AutoSpecs and Precon: Why You Should Start Early
Take advantage of the insights and control offered by AutoSpecs during your precon process.
July 11, 2019
During my past year as a Customer Success Manager at Pype, I’ve noticed that the majority of GCs who use AutoSpecs start using it later in the Construction Phase. It’s a great tool for organizing project specs and submittal requirements, but there are value-adds being missed by not using it sooner. Only a handful of GCs start using the software as soon as they get the notice to proceed, or even during estimating. Listening to these GCs, I’ve noticed three trends emerging about the added value they found in AutoSpecs by starting early:
1). Identifying and Allocating Costs.
AutoSpecs helps you identify important cost centers like delegated design, basis of design, sole source products, and other crucial submittals for your project. I’ve even heard from a number of project teams that they impress ownership groups by delivering draft submittal logs along with their bid. Using AutoSpecs during estimating will also make your bids more accurate and detailed, and help your team understand which spec sections will require special attention. This shows the owners that your team is experienced and professional, and helps alleviate anxiety over potential missed requirements.
2). Mockups.
AutoSpecs automatically identifies tests & inspections, QA/QC requirements, and even mockups along with every other submittal listed in your specs. Filtering and identifying these early in the process helps you to maintain contract compliance and ensures that your teams are prepared for everything called out in the specs. If you’ve ever missed a mockup on a project, you know how costly it can be (and if you haven’t, you don’t want to find out the hard way).
3). Mitigating Risk from Spec Changes.
Specs are usually only 20% complete by the time a GC receives their notice to proceed. As a result, a lot of project teams either have to go through the spec book time and time again with each new version, or just hold off until a more complete spec book is available. That’s why AutoSpecs allows you to run multiple versions of your specs throughout the project lifecycle, letting you compare changes the architects or design teams have made to the project. You can quickly and easily see every submittal that was added, removed, or modified, and plan for these changes early instead of being caught off-guard during the build or closeout phases. Was a costly mock-up added or removed? Does a product have an updated manufacturer? Was a new long-lead item added? All of this information is made available for you to search, identify, and prepare for with each new version of your specs.
These are some really important reasons to take advantage of the insights and control offered by AutoSpecs during your precon process. Gaining those insights early, controlling your information, and having a head start can only lead to a better understanding of your project.
Want to discuss getting the most out of AutoSpecs? Feel free to reach me on our chat tool on help.pype.io, or by emailing support@pype.io.