project type, project name and groups are some of the properties you can add to filter the pricing data c. Adding custom project properties add your own custom project properties and use them in the cost estimate query 7. Once the Cost Estimate Query is built you can assign it in the Tender Section Template. This will evaluate items as they are added to the project tender and return a cost estimate for that item. Results of the Cost Estimate are found in the tender section Cost Estimate tab. Building a Data Import Template for your Pay Item Another huge advantage in using AEC Tender is the ability to configure the Pay Item Data Import Template to automate the data import function of pay item information from CAD or any other system using CSV format for data interoperability. Setting up the Data Import Template 1. Determine which payitem property matches the CSV file format column 44 P a g e

46 2. Assign the Column number to each payitem property 3. Use the Upload File option to preview the results to verify tht it works correctly 4. Note: 0 Column means that the property does not exist in the CSV file Once it s setup, the user has access to the data import template during regular data entry under the Tender section Import tab. 45 P a g e

47 Tender Template Configuration The Tender Template system connects the Standard Catalog with the PayItems configuration. The Tender Template can be totally customized to look like the Schedule of Unit Prices organizational structure you are used to seeing. Using Tender Section Templates allows you to share Catalog Items with different Pay Item Configurations to suit the project type. Tender Section Template Configuration 1. Select Account 2. Select Configuration 3. Select Tender Section Manager 4. Create a New Tender Section Template 5. Configure Tender Template Details a. Name b. Tender Instructions to Bidder (this will be shown in Summary of Cost Sheet) c. Enumeration for both Sections and Pay Items under each Section Table d. Bid Package Document Sections this is where document management can be added to the Template for ultimate bid packaging e. Package Type single PDF consolidated or ZIP file with individual documents f. Document Enumerator Type Number, Letter, Roman Numerals or Manually set Bid Documents Page Enumerator 46 P a g e

48 Tender Section Group Configuration 6. Add a New Section Group 7. Add Name and Description this will appear on Cost Sheet Summary for the Section Group 8. Enumerator you can override this is required 9. Start New Worksheet - Define as a new worksheet when exported to the Cost Sheet 10. Suppress in Summaries This will add to Cost Sheet but any Items are not totalled in the summary (provisional sections for unit price quotes only) 47 P a g e

49 Tender Section Table Configuration 11. Add Section Grouping 12. Add Section Tables under each Group 13. Define Catalog Section Table, Pay Item Table, Cost Estimate Query for each Tender Section Table 14. Pick both Catalog and Pay Item properties to show in this Tender Section Table. Bold items are common to both Catalog and PayItem tables 15. Set Grouping and Sorting fields and methods 16. Add Specifications and Descriptions you want to show in the Cost Sheet (Schedule of Unit Pricing) 48 P a g e

50 What is the Getting Started Tender Template? The Getting Started Tender Template is a good example of how the Master Catalog, Pay Items, Lookup Lists, Cost Estimating Query and QTO Import systems are connected. To Review all of the back end systems go to the Account option, Select the Configuration Tab, Select any of the Tender Configuration Management options. In most cases, you will have your own Tender Configuration System built specifically for clients, project types or government standards. The Getting Started system is simply an example of how the Catalog, PayItems and Tender Section template is connected. 49 P a g e

51 Standard Documents The Standard Documents Manager allows the user to sort and configure standard documents that can be added to a tender. Adding a Standards Group 1. Enter Standard Group Name 2. Select User Name 3. Select Add Group Button 4. Group will be added, letting the user add Standards Documents Adding Standards Documents Manually 1. Enter Standard Document Name 2. Select Desired Group 3. Select Add Document Button 4. Document will be added 50 P a g e

52 Via Document Use the Browse Function to add a standard document from a file. Document section will be created automatically. Configuring Standard Selecting a Standard will allow the user to configure it. The user can add the standard document, preview it and also download it. Adding Standard to Tender 1. Navigate to Tender Portal 51 P a g e

53 2. Select Desired Tender (Cannot be Historical) 3. Select Spec Docs Tab near bottom of page 4. Select the Edit Spec Docs link 5. Select Add File 6. Add Standard File to be uploaded Editing Specifications Documents is easily accessed through the Tender Portal From the configuration page, Standards may be managed to the users discretion. Bidders List The Bidders list allows the user to configure Bidder Groups and the List of Bidders for each group. Any bids assigned to a bidder will appear on this screen, allowing the user to easily overview any bids that a bidder has made. Adding a Bidder Group 1. Enter Bid Group Name 2. Select User Name 3. Select the Add Bidder Group function 4. Group will be added, letting the user add bidders 52 P a g e

