Advantages of Going Digital
The entire construction industry is going digital. Well, everything but the building. With today's technology, it is possible and not uncommon for the building to be the first physical item in a construction process.
Gone are the days when plans were drawn up on drafting tables with pencils and ts. Blueprints made and hand carried by professionals in nice tub cases from one place to another. Then finally lay out on a managers trailer desk to be watched over while building.
Now the plans are made on a computer screen by a computer drafter. Every view, diagram, and aspect created by the computer, most almost automatically. When the plans are done, they are "mailed" electronically from one place to the next. The plans may not ever be printed out. They end up as a file on someone's computer screen while they direct the work in process, seeing only what they need to see at any given time.
How do you estimate construction costs and bid on such projects if you are not able to read and do estimate from digital plans. Yes, you could get the files and print them out. However, this takes time and costs a pretty penny. In addition, you can easily loose accuracy in this process.
The key to survival in this age is to be able to use digital takeoff software so you to do not need to print the plans and can are one of the recipients of the electronically mailed plans.