Trimble SaaS package targets civil construction

  • April 12, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

California-based Trimble has announced a cloud-based software-as-a service (SaaS) estimating and budget management package for civil construction professionals.

The Quest estimating software is for civil engineering contractors who need detailed cost estimates to bid and manage budgets for civil construction projects.

The software allows contractors to develop a bid quickly and accurately by creating a pricing database, which can be reused from project to project, improving the speed and accuracy of the preconstruction and bidding process. Once the bid is developed, the software can be used to develop a blueprint that can be referenced to optimise the procurement, planning and cost control processes.

Contractors, estimators and project managers can communicate changes, track and record on-site progress quantities, produce claim certificates and report on the use of individual resources. This cloud-based software benefits project teams who need to manage and control the budgets of complex construction projects collaboratively from multiple stakeholders and locations.

Estimators working on a tight deadline can reuse costing libraries, rapidly produce detailed cost estimates, and manage and compare supplier and subcontractor quotes to price a bid. The pricing library is designed to mirror the stages of the construction project, enabling fast information access to make pricing changes quickly.

The software captures on-site progress, provides a view of budget versus actuals and monitors resource allocation to help civil contractors extract insights and manage their budget in real time. Contractors can link their estimate to a schedule to forecast resource requirements, plan for cash flow and view real-time dynamic reporting on project performance.

“Armed with sophisticated, advanced estimating software, contractors can develop and manage construction cost estimates with real-world accuracy,” said Shelly Nooner, general manager of Trimble’s civil design and engineering division. “Pricing bids, monitoring on-site progress and forecasting requirements are seamlessly handled by Trimble Quest’s innovative approach to budget management. Adding cost estimating and budget management to Trimble’s connected construction portfolio expands our civil software capabilities to better address preconstruction planning as part of the project lifecycle.”

The Quest estimating software is available now and can be purchased with an essential licence for a private, single user workspace or with an enterprise licence, which offers a fully-featured, multi-user workspace.

Trimble is developing technology, software and services that drive the digital transformation of construction with products that span the entire architecture, engineering and construction industry.

Trimble is delivering products and services that connect the physical and digital worlds. Core technologies in positioning, modelling, connectivity and data analytics help users improve productivity, quality, safety and sustainability.