Here is the high-level overview of each DESTINI Estimator Automatic Pricing Features including the new workflow of Data Manager.
DESTINI Estimator Automatic Pricing
Ability to continue sketching from the Takeoff View – You can continue to takeoff what is mapped to the estimate directly from the palette and it will stay in context with where you are currently working in the estimate. This lets you have context-specific sketching for any 2D takeoff without having to leave the drawings.
Ability to duplicate and reclassify takeoff – You can now quickly re-use existing drawn takeoff to takeoff other parts of the project. For example, you can use floor takeoff to takeoff the ceilings.
Ability to quickly adjust what part of the estimate-specific 2D takeoff belongs directly within the drawings.
Ability to see what pages have specific takeoff and jump right to them – The takeoff summary has been enhanced to provide the ability to see every drawing that holds takeoff for each takeoff object type. For instance, you can see which drawings have ceramic tile vs. which drawings have 1-hour walls and then jump right to that drawing directly from the takeoff summary.
Ability to start/continue sketching from Estimate View – A new command is available on the context menu that will allow you to create a palette item (if one is not already created) and sketch that line item or to continue to sketch that line item in 2D.
Automatic inference of areas when performing additional takeoff – Estimator will automatically be able to infer which area of the estimate takeoff belongs based on where you were last, allowing you to quickly jump from one area of the estimate to another and continue takeoff in that location.
Automatic pricing of 2D quantity takeoff – You can now “dip your pen” in your cost database or your estimate and sketch the quantity of that cost item in one seamless process. You can also continue takeoff of an existing cost item by single-clicking that item and sketching in your takeoff view.
Copy Estimate – You will be able to copy estimates directly from the start page. You will be able to copy templates directly from the template tab on the start page.
Find and replace 2D takeoff objects to perform “what if” analysis – You can now bulk select and update 2D takeoff allowing you to quickly perform “what if” studies or respond to changes in the project while keeping your takeoff and estimate in synch.
Full Support for multiple measurement systems – Estimator will now support the ability to work in both Metric and Imperial measurement systems at the same time.
- Toggle between Metric and Imperial units – Each line item can be toggled back and forth between Metric and Imperial measurement systems using a new context menu.
- Automatic conversion between units of measure – Changing the unit of measure as a result of mapping to 2D and 3D will automatically handle the conversion. Changing the unit of measure in the estimate view will automatically convert the line item quantity.
- Ability to have mixed Metric and Imperial line items – You can now have any combination of Imperial and Metric line items in an estimate allowing you to represent the costs in the same methods you purchase them, even if you take them off in a different measurement system.
Group component names no longer displayed in filter view – When grouping on the component name, the group component will no longer be displayed which simplifies the information shown to the user and better supports workflows with 2D and 3D documents.
New Cost Information view – With an always-up Cost Information view you will be able to save time by being able to jump between answering takeoff questions and actually performing the takeoff, blurring the lines between the concept of drawn takeoff and cost items.
- Custom widget visibility – Ability to customize which information is visible to provide a decluttered workspace and support your workflows.
- “Connected Mode” and “Disconnected Mode” – Connected Mode will always keep the selected line item and its associated 2D palette object in sync. This will allow you to select a line item and see its associated takeoff object as well as let you select a takeoff object and see its associated cost.
- Simplified WBS Property interaction – WBS Properties and Sticky WBS Properties have been combined into a single place making the application easier to use and learn.
- Ability to easily see and edit all costs associated with takeoff – A new method to view and iterate through all associated costs will be available on the cost widget in the Cost Information view.
- Removed the need for a separate modify line item popup – The modify line item command has been removed from the ribbon and the ability to modify line items is now always available in the new Cost Information view.
- Removed the need for the Component Information popup – The Component Information popup has been removed from the Takeoff View. That information has been consolidated, simplified, and is always available in the new Cost Information view.
New Create Version – Create Version is now an administrative operation and has been moved to the start page which will greatly speed up the time it takes to create a version and make it much more intuitive.
New data tracking for estimating team productivity – Building upon our ability to create business intelligence dashboards we have added data that allows the estimating team to see where they are spending the most time and use this information to improve their estimating process, highlight possible training opportunities, and have a better line of sight into the status of the team’s active estimates.
New Database view – With an always up Database view you will be able to save time by not having to re-navigate to your costs every time you move from adding costs to working with your estimate and then back again.
New web-based licensing – We have created a new platform to greatly simplify deployment and licensing. This will reduce the burden on your IT teams and reduce the amount of time it takes to get the estimating team up and running.
Support for system-level quantities from BIM 360 – The BIM 360 viewer has been updated to the newest version. We have provided the ability to access system-level quantities allowing you to answer questions like “What is the square footage of the curtainwall system”. We have also provided the ability to recreate the layer tree available in the BIM 360 viewer.
Updated estimate recovery system – A new system has been put in place to enable significantly faster creation of estimate recovery files as well as enhanced ability to return to where you left off in the event of a crash or other unexpected event.
How to adjust Productivity separately from Total Cost Escalation - Before, when you escalate a line item with productivity, the escalation will make the resource group less productive. We have changed that to now where you can escalate productivity separate from unit prices.
DESTINI Data Manager
Here are the new workflows for Data Manager
Import and Export the entire Cost database to Excel - You now have the ability to export the entire database to Excel, make changes and then import those changes back into the database.
Data corruption prevention - In this version, we have made it so that only one user can edit the cost database at a time, this will prevent users from "stepping" on each other changes if multiple users are editing the database at the same time.
Full Support for multiple measurement systems – Data Manager will now support the ability to work in both Metric and Imperial measurement systems at the same time. This feature also allows you to set the standard unit of measure for Automatic Pricing so that when you select a line item to sketch, the takeoff type is correct.