WhitepaperJuly 2005

Exactal Pty Ltd

ABN 84 104 543 197

Office Address

Level 110 Benson StreetToowong

Postal Address

PO Box 1694Toowong QLD 4066AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61 7 3870 2666Fax: +61 7 3870 5266

Email: info.AU@exactal.com Sales: sales.AU@exactal.com

Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryExecutive SummaryExecutive Summary

Traditional estimating procedures within the design and construction sectors follow

methodologies which grew out of a long since outmoded procurement model. They were not

designed to overcome the fragmented structure of the modern design and construction

process and the increasingly complex inter-relationships between participants and

stakeholders within construction projects.

It is therefore inevitable that they fail to meet modern demands because they are unable to

resolve cost at the critical early design stage and as a result they provide too little

information too late in the development process to enable informed and considered decision

making.

What’s been missing is an interoperable software tool

which allows the seamless transfer of information

between designers, estimators, builders and facility

managers. Lack of such a tool has meant that CAD

automation of the design process has yet to be harnessed

and exploited to lead to real gains in industry productivity,

building construction, life cycle cost, and environmental sustainability.

Finally the software exists to short-cut the traditional approach and break down industry

barriers. Exactal precision software provides a range of powerful building information

modelling tools. Based on fast and extremely simple extraction of cost geometry and

building dimensions from CAD files by non-CAD users, with optional linkage to libraries of

comprehensively analysed costs of real projects, they can provide instant itemised budgets

or valuations for proposed buildings at any stage of the design process and allow the user to

re-calculate when changes are made. This enables real-time options modelling and

performance simulation and facilitates scenario testing to explore ways to improve building

design, efficiency, performance and cost.

Rather than working in isolation to produce their design for the project, CostX enables

clients, designers and cost planners to collaborate and explore opportunities with the aim of

eliminating risk, reducing costs and producing better buildings.

Exactal’s new generation programs overcome the challenges of poorly-developed

communication protocols and revolutionise the design and procurement process. By

increasing certainty and reducing risk they enable faster decision making leading to higher

returns. By automating performance simulation they improve productivity and enhance the

built environment.

CostXCostXCostXCostX Product Features Product Features Product Features Product Features

CostX is a powerful project costing tool with broad application across the construction and

property industries.

Overview:

� Provides a simple interface for the extraction of dimensions and geometry

from CAD files without CAD software.

� Interactive hierarchical spreadsheet estimating program.

� Can be tied to a costing library to provide instant cost information and re-

calculation when changes are made.

� Paperless estimating solution – no prints, savings in document handling,

storage and retrieval

CAD Interface:

� Measurements are extracted from CAD

drawings without opening the drawing file

or interfering with the integrity of the design

� With CostX, no prior experience with CAD

software is necessary. In fact, estimators

have no need to have CAD software

loaded on their PC.

� Visual on screen checking for

completeness; measured items are

highlighted, colour coded and labelled and

can be ‘switched on/off on screen’ letting

you see that all items measured and priced

� CAD layers can be easily switched on/off

to remove unwanted clutter to allow clearer

focus on the items to be measured.

� Measured items can easily be switched

on/off providing a clear picture of

measurement status and reducing error.

� Full use is made of the CAD drawing for measurement purposes without the

need for costly CAD software or training

� Supports existing standard drawing formats (AutoCAD DWG, DXF and DWF).

� Supports electronic dimension extraction from paper drawings using scanning

and digitizing technology.

Dimensioning:

� User friendly and flexible electronic cost planning and estimating system –

estimate and drawings available on PC for use in office, on site or on the

move

� Ability to add measurements manually during session.

� Extraction of measurements to Excel

� Measurements taken directly from CAD avoiding data input errors

Costing:

� Automatic cost plan generation from dimension information

� Full data import capability from systems such as Buildsoft’s Global Estimating

System

� Ability to manipulate cost plan elements, rates, quantities etc.

� Free form hierarchical spreadsheet capability

� Costing libraries can be manually entered or imported

� Standard reports can be created for cost plans

� Export of costing information to Excel

�

CostXCostXCostXCostX Product Benefits Product Benefits Product Benefits Product Benefits

CostX is truly new generation software. It provides

immediate and tangible benefits, yet its full potential is still

to be fully explored and developed.