54 Adding a List of Bidders 1. Enter Bidder Name 2. Select Desired Group to add a bidder to 3. Use Add Bidder funtion 4. Bidder will be added to selected Group View Bidder The user can now select a bidder and edit bidder credentials. The use will also be able to view any previous or current bids under the Bidder Summary section. 53 P a g e

55 Specifications Manager The Specification Documents Manager will allow the user to manage and create Specification Documents that can then be attached to items within a tender. Adding a Spec Group 1. Enter Desired Group name 2. Select User Name 3. Use Add Spec Group function 4. Group will then be added 54 P a g e

56 Adding a Specification 1. Enter Spec Name 2. Select Desired Group to add Specification to 3. Use Add Spec function 4. Specification will be added to selected Group Configure Specification 55 P a g e

57 Added Specifications can be configured by selecting the desired Specification node. From this page, the user can enter Specification details and use the built-in editor to create spec documents within AEC Solutions Assigning Specification to Items 1. Navigate to Tender Portal or Standards Catalog 2. If adding through Tender, Select Desired Tender 3. Select Edit Sections 4. Navigate to desired Item 5. Enable Specs 6. Use the Add function on desired Item 7. Navigate to Desired Specification 8. Choose Add Spec option 9. Close Dialog Box or Add Additional Spec 10. Use View option to view added specifications User must first toggle Specs to Enable before Specs may be added 56 P a g e

58 After Navigating to desired Spec, The Spec may be previewed and then added Assigning Specifications to Catalog Table 1. Navigate to Standards Catalog 2. Select Desired Catalog Table 3. Navigate to Specifications tab 4. Add New Specification 5. Navigate to Desired Specification 6. Choose Add Spec Any specifications listed here will be added to each item when they are added to the Tender. Follow the above section to add Specifications to individual items. Tender Navigation When the Tender option is selected in the portal pull down list, the project groups appear, with projects and locations in the map. Upon selection of the project in the treeview, the project location will appear in the map. A list of Current Tenders (if any) appear in the treeview under the project. Upon selection of the Tender, the Tender Summary (Cost Sheet) showing all Sections, Number of Pay Items and a Section Cost Estimate will appear in the right panel. Also displayed are the associated documents (PDFs) attached to the Tender. 57 P a g e

59 Tender Summary Page Once you have created a new Tender, it will display under the Project tree. A project can have multiple tenders, all at various stages in the project lifecycle. Important Note: Each tender is a copy of the Tender Section Template from which is was created from. Any changes to the Tender Section Template are not made or reflected in the Project tender. 58 P a g e

60 Tender Summary Interface AEC Solutions Product User Manual Tender Status Icons For all tenders, a coloured icon represents the status of the tender in the process. 1. Historic Tender a tender which is added to the system manually and used for Cost Estimating Data. 2. Cost Estimate a tender created by a Cost Estimator user. This tender cannot be processed as a formal bid unless the status is changed by the tender manager. 3. Open Tender a standard tender created by a tender manager, which will eventually be approved and released 4. Released Tender an approved tender which has been released to bidders. Addendums are the only way to change the content and rerelease to bidders 5. Closed Tender a tender which is now closed and ready for award. 6. Awarded tender a single bid is selected and used as the awarded Tender for use in the progress certification process 59 P a g e

61 Tender Toolbar AEC Solutions Product User Manual The tender toolbar controls the management of the tender process. 1. Edit Tender allows the complete management of the closing date, approval, release to bidders, bidders list, documents manager and tender style template 2. Edit Tender Sections this is the main interface to the tender items content. This allows the user to add items from the catalog quickly and easily into the tender section tables. 3. Download Bid Package once the tender has been populated, a ZIP file containing all the attached documents and the Excel Cost Sheet can be downloaded 4. Download Cost Sheet once the tender has been populated, an Excel Spreadsheet file containing all the Tender Section Items Cost Sheet can be downloaded 5. Manage Addendums this allows the user to manage the Addendums to a Released Tender. An Addendum has to be created before the Tender can be Edited or updated. These updates are recorded and included in the Bid Package contents if re-released to the bidders 6. Bid Analysis this allows quick and accurate comparison of all pricing from bidders once the Tender is closed. Graphics for each tender section are displayed showing totals from each bidder. Item by Item comparison is possible as well. 7. Delete Tender this will remove the tender from the system 60 P a g e

62 How to Create a New Tender To get Started, every new account has a Getting Started Tender Template you can use to familiarize yourself with the system and understand the relationships. Simple select the Create Tender option in the lower right panel to create a New Tender for the selected project. You will be asked to fill in some basic information about the Tender. This is also where you assign the pre-configured Tender Template for the project. Depending on the size of the Tender Section Template this could take several minutes to generate. A progress bar shows the process stage of completion. There are 3 types of Tender: Active, Historical and Cost Estimate. Active tenders allow full functionality and including bidding and analysis. A cost estimate has all the parts of a cost sheet, but none of the documents and cannot be released for bids. However, it can be easily upgraded to an active tender where these features will be activated. A historical 61 P a g e

