Current Issue May/June 2009

DCD Builder Product Revue
DCD Archives: Real Project Data, Real-Time Cost Estimator
    It’s been said that there are no new ideas, just different versions of those ideas brought forth by new people.
    From an architectural standpoint, that’s a gift of sorts. The ability to reference historical data about an actual project – and replicate it – generally ensures an end-result that is physically sound and commercially successful. But where this data becomes less relevant is estimating project costs.
    The value of using historical project data to project costs is limited without the ability to modify and change the data to reflect time, place and other variables. And while a skilled estimator can modify an existing project to account for changes, it can be a tedious and time-consuming process that often results in a “best guess” projection.
Revue Archive |  Read more

Increase Your Efficiency with Bluebeam PDF Revu 7.0
New Version Just Released
    In today’s market it is only logical for companies to look for ways to maximize their efficiency resulting in better profitability. One way companies can achieve greater efficiency and cut costs is to take a close look at routine procedures and evaluate new tools on the market that will save them money and increase their effectiveness.
    Bluebeam Software, Inc. offers powerful PDF technology that allows electronic sharing of information. Bluebeam’s PDF program can be used to mark-up and edit plans during the design review process, submit RFIs, send out bid documents, perform on-screen take-offs for estimating and archive files resulting in great office efficiency.
Revue Archive |  Read more

DCD InSights
Building Information Modeling......A Natural Progression Of Technology
    Three years ago, our office launched an initiative to implement a Virtual Design & Construction ( VDC ) Technologies system through the use of Building Information Modeling ( BIM ). Long & Associates is a full-scope Architecture / Engineering firm founded in 1974, and we see the transition to BIM as the industry basis for project design and delivery to be a natural progression of technology similar to the transition from hand drafting to computer-aided design and drafting in the 1980s. Even before CADD technologies became very detailed and sophisticated, and before standardized protocols were instituted by industry associations, our team developed an organized and integrated set of standards and methods for computerized document production. The use of BIM & VDC technologies and processes represent a change in building design, delivery, and management exponentially greater than did the advent of CADD. The corresponding challenge includes rethinking the entire design and documentation sequence, setting appropriate parameters for the volume of information that can or should be integrated into each stage of the work, and redefining what constitutes the “deliverable” for a project.  
Insights Archive |  Read more

DCD Cost Trends
Construction Cost Trends for 2009
    The housing slump continues and will persist into next year. Consolidation in the housing industry signals a bottoming out with recovery beginning in 2010, but don’t expect the levels that we saw just a few years ago. The commercial sector is starting to show signs of a slowdown, occupancy rates are shrinking by as much as 10% in some markets. One has to hope that a downturn here will not be as severe as the housing industry, but with overbuilding in places such as Florida, California, New York and Nevada, we are guarded about the effects of a severe downturn in this sector. Public construction remains strong, with backlogs in many areas, but at one third the market size of private construction, this healthy sector can only diffuse the problem and not really lead the way. This leads to a 5 to 6% decrease in construction spending as a whole.
Trends Archive | Read more

DCD Cost Guides
The DCD Building Square Foot Cost Guide
    Design Cost Data™ magazine includes a Building Sq. Ft. Cost Guide in each issue. These square foot cost guides have been assembled from projects in our database, the DCD Archives online at DCD.COM. These guides are provided to the industry by DCD as a benchmark for future building costs.
DCD Cost Guides Archive | Read more

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