At user level, its benefits include:

� Reduced measurement time

� No drawing printing costs

� No paper handling and storage costs

� Continuous estimate review

� Mobility – estimators not office bound as full

estimate and drawings together on PC in

office, on site, on the move

� Reduced report output time

� Elimination of errors

� Reduction in cost project overruns

� Greater certainty of outcome

� Definition of scope and cost is transparent to all project stakeholders

� Reduced price risks

� Continuous real-time updating of costs with design

� More creative use of design resources

� Savings in program time for design, client approvals, package lettings

� Transparency of scope and cost decisions

� Greater accountability in management of projects

At a broader level, it is the first software to enable true integration across design discipline.

The implications of this are profound. The following paper examines the effect of CostX in

the areas of:

� Interoperability in Construction Procurement

� Benefits to the Design Process

� Benefits in Scope Management

� Other considerations – Document management

– Workflow and Productivity Benefits

Interoperability in Construction Procurement using Interoperability in Construction Procurement using Interoperability in Construction Procurement using Interoperability in Construction Procurement using

CostXCostXCostXCostX

Whilst the design and construction industry worldwide has moved to digital design

information (CAD) as the standard medium for design information, the cost planning, cost

management, estimating and contract administration sector of the design and construction

industry has not kept pace with the changing demands of the industry.

The processes are still slow, needlessly iterative, inflexible, expensive,

and generally dependent on incomplete information leading to later

problems over accuracy and intent. In commercial terms, time and

money is being wasted on redesign, excessive tendering costs, costly

resolution of variations and frequent contract disputes over matters of

fact or interpretation.

Although automated by computerization the underlying processes have not changed and are

increasingly unable to cope with the demands of an industry which has adopted CAD as its

standard for information exchange and communication.

This means that designers are forced to develop a design without exploring the many

opportunities of making a building more efficient, more cost effective, more sustainable, and

so on.

While the need for change has been recognized by some in the cost management and

estimating sector, only minor progress has been to date in addressing the problems. A

research project currently being undertaken by the Construction Research Council (in

Australia) on generating interoperable building modelling via 3D CAD may address the issue

but the results of this research are likely to take several years before they become

widespread.

Until now, the lack of an interoperability software tool has prevented the seamless transfer of

information across the design and construction industries.

CostX overcomes this problem by allowing many design options to be quickly explored,

adding real value into a project in terms of being able to use design tools in decision making.

It provides the user with essential information such as pricing by drawing costs from a

database, and allowing the user to re-calculate when changes are made. With further

development the system could re-asses comfort and thermal performance, lighting

performance and, ultimately, the building’s operating costs.

A significant proportion of the communication problems in construction projects derive from

the fact that there are multiple overlapping—and sometimes conflicting—documents

describing the same aspects of the project. The building-information-model (BIM) concept

overcomes those problems by having one and only one centrally accessible representation

of every part of the project documentation. By taking the first step toward true

interoperability, Exactal is central to that paradigm shift. CostX provides a direct link

between the electronically generated design information and the generation of specified

quantities without the need to embed data directly into the CAD files.

Implementing a building information model system requires cultural and workflow change

within the industry.

However, the overall project benefits—most of which accrue to the owner—of the building

information model ensure that this approach to project automation will become widely

accepted in coming years because of the overwhelming benefits to the design process,

leading to better buildings.

Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of CostXCostXCostXCostX to the Design Process to the Design Process to the Design Process to the Design Process

Despite the widespread use of CAD, design remains an iterative process. There are a set of

parameters – functional, aesthetic, economic – and out of these must develop a design.

It usually begins as a sketch. As the sketch develops new realizations about the design

became apparent. The design is then modified making additional sketches.

At some point a model may be built to provide additional insights, resulting in other

modifications.

Construction documentation includes the generation of drawings and schedules from

sketches, physical models, and narratives. It was the area in which computers were first

applied to the architectural process because the creation of production drawings was

deemed a rote process by most design firms. The first application of graphical computing

was for the simple automation of drafting, not design.

Design has a great deal to gain from the use of computers. The iterative process of creating

a model or sketch, learning from it, and modifying it, can become much faster. The computer

lets you use the realism of 3D, solids, and photorealistic rendering to make models that look

and behave much like the envisioned building.

