PlanWell Enterprise™
FAQ Responses
What is PlanWell Enterprise™?
PlanWell
Enterprise™ is a service offered by a reprographer that combines
an online application that:
- manages and
tracks your project plans and specifications
- manages and
tracks the users of your project plans and specifications
- allows users
to order prints and arrange for delivery and/or distribution
- compiles a
historical record and archives your plans and specs as documents
are added to the planroom
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Why should
I use PlanWell Enterprise™?
- Manage your
construction plans and specifications easier, faster and with greater
organization.
- Reduce costly
mistakes by keeping plans current and controlling document access.
- Keep a historical
record of plans and their use.
- Build the drawing
archive as the project progresses.
- Communicate
with your project team more frequently, faster and with greater
convenience.
- Lower printing
and logistics costs through accurate distributions to appropriate
people, and through billing flexibility.
- Reduce administration
burdens with a variety of tracking tools, reports, communication
features and user controls
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How does an online planroom work?
Plans
and specifications are given to the reprographer who scans (or electronically
converts them) to non-alterable image files. The files are stored at
the reprographers as a project document collection, available for viewing
and ordering over the Web.
What software do I need?
All
you need to use PlanWell Enterprise™ is a current version of either
Internet Explorer or Netscape.
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How much does it cost?
PlanWell Enterprise™
is free for users who order on-line. When ordering, users simply pay for
the printing and delivery of the plans, just as they would for any reprographic
service. The content provider - the person or organization who supplies the plans
to the planroom - generally pays a small document management fee to
set up and administer the planroom. In many cases, such costs are
reimbursable.
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Why are
the costs of PlanWell Enterprise™ often reimbursable?
Enterprise is a reprographic service.
On most projects, the cost of purchasing plans is generally considered
a "pass-through" cost. Your invoice from a PlanWell Enterprise™
reprographer is like any other reprographic invoice: it will reflect
the cost of purchasing plans. Thus, in most cases, the invoice can be
passed on for reimbursement.
How does
PlanWell Enterprise™ reduce my overhead costs?
PlanWell Enterprise™
significantly decreases the demand on people and facilities (trailers, drawing
racks, document storage) to manage project documents in the office and on-site. A
recent casino project completed in Southern California was able to
manage the job with a single document clerk and one "stick set" of
drawings onsite through 15 design revisions, 30,000 documents, and
two years of construction with more than 600 contractors on-site daily.
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How does
PlanWell Enterprise™ improve my bidding process?
- PlanWell Enterprise™
works with invitation-to-bid systems that take interested
bidders directly to the appropriate planroom.
- It speeds up
communication with bidders by allowing the viewing and ordering
of drawings available the moment an invitation to bid is issued.
- Enterprise
makes it easy to increase the volume of bidders to increase competitiveness.
- Using your
PlanWell Enterprise™ reprographer makes coordination
efficient during the bidding process itself - initial bid sets AND addenda,
change orders, etc. are compiled online and delivered by the reprographer
(no more pulling sets apart and re-compiling, checking who gets what, and
managing single drawings sets issued to more than one company).
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How
fast can I issue addenda or new sets?
As
fast as you can get them to your reprographer. Every PlanWell Enterprise™
reprographer takes electronic submissions through a variety of
methods, as well as conventionally. PlanWell Enterprise™ keeps
communication fast and accurate - drawings that are changed, additional
documentation, specification notes, etc. are available to your community
of users immediately upon posting.
How can
PlanWell Enterprise™ reduce construction errors?
PlanWell
Enterprise™ provides error-control by maintaining a "most current
set" through its dynamic and powerful database functions. Its historical
document tracking removes many of the costly mistakes that decentralized
work processes are prone to because of inaccurate distributions or out-of-date
documentation.
How
does PlanWell Enterprise™ coordinate the archiving process?
Your
reprographer builds the archive in real time inside of Enterprise. Each
document is tracked as it is added to the planroom. When the job closes,
so does your archive - there is no collection of "as-builts" after the
fact, or budget-busting compilation of drawing sets after the project
closes; the archive is in the Facilities Manager's hands the moment
you open the doors on a completed project.
Do I have
to purchase plans to view them online?
No. If you
have access to a project planroom (a username and password are required
to access a private planroom), you can view any plan for which an online
thumbnail has been generated. Purchase of the plans is not required.
Can I download
plans from PlanWell Enterprise™?
If
the content provider has specified that drawings can be downloaded,
users can place a digital order and upon receipt of an email confirmation,
download plans from a secure FTP site. Users can also request plans
be burned to a CD.
Can I print
to my own printer from PlanWell Enterprise™?
Not
directly. If the plans have been downloaded to your computer or burned
to a CD, that option is available.
Do I always
need a username and password to enter PlanWell Enterprise™?
There
are three kinds of planrooms available in Enterprise. The Public Planroom
area is freely accessible. Company and Guest Planrooms require usernames
and passwords.
What security
measures are in place to protect the planrooms from unauthorized viewing?
PlanWell Enterprise™
uses 128-bit encryption
for its security measures, and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocols.
This security is the equivalent of most online banking systems.
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How
are drawings protected from alteration?