63 tender is typically used to enhance the cost estimating system and similar to the cost estimate has complete cost sheet capabilities but no documents or bidding capabilities. The Historic Tender allows for Bidder Unit Price Entry in place of the Cost Estimate functionality. If multiple bids are input into the tender they can be analyzed using the bid analysis system discussed later. Display Tender Type Legend The tender icon changes border colour indicating what type of tender it is. To access the legend, select the Display Legend icon in the tender navigation toolbar. Edit the Tender Sections Now that the Tender has been started, you may then start editing the contents of the Tender Schedule of Unit Prices (Cost Sheet). Select the Edit Sections option in the toolbar to get started. 62 P a g e

64 63 P a g e AEC Solutions Product User Manual

65 Editing Tender Cost Sheet Details Each Tender has the configuration properties set based on the Tender Template used. This includes configuration for, Name and Workbook Password Tender Instructions which appear on the Summary Page of the Cost Sheet Enumeration setting for both Tender Section and Tender Table Payitems Summary Level will determine if additional Summary Sheets are required in the Cost Sheet beyond 1 level deep Contingency an overall Contingency for the project shown in the Summary of the Cost Sheet Cost Estimate Percentile Override - this is the ability to reset the Cost Estimate for every section item using a Percentile Override. This is very useful when looking to do a Cost estimate using higher or lower percentiles depending on the use of the cost estimate. Warning: depending on the side of the project tender, this could take several minutes to refresh.. 64 P a g e

66 Populating Tender Section Table Pay Items for our New Tender Pay Items Data Entry There are 3 ways to add data to the Tender Section 1. Drag and Drop from Master Catalog 2. Add Items Manually using Grid Toolbar 3. Import Data from External Sources (CAD, Excel) Data Entry using Drag and Drop The easiest way to add content is to simply drag and drop master catalog items to the Section Pay Item table. Any fixed Catalog Properties are set as a default in the pay item, any flexible Pay Item Table Properties can be edited by selecting the edit option of the grid or double clicking the row. Editing the Tender Section Pay Items Once data has been added, you can simply start selecting cells and editing. It should be noted however that once you save, delete or leave the active cell the change is permanent. They system has been built to facilitate editing by multiple users so anyone can add data to the same Tender Section Pay Item Table which means quicker data entry during a tight deadline. Configuration on the Fly When the tender is initially created the configuration is copied from the template. It is a good idea to review the Tender Section Configuration to make sure it meets the requirements of the current tender. This includes setting the Cost Sheet Grouping and Sorting, Long Description, etc. In addition, you can also make changes to the pay item properties, however, this should be done sparingly as it will remove the items from any future cost estimating. If the changes made should also be included in all future tenders using this template you should also think about making the same adjustments if to the Tender Section Template. 65 P a g e

67 Historic Tender Data Entry The Historic Tender is usually the first step in testing your new Tender system and it s detailed configuration. The Historic Tender allows the user to setup a real tender with real prices from past projects. The Historic Tender entry is a valuable step in the Cost Estimating Database Setup as it builds confidence in the system setup and refines the configuration of specific project templates. Once historic unit pricing is added, the system will have actual cost data to query once you start adding items to an actual project tender. Create Historic Tender The first step in creating a Historic Tender is the same as setting up any other Tender, 1. From the Portal Menu, Select Tender, Create Tender option 2. Select Historic tender from tender type pull down 3. Fill out the Historic Tender details 4. Add the actual Date of Closing (in the past) 5. Select the Tender Template that s required for the project type A new Historic Tender is created using the same process as creating a real active tender or cost estimate. The Historic tender has no documents, bid details or addendums to worry about. To edit the items in the Historic Tender, select the Edit Sections option in the toolbar. The Edit Sections page will load the current historic tender. 66 P a g e

68 Once the Historic Tender sections load in the left panel, you have access to all of the Tender Sections and assigned Catalog Items for each section ready for data entry. Start building up the Section Table pay items as per the historic tender schedule of unit prices. Adding Unit Pricing Once you are ready to add unit pricing from the historic tender, 1. Select the Pricing tab in the Section Pay Items panel 2. Select the Add Bidder link in the top left header below the tab menu 3. You will be prompted to add the Bidder Name 4. Once you add the Bidder Name, the unit pricing columns now include the Bidder Name header with a Unit Cost and Extended Cost column 5. You may start adding Unit Cost pricing as specified by the Historic tender 6. For Tender Managers, add multiple bidders with costs and perform a bid analysis afterwards. This unit pricing is now available for cost estimating! If you need to make changes anytime you can simply edit the historic tender. 67 P a g e

