Autodesk announced the impending release of 3 new products, combining the best of all of their existing products and adding new features, at last year’s virtual Autodesk University. Those products (Build, Takeoff, and BIM Collaborate) are now fully available on a global scale, with Takeoff being the most recent release.
Autodesk Takeoff allows estimators to perform 2D and 3D takeoffs within Autodesk Construction Cloud, ensuring teams are using the most up-to-date set of drawings and allowing collaboration between team members.
Straight from 2D or 3D models, Takeoff users can point and click on an object to count or click and drag to collect linear or square footage. With the data stored on the cloud, other team members know what has already been counted, which could help reduce redundancies.
courtesy Autodesk
3D Takeoffs are carried out in a similar fashion, but can also assist in helping you find objects that are alike to one another, such as a identically sized doors or windows.
courtesy Autodesk
"The takeoff process has historically been disjointed, cumbersome and time consuming, which creates a lack of transparency, missed deadlines and an increase in errors,” said Sameer Merchant, vice president of construction technology at Autodesk. “With an integrated 2D and 3D quantification solution that leverages Autodesk Construction Cloud’s centralized document management, Autodesk Takeoff enables teams to update quantities in real-time and ensure they’re working from the latest design files. Autodesk Takeoff allows estimators to easily collaborate to reduce errors, speed up their takeoff process, produce more compelling bids and ultimately win more work.”
Historical Project Databases can also be built within Takeoff to track and manage items that can help benchmark your companies performance and tighten bid accuracy.
“If done right, historical project data such as actual quantities, production time, and material costs can be used to bid more accurately on the next project,” says Andy Leek, Vice President – Technology & Innovation at PARIC Corporation, in an Autodesk blog post. “Competitive bids are often impacted by fluctuating material costs, weather impacts, productivity, and the availability of labor resources. As the market evolves, data helps our teams bring more value, insight, and reliability to the table to remain competitive.”
Shane is the creator of Construction Junkie and an active construction project manager. In his career, he has managed interior remodel projects, site development, construction safety, governmental project compliance, and facility maintenance. He has a strong passion for construction technology and safety, as well as sharing the knowledge or insights he has gained throughout his career.