Transforming Drawing Management Workflows with Nemetschek Solutions – One Client’s Story

Justin Lind, Office Manager and Estimator at Wyoming Linz

Wyoming Linz, a steel detailing contractor based in Wyoming, USA, have been using SDS/2 and Bluebeam in conjunction to streamline their drawing management processes. Justin Lind, Office Manager and Estimator at Wyoming Linz, describes how leveraging the powerful automation opportunities offered by these two software packages from the Nemetschek Group portfolio has enabled the company to save significant amounts of time and reduce errors, while also improving their relationships with their project partners.

How do you use Bluebeam and SDS/2 for your drawing management?

While we have been paperless for nearly 20 years using Bluebeam, we have been developing this process over the last two years to create more efficient workflows. We keep all the current contract documents on a Bluebeam Studio Session where they are always accessible. Then we take the time to set up bookmarks and page labels, which makes the documents easier to navigate. The built-in Bluebeam tools make this easy to do, and we also break the contract documents into three color-coded sets – the architectural, structural, and trades drawings. With the labeling set up, we can then use the batch hyperlinking and specific hyperlinking features to quickly create links within the documents.

What is the advantage of setting up these labels and links?

The hyperlinks save us an incredible amount of time when looking through the drawings and documents, such as when we want to look at a detail mentioned on a drawing sheet – the link will take us directly to that detail instead of it being lost within the notes. We also use the specific hyperlinks to take us straight to the exact detail that is referenced, instead of just to the sheet itself where we would then have to search for the detail we need. The page labels are critical for this, as Bluebeam uses them to search the text and find the information. This makes navigating through the set of contract documents so much faster and easier for us, as well as our clients and other project partners.

Are there any other ways that you use Bluebeam to make your process more efficient?

We also use Bluebeam Dashboards, which is similar to hyperlinking but is done on a project basis. We set up several dashboards for each project and use them in different ways both internally and externally, as they make it easy for all the parties involved to quickly access important job-specific information such as specifications or submittals. We also set up email templates so that our partners can contact the person they need with one click from the dashboard. Collaborating and sharing information with our clients and partners is much more efficient this way. For example, with material submittals, we create a shared link in Bluebeam that lets our clients download all the information in one place, including a 3D view of the material that can be viewed in a PDF reader.

How do you use Bluebeam Dashboards internally?

We set up every quote as if it was an active job, and by creating our own templates, we have been able to move as much of the project management effort as possible to the front end of the job. This way, information does not get forgotten or missed and our project managers have control over the information from the beginning. As soon as the job is awarded, we know what questions we need to ask from the outset.

How does this process link with SDS/2?

One of the forms in our internal dashboard captures the information that will be needed for the SDS/2 job setup, such as material grades or bolt information. Once the job is awarded, the production manager takes over and sets up SDS/2 in line with what the project manager has indicated. Our drawings and documents created in SDS/2 also have all the hyperlinks in place for quick referencing. This includes both erection and shop drawings – including the sub-material drawings from the shop bill of material – which enables all parties to benefit from this technology. Tablets, phones, and touch-screens can now replace paper in any and all collaboration settings with access to a live, completely hyperlinked work set, making the entire process more efficient for the whole team.

What benefits have you seen since creating and adopting this process?

Combining both the two Nemetschek Group solutions SDS/2 and Bluebeam has enabled us to create a great product for our customers, with faster approval times, more live documents for approvals, and even moving towards a Building Information Modeling (BIM) type of service. It has also created stronger relationships with our fabricators and clients – instead of having information in silos, these tools provide a tangible way to bring everybody together and create a partnership. We have even had one of our fabricators ask us to help them set up this system in their workshop, so they can improve their quality control.

How do you plan on refining your process further in the future?

We want to incorporate additional features, such as the SDS/2 estimating tools to help accurately price projects. We are also looking at capabilities such as crane placements (for steel erectors) and even the new SDS/2 Fortosi 3D truck loading solution, for material transportation planning. This is a really dynamic system that goes well beyond detailing – the capabilities that it provides for design teams, fabricators, contractors, and others is limitless.

About Wyoming Linz

Wyoming Linz is a family-owned steel detailing business founded in Wyoming, USA. Our aim is to produce the best structural and miscellaneous steel details and electronic data possible. We provide the highest level of steel detailing project management, using advanced 3D detailing solutions such as SDS/2 to model, detail, and check steel, as well as interface with a wide range of digital systems including BIM, CNC, DXF, and FabSuite. Working as a flexible, cloud-based service, our remote team helps clients globally with their detailing needs.

About the Nemetschek Group

The Nemetschek Group is a pioneer for digital transformation in the AEC industry. As the sole corporate group worldwide, Nemetschek covers the entire life cycle of building and infrastructure projects with its software solutions and guides its customers into the future of digitalization. With intelligent and innovative software solutions, the Nemetschek Group increases quality in the building process and improves the digital workflow of all those involved in the building process. This revolves around the use of open standards (Open BIM). The innovative solutions of the 16 brands in the four customer-oriented divisions are used by approximately six million users worldwide. Founded by Prof. Georg Nemetschek in 1963, the Nemetschek Group today employs more than 2,900 experts. Publicly listed since 1999 and quoted on the MDAX and TecDAX, the company achieved revenue in the amount of EUR 556.9 million and an EBITDA of EUR 165.7 million in 2019.

Tags: BIM

Categories: Bluebeam, SDS/2

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