69 Ad-Hoc Cost Estimating One of the great features of AEC Tender is the capability to do Cost Estimating during the preparation of any tender using past project unit costs. With detailed pricing easily at hand, the ability to do one-off cost estimating on any selected item is available to any VIEWER logged into the system. To do a single one-off cost estimate, 1. Login into the system 2. Using the Portal Menu 3. Under the Tender menu, Select New Estimate option 4. Select the Tender Template you are interested in based on project type 5. Select the Tender Section Table which may contain the items you are interested in 6. Once selected, you will be shown a screen with Project based query items 7. Depending on the Section Table you selected, you will also see the applicable Pay Item properties available for query as well 8. Add any criteria for Search and Select Generate Estimate This will search the database and return matching items with unit costs. You may review the Results Summary, Details and Chart after the results are generated. Details allow the user to review where the data was coming from and if the user has rights to edit the tender, they can adjust the details to Include or Ignore from future searches. Summary Shows statistics on cost estimate generated. 68 P a g e

70 Details Shows all data returned with option to include or ignore. Chart Shows data distribution for all data returned. 69 P a g e

71 Bid Processing AEC Solutions Product User Manual Sending the Cost Sheet To begin, start by selecting the tender you would like to send in the Tender Portal Select the Yellow Pencil to Edit the Tender Details Edit Tender Here, the user can edit the Tender information before sending the Bid out. Optionally, the user may enter a description or any notes to send with the bid package to the potential bidders in the Description box. 70 P a g e

72 Bidders By using the Bidders tab the user can enter the bidders that will receive the bid package. Simply enter the recipient s address under Add Bidder and submit. Documents The Documents tab allows the user to review and edit the documents to be included in the Bid Package, along with the Cost Sheet. This includes Title Pages, Contracts, Drawings, Reports and any Standards Documents, as well as Cover Pages. 71 P a g e

73 Security and Approvals Once the Bidders tab has been populated, and all settings are configured, the Bid Package is ready to be sent. Use the Security and Approvals tab to approve the Tender. Furthermore, to send the Bid Package, select the Release Tender option. Once the Tender is released, all listed s in the Bidders tab will be sent an with a download link for the bid package. This package will be then downloaded by the bidder, allowing the recipient to fill out the spreadsheet with prices and then upload back to the same page the package was downloaded from. The bidders costs will then import to the account and added to the active tender to be reviewed. This bid package is password protected, set according to the Cost Sheet Password Field. Note that the Password must be set BEFORE releasing the tender to take effect as the password. 72 P a g e

74 Bid Portal from link. Bidders may download Bid Package and Submit completed Cost Sheet from this page. Addendums After releasing a Tender, the option to release an Addendum will be added. 73 P a g e

75 Select the Edit Button to make or add any details and review the Addendum Here, the user can view any changes made since the last release and add any additional details. All changes to Bid Items and Files are done automatically. Optionally, the user may preview the Addendum by using the View and Download options, to view within browser or view locally, respectively. Once satisfied, the user may then choose the Release Addendum option, where the Bidders will be sent an with the Addendum Package. 74 P a g e

76 Bid Review and Award AEC Solutions Product User Manual Bid Review Once all bids have been submitted. Bid submissions can be easily compared through built-in Bid Comparison. Navigate through the Tender Portal and select the Tender to compare. Select the Blue Bid Comparison Button. This will open the Bid Comparison page. Here, the user can compare bids. Select Section Names to navigate and isolate Tender Sections to compare. Costs are coloured based on cost. Green being lowest, Yellow second lowest, and Red for third highest. Navigating to the lowest Tender Section will show an item by item breakdown from each bidder. 75 P a g e

77 Bid Award To finally Award the Bid, first navigate back to the Tender and Select the Orange pencil to open the Tender Details. Selecting the Bidders tab will list the Bidders and give the option to Award the bid. AEC Tender Workflow Training Bid Processing Workflow Create an Annual Price Book One of things you can do with the Cost estimating system is to setup a Cost Estimating Tender with ALL Pay Items from the Tender Template added with typical quantities. You can set up items with various parameters like size, depth and type to have a good cross section of the items that any project might have. The variable item property values would determine price differences based on changing values, so you would have a saved version of a typical price book you can download to excel anytime. Use the Tender Summary Details to Refresh the Percentile Override to re-calculate the Annual pricing anytime. AEC Inspect Introduction This is our mobile field inspection add-on which allows mobile users to connect directly to the project and add mobile inspection data, images and markups. The site currently comes with 3 generic mobile forms: 1. Utility Inspection basic utility type and conditions data entry, geolocation, notes and photo capture of an exposed utility investigation 76 P a g e

