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Bidcon BIM enables costs to be associated with a building project from an early stage - and if you have the necessary basic information at hand, at the planning and budgeting stages of the process. This allows managers to extract information from IFC models of the project and associated sources, in order to build up a database of costs which will form the basis of detailed financial reports.

With accurate cost information available throughout the life of a project, managers are forewarned about budgetary overruns, can make critical decisions with an understanding of the financial implications, and are able investigate alternative solutions to keep projects on track and in budget.

A powerful and comprehensive costing program, Bidcon has been available in Scandinavia for many years. The market leading tool was developed within the ELECO Group, of which Asta is a part. It is based on an SQL database and uses dynamic templates and reports to identify the most cost-effective solutions, enabling project managers to revise estimates to suit changing conditions.

As the project develops, quantities and associated costs are shared with Asta Powerproject through take-offs from an IFC model, helping to enable a Common Data Environment. Budget plans can be set up even earlier though, and linked to the IFC model when it becomes available. It's a dynamic process throughout, as resources can be built up and new costs established as the project progresses, all of which increases the accuracy of the periodic reports.

The cost estimates are built up from material costs using SQL-based reference libraries, such as Spon's Price Books, or from quantities automatically imported via the ELECO BIMCloud portal, and from other BOMs as Excel or text files in virtually any format, probably compiled from price requests sent out to suppliers, together with manually added elements such as labour, plant and other resources. Where there is duplication of prices for materials from more than one supplier, Bidcon automatically selects the lowest - which can be overridden, however, if one supplier is preferred over another.

The software provides a suite of ready-made templates for reports, but to enable users to produce reports that suit their own particular requirements, they have the freedom to set up their own resources, or to create their own templates to base their estimates on.

Cost estimates, generated within fully detailed customisable reports, can either be viewed in their entirety or by using filters to drill down to resource groups, construction phases and other areas. This highlights the fact that on some of the largest projects, the massive amount of cost information available could, if unchecked, swamp the capabilities of those tasked with handling it.

It is suggested therefore that, when transferring quantities from the largest projects, it is best done piecemeal, working on one part of the project at a time. This is where the real benefit of Bidcon becomes apparent, as the software retains a link between the IFC model and the estimate. Each item entered is kept track of, allowing users to stop working on the model and to return to it at a later stage, with no delays and no items lost.

The IFC link also enables users to keep abreast of model updates, hence the addition of BIM to the application title, and to upload revisions through Eleco BIMCloud, and to verify elements by visually navigating their way through and around the model.

Once a cost schedule has been compiled it can be imported by Asta Powerproject, or alternatively by other applications that can read industry standard IFC formats.

BUILT-IN NRM LIBRARY
The Framework of the New Rules of Measurement, provided as a built-in library, guides users through the Order of Cost Estimating. If that doesn't quite meet their needs, though, they can add their own frameworks of codes, and configure the system so that they can be selected by Bidcon in a manual build-up or automated import.

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