• Welcome to the new and improved Building Code Forum. We appreciate you being here and hope that you are getting the information that you need concerning all codes of the building trades. This is a free forum to the public due to the generosity of the Sawhorses, Corporate Supporters and Supporters who have upgraded their accounts. If you would like to have improved access to the forum please upgrade to Sawhorse by first logging in then clicking here: Upgrades

Electronic plan review

jj1289

SAWHORSE
Joined
Oct 22, 2009
Messages
145
Location
Connecticut
I am considering to start accepting plans electronically. Any words of advice? The pros and cons and software being used?
 
There really is no software that I am aware of other than they submit them via PDF and I use Adobe Acrobat so that I can attach notes and highlights and return.
 
City of Chicago uses projectdox from avolve software, but i couldn't agree more with Chris's statement.
 
I am considering to start accepting plans electronically. Any words of advice? The pros and cons and software being used?

Don't?

I can't help you with any software reviews because until somebody makes me, I'm going to continue to require paper. If we had a plotter here and I could print them once they're submitted, then I might change my mind.
 
we require paper after approval of the electronic review. We save a lot of headache and paper by waiting until after the review is over to ask for paper.
 
we require paper after approval of the electronic review. We save a lot of headache and paper by waiting until after the review is over to ask for paper.


Seems like you would have to go back through the paper to see if it matches/ any changes??
 
Seems like you would have to go back through the paper to see if it matches/ any changes??
Yes, it is a quick scan of the changes they made and we have the "paperwork" of the emails, letters and previous PDF's if they choose to make other changes without our knowledge. We have them put a cloud around all changed due to plan review. Very quick and simple.
 
I have officially dumped Adobe and use Bluebeam exclusively. Having been doing plans electronically for over 10 years now, Bluebeam hands down is the best and most intuitive to use. You can make your own tool sets, measure, highlight areas and hyperlink sectional details to go back and forth to address Chris' concerns. You can use Go to meeting and work in real time with designers and make changes each way live on the phone. This also is great customer service. I love it for fire sprinkler plan review and one would think I should own stock....I'll be teaching a class in the winter on electronic plan review and will use both Adobe and Bluebeam for demos. Bluebeam people are also hands down great to work with too.
 
Last edited:
...I'll be teaching a class in the winter on electronic plan review and will use both Adobe and Bluebeam for demos.
Let me know when and where. I would be interested in sending my fire guy

We started using Bluebeam in January for residential and are starting to work into commercial. Our IT department has stalled us on approving an FTP site for the larger electronic drawings
Just this week we started using a tough pad in the field. We uploaded the free BlueVu download for the toughpad and the plans examiner invites the inspector into a project with the drawings he needs for the day, load them up, click work offline and take them into the field with him.

Works great as a document reader.
 
MT,

It will be at MSU in East Lansing for the Michigan Fire Inspectors winter conference (mfis.org) in January 2017. I will getting a seat for Bluebeam shortly and using the full version with CAD. I will be integrating the iPad in soon too.

How do I reply back to the conversation started? :-(
 
We require both. State records retention regs require paper for archives.
we require paper after approval of the electronic review. We save a lot of headache and paper by waiting until after the review is over to ask for paper.
Why would a state require the keeping of paper copies instead of electronic copies? Just the amount of space required to store them in time required to search through them makes electronic copies so much better in every way possible. It's sad to see that some states are still so archaic that they require paper copies to be archived.

Another obvious advantage of electronic copies is that backups can be kept in an off-site location very easily and cheaply. That way there is little to no chance of losing all of your past documentation.
 
Why would a state require the keeping of paper copies instead of electronic copies? Just the amount of space required to store them in time required to search through them makes electronic copies so much better in every way possible. It's sad to see that some states are still so archaic that they require paper copies to be archived.

Another obvious advantage of electronic copies is that backups can be kept in an off-site location very easily and cheaply. That way there is little to no chance of losing all of your past documentation.

Our state has a whole department dedicated to storing things electronically. The concern from the state was the loss of support for local jurisdictions from the vendor who was storing and reading the electronic documents similar to Microsoft and Quick-books no longer supporting their older versions or the simple fact the older versions will not operate on newer computers.
Until July of last year local jurisdictions had to keep paper copies of all commercial building projects for the life of the building. That has now changed and local jurisdictions can now use electronic records retention for storing of files and drawings.
 
Our state has a whole department dedicated to storing things electronically. The concern from the state was the loss of support for local jurisdictions from the vendor who was storing and reading the electronic documents similar to Microsoft and Quick-books no longer supporting their older versions or the simple fact the older versions will not operate on newer computers.
Until July of last year local jurisdictions had to keep paper copies of all commercial building projects for the life of the building. That has now changed and local jurisdictions can now use electronic records retention for storing of files and drawings.


yep planned obsolesce........... story of my life
 
I think you click on your do hickey upper right

Than the middle thingy that looks like an envelope



It is the new term for old private message
 
  • Like
Reactions: JBI
Plans examiner took a photo of a drawing, opened it up under bluebeam as a PDF, added his comments and emailed it to the contractor in the field.
This program is awsome
 
  • Like
Reactions: JBI
Top