An estimated 95-100% of building life cycle is determined at concept stage. It is therefore

critical that the concept design which establishes scope parameters for the building contains

no in-built inefficiencies which may ultimately impact on:

� Construction cost

� Maintenance cost

� Operational cost

� User comfort and productivity

� Leading to compromise of revenue and profitability.

Now, using CostX, not only can the computer provide a visual simulation of the design, it can

simulate the performance of the building with respect to its construction cost. Ultimately it

could also model energy usage, building-code compliance, sustainability and the like. This

kind of simulation enables the architect to create “what if” scenarios early in the design

process, to explore ways to improve the performance of the design.

It provides for the comparative evaluation of early scheme options and provides

comprehensive and reliable cost data upon which informed development decisions can be

based.

It enables cost modelling which is highly focused and unique to the specific characteristics of

the concept under study. It can be readily manipulated to examine permutations of any or all

cost factors and provides a common basis for comparisons for any number of scheme

options and sub-options related to façade and structure, environmental services and ESD.

This innovative approach allows a speedy/real-time response to design options allowing the

design to flow to an affordable cost. This process provides significant time savings and the

direct link to CAD also provides a dynamic tool for managing scope and design creep.

Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of CostXCostXCostXCostX in Scope Management in Scope Management in Scope Management in Scope Management

Scope ‘creep’ – a progressive growth of project quantum and quality over that provided in

the project cost budget – is a major cause of cost-overruns and client dissatisfaction with

project outcomes. The project cost directly correlates to the building function, quantum and

quality. Changes to these parameters, which occur regularly throughout the design process,

have a direct impact on the project cost budget. To effectively control the project budget,

scope must be clearly defined at the outset and managed throughout the design and delivery

stages.

Problems with scope creep usually start with poor project definition and/or inadequate

project budgeting processes. Definition of project scope and cost at the earliest possible

stage is fundamental to project success and is the cornerstone of the business case for the

project whether social or commercial.

The time needed to adequately define scope to the project stakeholders, including sub-

contractors and specialists, is often not made available because of the pressure to

commence and proceed with construction. It is inevitable that if design is playing catch-up

with the construction process without the necessary co-ordination, research and

checking, then additional scope will creep in with its resultant cost

overrun.

Cost and time overruns are a direct result of the failure to

manage scope and one of the main reasons why current

estimating and cost planning practices are ineffective in scope

management is because they do not relate to the current design medium

of the industry – CAD. They still rely on manually applying scale rules to

printed drawings with manual input to spreadsheet or database estimating

packages.

A number of software packages allow digitising or drawing polylines on-screen (tracing) over

CAD drawings but provide no direct link between the CAD design and the cost. The process

of quantification, which must be carried out prior to costing, is overly time-consuming and

severely limits the ability to quickly respond to design changes and developments allowing

scope to creep unchecked.

The adoption of new technology directly linking cost to CAD design offers the best

opportunity for improvement and re-engineering of costing processes and techniques.

For a particular building type there are inherent relationships in the geometry of its design

that directly impact on its cost – its “cost geometry”. These relationships are defined at the

earliest design stages and are the framework upon which the project scope is built.

Using industry first CostX software, developed by Exactal, cost geometry can be extracted

from the earliest CAD designs and quickly applied to generate a project specific cost model

for the building which defines project scope at an elemental level and establishes a realistic

and achievable budget.

By drawing down cost data from a comprehensive cost library of typical elemental

specifications for the building type, a detailed affordable scope at element unit level can be

generated. By using an interactive cost library, which derives current construction costs from

market trade prices across a range of material specifications, the cost model becomes a

usable cost plan to manage and control project scope throughout the design process

reducing the risk of cost and time overrun.

Other Considerations Other Considerations Other Considerations Other Considerations ---- Document Document Document Document ManagementManagementManagementManagement

Manual methods of handling, storing and maintaining information is difficult, time-consuming

and costly since most information is still in paper form. The following are some of the most

obvious problems with maintaining paper archives:

� Paper drawings, are susceptible to aging and damage over time.

� Manual-based revisions are costly, particularly with drawings requiring frequent

updates.