Live
or printable files are never posted to the Webb. What viewers look at
on screen are non-alterable, low-resolution thumbnail images. Even the
printable files, stored on the local reprographer's servers, are non-alterable.
Files are saved as 400 dpi Class 4 TIFF images, meaning that all vector
data (line and layer information typically used in programs like AutoCAD,
Microstation, ArchiCAD and others) are unavailable for manipulation.
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What happens
if the files or databases become corrupt, or are lost due to a computer
crash?
PlanWell Enterprise™'s
architecture incorporates robust data backup, redundancy and failsafe procedures.
Databases of the documents are stored at the reprographer's location, at the
PlanWell Enterprise™ Data Center, and are backed up daily.
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What
happens if the Internet goes down? How will I get my files?
While
PlanWell Enterprise™ is a Web-based
service, it works in conjunction with your reprographer. Your drawing
files and databases are maintained locally, as well as nationally. If
your internet connection fails, or a general service interruption occurs,
you can still call, fax or walk into the repro shop and have your order
printed and delivered conventionally.
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Can
I still get plans at the counter or over the phone?
Your
drawing files and databases are maintained locally at the reprographic
shop. You or your team members (some may not have an internet connection)
can still call, fax or walk into the repro shop and have your order
printed and delivered conventionally.
Why would
I want to use a Guest Planroom as opposed to the Company Planroom?
A Guest Planroom
can restrict access to issues, sets or bundles that the document provider
specifies. A perfect example is a bid situation. In a bid, you may not
want everyone on the bidders list to have access to the historical set
of drawings. By specifying what permissions are assigned to users with
a certain password, bidders can enter the planroom, but only view and
order from the bid set only.
Can documents
be delivered to people who order from outside my local area?
Yes.
PlanWell Enterprise™ makes the reprographer's
delivery and shipping services available to customers as part of its
ordering functions. You can specify a local delivery from the reprographer,
or indicate alternate methods of delivery such as FedEx, UPS or the
U.S. Postal Service. You can even specify printing in a remote location
with another PlanWell Enterprise™ reprographer so
deliver can occur locally - time zone and time of day permitting.
How do I
know the set or drawing I order is the most current?
Each
drawing entered into PlanWell Enterprise™ is assigned a number
of unique data points that allow a database to search and find it. One
of these data points is the date the drawing was entered into the system.
When you order a Most Current Set, the database will find the latest
version of each drawing in the set at that moment and compile it for
you.
Can I handle
a bid distribution through PlanWell Enterprise™?
PlanWell Enterprise™
was designed to handle the simplest distribution and the most complex.
Using the built-in Address Book and a spreadsheet-like matrix, you
can compile unique packages containing many sets, documents or whole
issues, and assign them for delivery to multiple recipients on the
fly. Simply choose what you want to distribute and pick contacts from
the Address Book. Enter in the number for each set or drawing you
want each person to receive, and PlanWell Enterprise™'s distribution
matrix handles the math for you. In addition you can send email notifications
for bidders to come onto the site and order for themselves.
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PlanWell
Enterprise™ tracks orders, but what if the person ordering has
the plans sent to someone else? Can I find out who received the plans
and review a transmittal?
Yes.
The Planholders List in PlanWell Enterprise™
tracks who ordered as well as who received plans and specs. A transmittal
for each recipient is available in the report. The planholders list
also tracks the date of the order, date of delivery, order number and
the company where the order originated.
Can
I access FedEx or UPS tracking information from the planholders list?
Yes.
Can I view
and order individual drawings?
Yes. If the
document provider has set up the planroom for individual sheet viewing
and ordering, there are a number of ways you can find, view and order
them.
Can
I compile customized sets of drawings?
Yes.
You can manually search for individual drawings, sets or issues; you
can use the "Build A Set" function and specify a date, one or more disciplines,
include addenda, etc. You can build a historical set that includes all
versions of a drawing issued as of a certain date. And you can compile
a set of drawings that can be permanently listed on the site and reordered.
As a content
provider, can I set up bundles of plans that can only be ordered as
a complete set?
Yes.
As a content provider, you can post your documents in a wide variety
of ways, including complete sets only, custom bundles of drawings from
various disciplines or issues, fixed price sets, etc.
As a content
provider, can I specify how I want the drawings produced?
Yes.
Fixed price bundles specify the drawings included in the bundle, the
production options (size, media, binding, etc.) and thus, the price
for the set. It's a great way to control costs and ensure everyone gets
exactly what you want them to.
As a content
provider, can I set spending limits for the users of my account?
Yes.
When the project administrator sets up a new user on your company's
account, many usage parameters can be set, including a dollar limit
per order.
I want most
of my employees to be able to order online, but not view the Planholders
List. Can I restrict access to certain information?
Yes.
PlanWell Enterprise™'s Address Book feature allows
administrators to determine virtually every function of a PlanWell Enterprise™
user - for example, whether a user can add, edit or delete contacts
from the Address Book, whether a user can generate usage reports, etc.
You can also set passwords for the Planholders List and the Address
Book to strictly control access to proprietary information.
Can
I import my contact information from contact management application
(ACT, Outlook, etc.) into the PlanWell Enterprise™ Address Book?
Yes.
Any contact management application that can export its information into
a text file can be directly imported into your address book.
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