The Appian Way, January 2007
Technology news for public works professionals
What’s new with Appia?
We at Info Tech are excited about a new direction our product is headed in 2007 as we are adding internet bidding capabilities to Appia. You might be asking yourself, “How are they going to do it?”
Actually, it’s pretty simple. Info Tech already has an established Internet bidding service called Bid Express; and we are merely building a bridge between it and Appia. Bid Express has been in business for ten years and is currently licensed by 25 state transportation departments, is being implemented in 8 more, and has more than 2700 contractor subscribers. Realizing that the local agency would most likely want to receive the same benefits of Internet bidding that the state DOT community currently enjoys, Info Tech has decided to make the investment to add this capability to Appia. Now you might be asking yourself, “How is it going to work?”
For a local agency, Appia is the complete construction management web solution. Appia is an administrative tool for most agency personnel that touch a construction project, providing increased communication and collaboration between departments. As a construction project goes through its evolution, Appia assists an agency's efforts by automating and administrating processes, beginning with the generation of the project cost estimate. The solution then provides complete bid management as Appia gives a local agency the ability to post bid proposals and other project related docs to Bid Express, as well as retrieve bids from Bid Express. Agency benefits include:
- Contractors are already trained and using the software
- Secure, reliable exchange with bidders
- Reduction/elimination of bidding errors
- Allows instant communication with bidding community
- Immediate distribution of letting data
- Load bids directly into agency's contract management system
- Immediate posting of "As Read Bids"
- Access to a potentially larger group of contractors for each bid
- Provides electronic bid bond verification
- Reduced reliance on paper and reduced burden on staff
After Appia has retrieved bids from Bid Express, it provides complete bid analysis for contract award. Appia then becomes the management tool for project managers and inspectors as it provides automatic generation of a variety of CM reports, including IDRs, pay estimates and change orders.
For more information on these products and their integration please visit our Appia and Bid Express websites, or contact:
Will McClave
Local Government Program
Info Tech, Inc.
Office: 352-381-4571
Advice from Heavy Highway
Dear Heavy Highway:
I am confused about the various types of cost estimation that are appropriate at the different stages of a project. Can you clear this up for me?
Signed,
Estimation challenged
Dear Estimation Challenged:
Great question. Have no fear! Below is a simple explanation.
In creating a long range plan (5-year plan), an early, preliminary estimate is needed as a place-holder in a budget or for a bond initiative. The most appropriate way to develop this is through parametric estimation. There are many software tools available that offer assistance in parametric estimation.
As the design progresses and the project is selected for advertisement, a detailed estimate (sometimes referred to as the Engineer's Estimate) is required. Software tools are available to electronically transfer items and quantities from design systems and to automatically generate the detailed estimate using either cost-based prices or historical bid-based prices.
With the increasing popularity of electronic bidding over the Internet, historical bid tabulations (commonly called “bid tabs”) are readily available and offer a wealth of information for both the agencies and their contracting communities in generating their estimates.
When bids are received by the agency, it's also important that tools be available to analyze the different bids and to compare them to the Engineer's Estimate, so that informed decisions can be made regarding the award.
Info Tech’s Appia software solution has powerful estimation capabilities. For more information about estimation software tools, please contact Info Tech or your local Value Added Reseller.
-Heavy Highway
See Appia at:
| Lake Ozark , MO | APWA Missouri | April 1-3 |
| Everett, WA | APWA Washington | April 9-12 |
| Carson, CA | APWA Southern California | April 18 |
| Milwaukee, WI | National Association of County Engineers (NACE) | April 22-24 |
| Orlando, FL | APWA Florida | April 23-27 |
