B2W Flipbooks

CASE STUDY "We're no longer wasting time chasing spreadsheet calculations – calculations which can be frighteningly difficult, complex and potentially fraught with errors," • Critical advantages over spreadsheet-based estimating • Speed and confidence to produce accurate bids in less time • Exceptional 24/7 client support pays off B2W ESTIMATE EPC SERVICES COMPANY TURNKEY PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMPANY OPTIMIZING ESTIMATING AND BIDDING B2W Estimate is providing vital speed, accuracy and collaboration advantages over spreadsheet-based estimating for EPC Services Company, according to general manager Glen Smith. The project management company is a subsidiary of Electrical Consultants Inc. and provides turnkey engineering, procurement and construction management services for utility and power delivery projects throughout North America. Projects range in value to $30 million, and EPC typically works on three to five bids in any given week. Smith has experience with almost every estimating solution, from pencils and yellow legal pads, to Excel and MS Access programs, to several other stand-alone software solutions. He puts B2W Estimate at the top of the list. "You could try to compete with pens and paper or Excel, but for how long," Smith speculates. "I know people who have used pencils and paper and spreadsheets, and I saw them go bankrupt because of missed calculations, simple little stuff. You drop $10,000 here, $50,000 there or you forget to put in a couple tasks or line items. You can't afford that, because that's life or death to you." Smith says the inability for multiple people to work on the same estimate at the same time was a major liability when estimating with spreadsheets, especially for a company that works out of several locations and on projects nationwide. "You can't work collaboratively when you're trying to share spreadsheets across the Internet," he explains. "It's simply impossible to know what the latest version of the estimate is and who changed what and when."

• Cover