QuickPlumb Pro 2.4 stand-alone Windows CAD software by Epiphany Software, www.quickplumb.com, creates estimates, material lists, isometrics, dimensional data and links to participating supply houses. The solution enables users to draw drainage waste and vent piping (DWV) and water distribution piping and walls and fixtures in their precise locations. The user can import construction plans as a background, or template, for accurately placing walls and fixtures, helping ensure accurate placement.
The software, which includes a library of fixtures, features drag and drop of fixtures on any horizontal drain, the ability to create and edit rolling offsets, and the ability to designate walls as “load bearing,” so that pipes will automatically route around beams and footings. Fixture dimensions and drain locations are preset to enable visual checking of the placement of each fixture. Users can also add their own fixtures. Fittings are automatically recognized as pipes are attached to a project. The software also supports multi-compartment sinks and water filters.
Upon completing a drawing, users can print a bill of materials and estimates that will automatically tally all the fittings, with the estimates compiling lists from both the drawing and customer selections. The prices associated with each item are added along with markup and labor for quick estimates. Users with an account and their own local suppliers who interface online can upload the bill of materials to QuickPlumb's database for instant real-time ordering.
The software will also automatically create a pipe cut list that, printed out, can be used in the field by personnel assembling the drainage system. Each pipe can be matched to the same pipe number on the drawing. The program provides both isometric and 3D views of the plans.
Bridging a data gap between the field and the office, Payroll Time Entry stand-alone mobile app for Android and Apple tablets and smart phones by Dexter + Chaney, www.dexterchaney.com, enables supervisors and project managers to quickly and easily enter labor and equipment hours directly from the jobsite. Users can assign and reassign crew and equipment as needed and can easily add any employee or equipment to a job at any time.
Users select the appropriate job then enter time for all employees and equipment assigned to the job. The interface is user friendly, with five icons on the bottom of the screen offering selection of: labor, equipment, summary, manage job and settings.
For example, onscreen data fields for labor include employee information (identification, date, and number of hours assigned for that day at 15 minute intervals) and timecard fields for number of hours worked that day, wage code, pay level, status conditions, such as late, excused or weather delayed, and space for an optional note. Equipment usage can be similarly tracked and assigned to specific phases of work. People and equipment can be assigned to different jobs as needed.
The app can be used online or offline. When used offline, all entered data is saved and uploaded as soon as a connection to the Internet is established.
Report capabilities include period summaries for labor or equipment, with the total of all hours assigned employees or equipment during the selected period.
Payroll Time Entry also automatically integrates with Dexter + Chaney’s Spectrum construction Software for use with various Spectrum apps, including payroll, job cost, equipment and human resources.
Three programs from ExakTime work together for enhanced record keeping and record-processing, one for the field and two for the office. ExakTime Mobile workforce management app for smartphone or tablet, www.exaktime.com, offers field-based time tracking of employees working remotely using mobile devices with front-facing cameras.
Each employee is required to sign in and out every workday via the app, which snaps a photo for ID confirmation. The photo is stored with the time punch for verification at management convenience, eliminating buddy-punching and reducing inaccurate digital time records.
Employees can select applicable project or phase cost codes when clocking in or supervisors can manage an entire crew and customize each clock-in. Supervisors can also add a new jobsite while in the field. The app also lets management create customizable geofences powered by each device’s GPS to track the exact location of each time punch and flag clock-ins or clock-outs that occur off-site.
The Field Notes feature enables a worker using the camera built into the smartphone or tablet to take a photo and record a voice comment, creating a saved record, and transmit that to the office with one tap.
ExakTime’s TimeSummit software, used in the office, holds all the ExakTime records in one place, ready for attention by bookkeeping. The software generates more than 40 summary reports, ranging from timesheets to weekly employee hours at a given location.
ExakTime’s AccountLinx Plus software, also used in the office, creates an instant bridge between TimeSummit and most major payroll packages, automating database transfer and eliminating labor-intensive payroll data entry. The software requires only a one-time matching of employee names, job location, and cost codes from TimeSummit to get all the attendance records transferred into the accounting program. For any employee selected, the accounting program will show job, service item, whether straight time or overtime, and total time detailed to each.
Bill and Patti Feldman write articles and web content for trade magazines and manufacturers of building products. They can be reached at [email protected].