78 2. General Field Inspection - basic field notes, weather conditions, geolocation and photo capture of utility investigation 3. Request for Information typical form request with details and markeup images, posted to site and ed to anyone using your mobile phone or device. Inspection Navigation When the Inspect option is selected in the portal pull down list, the project groups appear, with projects and locations in the map. Upon selection of the project in the treeview or map, the list of Inspection Forms appears in the treeview. Selection of the Project will zoom to the map location. Upon selection of the Form, the list of inspections appears in the lower left panel of the portal and a map showing associated inspections also appears. You may select each inspection entry in either the list of the map to get details, images or PDF of the form data collected. Add Mobile User In order to access the Mobile Data Collection functionality, the user must have the Mobile option set to anything above None and be a portal user above a viewer. Inspection Form Configuration The first step in using AEC Inspect is the build the Mobile Form using the Inspection Configuration system found in the Account admin, Configuration tab page. As an Admin or Coordinator, you can also go to the Portal Menu and select Inspection Configuration for direct access to the configuration system. Portal Menu Access 77 P a g e

79 Create a Basic Photo Inspection Form 1. Select the account 2. Add a Form Name GeoPhoto report for example 3. Select the ADD Inspection Form option in the toolbar 4. Select the new form, you will see General settings, details and Advanced 5. General Settings a. Name and Description are used to appear on Mobile device b. Tender Item Access this will tell the mobile device to show the list of tenders and section items for the selected project 6. Details Add custom form details to the example inspection form. a. Index order of data entry b. Name Unique Name for the Property c. Description Instructive string to appear on mobile device d. Input Type add string, long string, numbers, yes/no booleen, and lookup lists e. Required Option must be added on mobile to submit f. Internal will appear on spreadsheet or report but NOT on mobile device. Most often a Calculated field g. Theme will use the lookup list theme if selected h. Eq n add an equation to the form based on user input values. Used for spreadsheet reports 78 P a g e

80 7. Lookup List go to the Account Configuration to add a Lookup List for this form a. Select Lookup Lists from Configuration Page b. Select Inspection c. Select Inspection Form name example GeoPhoto d. Add a List example InspectionTypes e. Select new List f. Add some lookup list values g. Set the Theme colours for each value h. Set as default Theme, as a form may have different lookup lists with different themes 8. Back in the Inspection Configuration, edit the Input Type to now use the Lookup list called Inspection Types 79 P a g e

81 9. Add some more fields as needed 10. If you need an equation, edit the item after you have added it. Use the expression builder to do math and build a result from entry 80 P a g e

82 11. Advanced Options this is where you get to set the report and display details for the portal a. Mobile Configuration i. Active show this on the mobile device when synchronized ii. General Option Requirements Name, Notes and Signature option iii. Hide general fields used on Form Tables where data is collected and does NOT require Geo referencing. Never Hide this if you need coordinates for each set of data collected iv. Min and Max Photo leave as 0 for unlimited v. Max Photo size leave as 0 for umlimited b. Report Configuration i. PDF will display data and images in a single PDF report ii. XLSX will send data collected to a spreadsheet and photos are added to separate PDF report iii. ZIP images and excel are bundled as a single ZIP file iv. Logo assign a different logo to reports v. UTM Coordinates conversion of Lat/Long to local UTM for reports and CAD import c. Website Configuration i. Assign inspection portal display column properties using Form properties d. Approvals i. Option to have mandatory Approvals Once you have added the form and saved settings, it s now ready for mobile data entry. On the phone login and SYNC the forms with the phone or tablet. 81 P a g e

83 Create a Tabular Excel report Our second sample will include a table for data entry 1. Add a New form called GeoData 2. Add a new Lookup List 3. Add the Lookup List Detail to main form - 82 P a g e

84 4. Advanced Change Report type is XLSX 5. Add a Form Table Featuredata 6. Add Details for Feature data to be collected, including 2 new lookup lists and a calculated field 83 P a g e

85 7. Advanced settings a. PDF report this will send Pictures to PDF b. Display General Details to get UTM coordinates c. Convert geolocation data collected to UTM 84 P a g e