� Paper is slow to distribute. It takes longer to copy and distribute a single piece of

paper than it takes to distribute or reproduce several documents electronically.

� Not all participants or stakeholders are CAD enabled so many transactions between

companies have to be inefficiently conducted with manual archives, even when the

originals are CAD files.

� Paper is cumbersome. It is often hard to find specific information in specific

documents. Electronic searching is more efficient and faster.

� Paper is restrictive in format. It is limited to graphics and text, while electronic

documents can contain other data and attributes.

� Paper is static. It can be out of date even before it is distributed because of lengthy

release cycles. The added concern of who has the most recent revision intensifies

this problem.

� Facility costs for the storage and maintenance of paper archives can be substantial.

� Paper gets lost.

CAD has already proven itself as a tool to design and maintain product and service

documentation. Applying this tool to archived resources allows the CAD advantage to be

applied completely. These electronic drawings can then be quickly retrieved in a fraction of

the time it takes to find paper designs. The design process can become highly streamlined,

providing substantial cost savings, improved product quality and faster time to market.

Once files are in electronic format, document management can be used to further increase

and enhance productivity. Options range from a simple file storage system with limited

revision tracking to a system that securely controls viewing, editing and distribution of all

project-related information.

Benefits include:

� Better exploitation of CAD for productive design modelling and analysis functions

� A common electronic database

� Reduced retrieval times for documents with a fully integrated document management

solution

� Improved QA information flow with workflow and email tools

� Improved QA conformance by instituting better document control procedures

� Fewer lost, damaged and misfiled documents

� Immediate availability of accurate information

� Streamlining of the change process

� Improvement in time to market

Other Considerations Other Considerations Other Considerations Other Considerations ---- Workflow and Productivity Workflow and Productivity Workflow and Productivity Workflow and Productivity

BenefitsBenefitsBenefitsBenefits

CostX provides a powerful tool to re-engineer workflow

protocols because the entire estimating process is electronic.

Drawings can be received by email, the estimate generated,

and reports issued back by email. The entire transaction is

paperless. Cost benefits of such workflow improvements are

far greater than those provided by document management

tools alone. Workflow is the final enhancement to a paperless

environment, enabling work to be carried out in any location – across

continents, on the building site, on a laptop in a car, anywhere that an internet

connection can be established. Company-wide electronic workflow process and document

management is achieved at a single stroke.

Freed from tedious process, skilled professionals are then in a far better position to use their

skills to evaluate the data prepared and focus on improving the quality of the information

provided.

The ability to generate building data and communicate it in a visual form by connection to the

CAD drawings will have several benefits. One is the perception of added value. Rather than

a static hard copy document a meaningful, understandable and interactive Building

Information Model will be available for all stakeholders to use in pursuing their particular

contribution to the building process.

Secondly, as the value of this model becomes more evident to the stakeholders, more

attention will be given at the design stages to ensure that the model is comprehensive as

this will result in savings further on in the process because the information can be constantly

re-used.

Thirdly, from a client point of view, he will have an extremely useful tool, an electronic

database of building information which will allow him to consider issues such as

maintenance management, facilities management and, with further development of the

software, interaction with other programs that the client can use for the ongoing life of the

building.

The client market for service could also be hugely expanded. Existing design and estimating

services focus mainly on project delivery. However, all property owners have a strong need

for a database of their capital assets. Owners and users who are continuously carrying out

capital improvements and managing and changing their buildings invariably find that minimal

information is provided to them at project handover and this gives them little or no basis to

work forward. Each time a capital exercise needs to be carried out the whole process of

design evaluation, understanding, tracing existing drawings has to be started from scratch

for design purposes. This means the whole process becomes lengthy and costly.

The provision of a Building Information Database connected to CAD drawings provides a

means of satisfying the client demand in this area. In commercial terms there is probably a

larger demand for service in this field than there is in new projects, not just in construction

but applied to capital expenditure generally, for example engineering and petrochemicals,

major resource areas, plant building, ship building and so on.

Thus, there is a huge potential to harness the software to develop services to better serve

the needs of the property industry at large and the quality of the built environment on a

worldwide basis, which with Internet technology and communication, could be made

available anytime, anywhere.