AECCafe Voice 
Susan Smith
Susan Smith has worked as an editor and writer in the technology industry for over 16 years. As an editor she has been responsible for the launch of a number of technology trade publications, both in print and online. Currently, Susan is the Editor of GISCafe and AECCafe, as well as those sites’ … More » TurboSite version 4 automates field reportingNovember 14th, 2014 by Susan Smith
Royal Farros, CEO IMSI/Design, talked with AECCafe Voice about the new version of TurboSite, version 4.
“A lot of things in this release have to do with what we seeing happening in the marketplace,” said Farros. “We have all kinds of fancy features, GPS, 3D viewing, 3D PDF viewing, etc.” As is true with most AEC industry software, what is important to the customer is that they either can print a report or 2D drawings. Big corporations want TurboSite for its ability to print a report. “This is one of the last parts of AEC workflow and hasn’t been automated up to the point where smart devices came into play in the whole field reporting and site business,” said Farros. “It wasn’t automated because there weren’t hardware devices that could handle it. People weren’t going to bring their desktop devices to the jobsite.” Laptops have not been that useful, he said. People would go to jobsites, and architects, designers and general contractors would see things that need to be changed and are not as the plans say. “That happens hourly, this doesn’t get translated from the digital designs. They’ve had to do it literally with a paper and clipboard, take a picture to show pipe is exposed. So people started using the manual tools. Now we have software to help automate that. “ The chief architect behind TurboSite was a practicing architect who designed the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. “Version 4 is largely about coming back to the office,” said Farros. “You have to document everything. What he found is you can create a content capture device, a document app, and as soon as you get to the office there is no assembly. The folks we found gravitating toward TurboSite are very large companies who have to communicate with very large design teams who spend a lot of time doing this laborious task.” The fact that they don’t have to go back to the office and assemble a time consuming report and somehow get it to the entire team before they start work tomorrow is what impressed them. “That’s a really sophisiticated hard programming part to do,” noted Farros. “We have GPS, and we invented our own positioning system called SPS in case you’re disconnected, indoors, etc. But the features they care most about is can you just print that report.” Punch lists are the top of the customers list. “When you find a pipe on the fourteenth floor that’s exposed, version 4 knows where you’re at in your plan,” said Farros. “When you create the documentation it’s already created the report for you, taken all intelligent data and put it in PDF format in the way you specified. With version 4 we understand how our product is being used, and are adding more tools into it to make that process better.” There are certain things that yes, also want to put in some things customers aren’t asking for but when they start using it they love it. There are other innovative things. Version 4 also has the ability to do 2D PDF area takeoffs and measurements, help with estimating, markup photos, bring satellite photos into a drawing, etc.
TurboSite version 4 has the ability to open much larger files, and people don’t think of large files with mobile devices. “It is still only a fraction of the power of what a desktop computer’s power is at the time,” said Farros. “When you put labels, markups or arrows on a 3D image, what you find in most apps is the text is turned to the side, we make sure markups are always facing horizontally. In many ways we have to be our own best customer.” The entire TurboSite line-up now includes (from company materials): * Punch lists — Easy assigning via integrated Contact Manager or via GeoMark — Advanced search for Punch List filtering — Customized PDF reports (all or selected punches) * Photo Markup — Add markup and annotations to photos — Tools include: Polyline, circle, rectangle, revision cloud, highlighter, multiline text, rectangular multiline text box and leader, snap to objects, rotation, and control points — Automatically add GPS information to photos * PDF Estimating Features — PDF area take-offs and measurements (using only 2-point calibration) — GPS/SPS navigation around a PDF drawing (using only 2-point calibration, an industry first) * “QuickSend” Sharing — Quickly send site photos, videos, and audio for instant sharing with entire team * Powerful Customized PDF Report Generation — Search & report by punch list (assigned, status, date, name, etc.) — Specify company logo in reports — Also display only searched items on-screen * Positioning with or without GPS — Enhanced SPS (Sensor Positioning System) for improved indoor navigation without GPS — M7 and M8 motion coprocessor support * Support for materials and texture maps in DWG and DWF * New polyline tool — Multi-segment 2D polyline tool — Auto-Ortho snaps to 0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees when polyline is within close enough tolerance * Interop improvements — The fastest load times in mobile — Now optimized for large files — SketchUp 2014, TurboCAD, DoubleCAD, and DesignCAD support * Instruction improvements — “How to” video Quick Start & tutorials * iOS 8 compatibility update * … and more Availability and Pricing TurboSite Plus v4 for iPad and iPhone subscription pricing is $9.99 per month or $99 per year and can also be purchased through In-App purchasing found in the free TurboSite Standard app as well. TurboSite Plus can also be purchased for $199 via the TurboApps website. TurboSite Standard v4 for iPad and iPhone is free and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. Tags: 3D, AEC, architects, architecture, BIM, building, building information modeling, CAD, collaboration, construction, design, engineering, engineers, GPS, IMSI/Design, infrastructure Categories: 2D, 3D, 3D PDF, AEC, architecture, BIM, Cloud, collaboration, construction, engineering, field, field solutions, file sharing, IMSI/Design, infrastructure, integrated project delivery, mobile, project management |
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