86 Create a Multi-Inspection Form with Contract Items Multi-Inspection Forms allow for Child Inspections to be added to a Parent Form. For example, Inspections such as Equipment, Labour and Contract Items can be listed under Daily Progress Report. Sub-Inspections also allow for Contract Item access. This allows users on the AEC Inspect Mobile App to track as-built progress of Items in the project being worked on. After adding a Child Form, configure the form the same as a Parent Form. However, be sure to note your Parent Form configuration, making sure not to repeat any unnecessary parameters. For example, the Contract Number would be a Parent Form parameter, but not needed in the Child Form. Above, the Child Form is selected and the option to Access Contract Items is present. Toggling this option allows for Contract Item Tracking. 85 P a g e

87 Example of an Inspected Tender in the Tender Portal As Contract Items are built and inspected through the App, Progress will be automatically tracked on the website and can be viewed through the Tender Portal. Users can send s containing Inspections directly from the AEC Solutions website. Sending Inspection 1) Navigate to Inspection Portal 2) Select desired Inspection to be sent 3) Select the Blue Inspection Report button a) Alternatively, Select the Edit Inspection Button b) Select Report under the Map 4) Select Any Groups and enter any other s to send to 5) Include a Message to send along with the report 86 P a g e

88 6) Select the Send button AEC Solutions Product User Manual Use the Download Function to view inspection before sending Groups Create Groups to easily send Inspections to select collections of Individuals. Creating an Group 1. Navigate to Account Configuration 2. Select Groups 3. Select the Project to Add and Group to 4. Enter the Group Name in the text box 5. Select the Add Group 87 P a g e

89 Configuring Groups Selecting an Group allows the user to edit the Addresses in the Group and the Name of the Group. 88 P a g e

90 Using AEC Inspect Mobile App Download the App 1. Google Play (Android) 2. itunes (ios) 3. Blackberry / Android coming soon to Amazon App Store Workflow Basics The workflow for all devices is basically the same but the interface components might change depending on phone or tablet or operating systems used. The end result is the same, once the SUBMIT option has been selected, the data is sent to AEC Inspect portal, ready for editing, approval and review. We will review the Basic Photo report used on the IPad as an example. Forgot the password? 1. Go to the AEC Solutions webpage 2. Your Login is your address 3. If you have forgotten the Password, Reset and it will be ed to you 89 P a g e

91 Setting up the App Install The app is available from both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Start by searching for AEC Inspect and looking for the Purple logo. Our free app requires GPS location services to be turned on, so make sure that your device has this activated as out app uses location to locate inspections, find nearest project, and geolocate photo. In addition, you must agree to the app s location permissions on your mobile device. Login to App The App uses the same credentials as the website if you don t have a login, please go to the Account Registration section (Page 5.) Once you enter your username and password and touch LOGIN, the App will sync all forms, projects, lookup lists and open multi-visit inspections. 90 P a g e

92 Home Screen AEC Solutions Product User Manual Forms Inspection forms are the core of the AEC Inspect and are configured on the website. If you can t find a form, sync the App to bring in all the active forms to which you have permission. Selecting a form is required before any other activity can be completed on the App. Selecting a form will also list any drafts or multi-visit forms that are available for editing. If you wish to see past inspections, select the Sent Inspections button. Projects Selecting a project will filter the draft and open multi-visit list so that it will only show inspections from the selected project. A project must be selected before creating new inspections. List is sorted based on proximity. The button will select the project nearest to your location Menu Sync Sync updates forms and open multi-visit inspections. This will not, however update the app itself, this must be done by your device s Play/App store. Logout Logout will sign the user from the app. Settings Settings will give the user access to optional settings to search and order projects. 91 P a g e

93 Form Entry General The General tab starts with the Inspection Date. This section will automatically populate with the current time, however can be edited for accuracy if the form has been started late. To modify, simply use the calendar and time control buttons located on the right side of the screen. Map To access the Map tab, the user must first activate the Show Map option in Settings. Once this is activated, the user will be able to set the Inspection location via our built-in map. Initially, the pin will be automatically placed based on the devices location. If the user s device s GPS location is not accurate, the user can move the pin to a more exact location by holding the pin and then moving it to the desired Inspection Location. After the pin is placed, the Inspection Location will be updated. 92 P a g e

94 Details Details are configured by an Administrator. Any Details with an asterisk* are required and the inspection will not submit until it has been filled in. In addition, through the app Settings, the user may fill in sections by using a built-in scanner, as opposed to adding manually. 93 P a g e

95 Photos The Photos tab will allow the user to add and review inspection photos or sketches. Unlimited photos can be added; however, care should be taken on slower connections. Captions may be required depending on how Administrator has configured the form. Photos may be added by taking a picture from within the app, or by picking one or more from your mobile device s gallery. Adding a sketch can be done by selecting the Draw option. Additionally, a photo can be drawn on by selecting the photo and selecting the Markup option, then saving using the menu bar in the top right corner. No captions may be added when selecting multiple photos. To review photos (if more than 1,) swipe left and right. To edit or delete, tap the photo. 94 P a g e

96 Submission Submitting a form entry can be done by accessing the menu located on the top right corner of the Inspection screen. Here you can find many options. To submit and create the parent form, select Create. If the form is not ready to be submitted just yet, using the Save Draft option will allow the user to come back later and continue the form at a later time. You may delete the current form with the Delete option. Settings will bring you to the same settings page as the home screen. Help will allow the user to view the help file that your Administrator has uploaded. If no file has been uploaded, the user will be linked to a placeholder included in the app. Sending Inspection via App Users can use the AEC Inspect app to send inspection s directly from mobile. Start by selecting the submitted Inspection you would like to . Then use the toolbar in the top right corner of the screen and select the option. The page will then be opened where the user may select an group or enter an address to send the inspection to. 95 P a g e

97 Add Sub-Inspection Using Sub-Inspections will allow new data to be added as it is observed throughout the day. Begin by selecting the desired open inspection you d like to add the Sub-Inspection to. To filter projects, simply add text into the Project Name Filter. Form After selecting a Parent Form, select the sub-form to which you want to add data to. Each form is configured by an Administrator. Only the sections included by an Administrator will be displayed to create. Any inspection that has not yet been submitted will show at the bottom under the Drafts section. Drafts are ordered based on user settings. 96 P a g e

98 Contract Item Selecting the Contract Items tab will allow the user to view Tender Items. The user can select their way through the tender structure to access Pay Items. Pay Items show total estimated quantity from tender, total built quantity and total built during this inspection. Add Contract Item When adding a Contract Item, units are shown along with Tender quantities and Built quantities. The user will add the quantity inspected and optional Field Notes. When finished, submit the inspection to send it to the server. 97 P a g e

99 Review Past Inspections Use the Review selection in the menu to change to Review Mode. Each button will go to server refresh the mobile app s submitted inspection database and display all submitted inspections. Submitted inspections can be reviewed, edited, or copied. Edit Existing Inspection Update to submit changes 98 P a g e

100 Settings Settings contain the ability to allow Searching for Projects, this will cause a Search box to appear above the Project Picker. You may also select to include Project Numbers along with Project Names. When there are multiple projects going on, Show Just My Parent Forms will hide parent forms from other users. Additionally, both Existing Inspections and Sub-Inspections lists can be ordered by: Date, Proximity (closest projects will appear higher on the list,) Inspection Name, and Project Name. Keep Photos on Device After Submit will save photos that are uploaded to the server to the device it was submitted on as well. Finally, Enable Barcode/QR Scanner will enable a new feature, allowing the user to scan QR codes and Barcodes, making Inspection Details to be edited without typing values. 99 P a g e

101 ios Sample Forms We can custom deliver mobile form and PDFs upon request for a fixed fee. ipad Device Forms Example of Custom Report 1. Once Installed, Launch the App 2. Login with your AEC Solutions Login and Password 3. Upon Login, you will see the Select Form to Begin and Select Project. It will be empty until you select a form shown in the Spinner selection at the bottom of the screen. 4. Shown on the bottom of the ipad is a selection Spinner. Pick the Form required for Data Collection. For this example, Pick Daylighting Report and a Project (In this case, Sports Park ), it should appear in the edit box above as your selection to continue. 5. Once you have selected a form and project, Select New Inspection option 6. Next, fill out the General information for the inspection 100 P a g e

102 7. Select Get Location Information - This will acquire the approx. Geolocation and Address for the Inspection 8. Add a Name and/or Notes for the Report Header this is optional 9. Optional Select the Map tab (activated in Settings) and drag the pin to an exact location 101 P a g e

103 10. Next, Select the Details option shown at the bottom of the screen a. Utility Type Lookup List with multiple Utility Types b. Depth from Surface Utility Depth from Surface c. Surface Feature Type String for Surface Type d. Distance to Feature 102 P a g e

104 11. Next, Select the Photos option at the bottom of the screen. This will enable you to take as many pictures as you want or select pictures from the device gallery. Use the Markup function to draw over an image 12. Once you have completed the Data Collection, Select the Submit option in the top right corner. Depending on picture resolution, this might take up to 30 seconds using wireless network. 13. Once it s successfully submitted you will get a message alert display that it was successful. 14. Select Okay and the app will return to the opening page ready for another inspection. 103 P a g e

105 AEC Inspect Portal Viewing for New Forms 1. Use Portal Menu and select Inspect option 2. Select Project 3. Select Mobile Form under project Review and Edit Inspection 4. Select Inspection Form 5. Select Inspection under form (lower left panel) 104 P a g e

106 Review Photos Select photos tab in lower right panel View Report Select View Report Option (Red icon lower right panel) 105 P a g e

107 Edit Inspection or Photos Select Edit Inspection Option (Orange icon lower right panel) Exporting Reports Users have the option to export Inspections to PDF Inspection Forms. These forms are automatically created by the website. Users may either export multiple forms in a single package, or export individual forms. Exporting Multiple Reports to PDF Report Packages make exporting multiple reports easy. By navigating to the Project and Report type, the user will have the option to download either all inspections or a selected range of inspections. To download all Inspections, simply select the Download All button. Otherwise, the user may choose to set parameters, in order to limit the package contents to his/her choosing. To download the set range of Inspections, select the Download Range button. All bid packages will be processed in the order they are sent to the server. Once processed, the report will be available for Download from the Downloads page, available under the Download Buttons. Additionally, an will be sent to the account who requested the Report Package when processed. Exporting Reports to Excel Users also have the option to export Inspections to Excel. Inspections can be edited and then imported back to make updates, deletions and additions. Additionally, a blank spreadsheet may be downloaded to bulk Import inspections. Simply fill out the blank spreadsheet with inspection data and import. 106 P a g e

108 Exporting Single Inspection Form Single Inspection forms may be exported if only a single Inspection PDF is needed. Simply navigate to the desired inspection and select. Navigate to the bottom right corner of the screen and select the Red PDF button. A PDF inspection will be exported locally to the user s computer. Optionally, the Purple Download PDF with Photos will download a ZIP package with both the PDF Form and all Inspection Photos. Task List Through the Inspect portal, Administrators may assign tasks to other users. Tasks pertaining to either the entire project team or one individual member can be added to a selected project. Once a task is issued, the assignee will be notified of the task through the AEC Inspect app on his/her mobile device. 107 P a g e

109 The assignee can then mark the task as completed, along with additional notes that can be viewed from the Inspect portal. To Begin, navigate to the Inspect Portal and select the desired project to add a task to Use the Add Task Button to open a dialog box. After filling the task details, select Add Task. 108 P a g e

110 The Assigned user will be notified of the task assignment throught the mobile app. To access the tasks on the app, simply select the project, and use the menu to access the Tasks button. The user can then add notes and close the task when finished. 109 P a g e

111 AutoCAD Integration AEC Inspect can be integrated into AutoCAD, making it easy to plot out inspections within map drawings. AEC Inspect within AutoCAD. Import Data Using the Import Data function allows the user to import inspection data to an AutoCAD drawing. AEC Inspect uses existing GPS data as well as offset and stations to plot points and/or blocks to the drawing based on existing inspections. 110 P a g e

112 The Import screen lets the user fine tune the properties of the imported data to his/her discretion. Login Login with your AEC Solutions credentials Projects Select an existing project on your AEC Solutions account Forms Select an existing form type to import General Options Layer Prefix Create a suitable prefix for the layers to be applied to imported items Layer Suffix Select the property to be applied as the suffix to the layer Elevation Set applicable elevation property Import Block Importing your inspections as a Block will allow the user to either Auto Create a block for his/her inspections or apply inspection attributes to an existing block made by the user Block with Attributes Select to Import Blocks Auto Create Select to auto create a block based on Inspection Attributes o Select which attributes to include in the list below Use Existing Block Select to import inspection attributes to an existing block within the drawing o Select the Block Name in the pulldown list below Import Point In addition to Blocks, users may also import points. AECC Point Select to Import Points Point Name Assign an Inspection Attribute to the Point s Name Point Description Assign an Inspection Attribute to the Point s Description 111 P a g e

113 When all settings are to the user s satisfaction, use the Import Inspections Button to add the inspections to the drawing. Upload Alignment The Upload Alignment feature allows the user to upload Alignments within the drawing to a project. This allows the user to increase inspection location accuracy. Login Login with your AEC Solutions credentials Projects Select the project to add Alignments to Alignments To add alignments to a project, use the Add New button. Then, select the alignments in the drawing that you would like to add to the project. When finished, use the Enter key. A window will then pop up, notifying the user that the data has been submitted to the server. The user will then be able to see the Alignments listed. With Alignments assigned to a Project, Stations and Offsets will be added to any new inspections made within the AEC Inspect mobile app. 112 P a g e

114 Station and Offset seen when creating an Inspection within the app. Station and Offset are automatically set when location information is received from device GPS. 113 P a g e

115 Support For complete support, please visit the video channel for extensive How-To Video Tutorials and Demonstrations. Contact Information Portal Sales Support Video Telephone P a g e