Denver, Colorado-based technology consulting and IT services firm Burrtech Corporation, developer of eTransmittal, a Web-based document transfer & tracking tool that simplifies, streamlines, and automates the exchange and tracking of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) documents, today announced its national recognition in Management Today magazine, also marking milestones in growth and new innovations.

Burrtech’s ‘Vendor Focus’ feature, appearing in the Spring 2012 issue of Management Today, highlights not only the implementations of eTransmittal as a case study for environmental solutions firm ADA, but also the careful and practical balance and strategy yielding successes for all parties. Speaking on his relationship with ADA ES, Burrtech CEO Justin Culver remarks, “We’ve grown and expanded as they have. It’s been a great learning experience and blessing for us to work with ADA.”

Burrtech’s collaborative SaaS (Software as a Service) product, eTransmittal, is also represented on the back cover of the Management Today Spring 2012 issue. Poised to earn even more awards for growth and software development accolades (beyond those exhibited on the back cover feature), Burrtech Corporation has added three new employees so far this Spring and established technology partnerships with four new clients.

Regarding the perpetual prosperity marked by Burrtech’s recent growth and media attention, which also included mention of CEO Justin Culver’s dedication to worthy charitable causes, Culver quips, “Our success isn’t only measured by the businesses we impact with technology, but in how we can contribute to the bigger picture of reforming the partnership between missions and the marketplace.”

Getting More Builders to Adopt Green Standards

Every structure begins with a foundation and a framework; a representation of the precepts applied by an industry that is always building, growing…...creating our civilization as we know it. So isn’t it time that such an enterprise, so focused on growth, take extra measures to prevent the deterioration of our environment?

It’s understandable that most businesses will opt for cost-effective measures over eco-friendly ones… especially when the notion of reducing their carbon footprint threatens those sensitive budget boundaries. 

But what if there were solutions that benefited both profits and planet? Hopefully it would be a no brainer.  Perhaps most A/E/C firms want to operate at the greenest possible standards, but there simply aren’t enough cost-healthy resources available to do so.

There’s no fairness in shaming a construction company for environmentally harmful practices if they lack access to more eco-friendly methods that won’t break the bank. As such, the responsibility falls equally on the shoulders of supporting industries and vendors patronized by A/E/C firms.

Lumber should come from sustainable sources. Vehicles and heavy equipment should produce fewer pollutants with higher efficiency. Tools of the trade, both physical and digital, should help reduce waste as well as overconsumption.  And all of these need a more reasonable price tag.

As the ‘green’ movement gains momentum, most notably with concepts such as “LEED” (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and similar programs, more contractors and industrial entities will come under scrutiny for eco-friendly practices…and perhaps rightly so.

Even at the Federal level, with environmentally-focused cabinets, committees and legislation becoming a Congressional mainstay, private industry is compelled to make changes for the benefit of our planet.

Fortunately, the first (albeit least expensive) steps are being taken by many firms across the country to initiate proactive green practices. Those first few steps may be small ones but they’re extremely important, as they represent the educational groundwork that is so essential to creating significant and long-lasting changes.

However, simply perpetuating awareness and holding weekly meetings or ‘toolbox talks’ is only a supplement of the greater solution, which involves taking action. Again, we have to remember that the most practical methods are those that don’t require a sacrifice but rather create a win-win scenario for enterprises wishing to employ greener standards.

Just because something is ‘green’… if it doesn’t also contribute an evident value, why would a company adopt it? More importantly…isn’t it a bit presumptuous that we would expect them to? We are only fooling ourselves to think that motivating greener standards through ‘doom and gloom’ scare tactics and guilt trips will ever prove effective in the current ‘cash is king’ society. The solution will be the same as it is for selling anything else to a corporation: Justifying the value.

For example, consider an A/E/C-focused file sharing software such as eTransmittal. At its core, it meets the need for sending, sharing and tracking large files commonly handled among building project teams. The green benefits of using eTransmittal are significant. It eliminates the need for building teams to print and ship large documents, blueprints and other paperwork, thereby slashing paper waste and over-consumption.  It offsets the carbon footprint of typical construction jobs. But no one expects an architect or engineer to pay for such a product solely based on its green benefits. The value lies in the features that cut the core costs, streamline the project, improve overall efficiency and solve problems encountered when using the wrong file sharing tools.

As a support service for A/E/C firms, we know the product has to present value for the core business first and foremost.  Contributing additional green advantages is secondary, although equally important. The bottom line: Pushing momentum in the green building movement is substantially easier and more effective if project teams can acquire environmentally friendly resources that present value in other ways. Support starts with solutions, let’s just try to keep them green.

Building Delays Are Avoidable with Preparation and Proper Tools

Almost anyone in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, in any position will agree that building projects are anything but predictably cut-and-dry.  The majority of building projects are inherently prone to delays, derailments and disasters.

Executing without issue given the sheer size and scope of most projects, combined with the complexity of so many workers, tasks, tools, resources and materials all being coordinated at once, and on a deadline, is a tall order. Here are a few of the most common setbacks that could be avoided with the proper planning and tools.

Shipping & Delivery Distress

It’s hard enough to coordinate the logistics of construction equipment and building materials. You shouldn’t have to worry about shipping and distribution for blueprints, yet so many do.  Because building plans, drawings and other crucial documents can stack up the gigabytes in digital form, it’s hard to send them electronically. As a result, many of these documents get printed out, packed up mailed to the recipient. The sacrifice is immense, turning a time frame of a few seconds into a few days, not to mention the added shipping costs.

Solution: Traditional methods of sending files electronically, such as FTP and email, won’t be able to handle huge AutoCAD drawings. But instead of settling for snail mail, use a file transfer software properly equipped for the task. Check out our FTP Alternatives page to learn more.

Insufferable Inspections

The hallmark of a successful building project is a well-built, safe and sturdy structure ready to serve its occupants with long-lasting enjoyment and utility. It is largely in the hands of the Inspectors to see that this is accomplished, and done so safely and within regulations. While inspections can often contribute to delays, we can take simple preparations to ensure we instead benefit from the Inspectors.

Solution: Don’t jump the gun, even on a deadline, and call in any inspectors too early. Ensure that you’re entirely prepared for the inspection before you order one. Use online resources; sharing files with inspectors on the web can shorten the process and ensure a timely delivery of the project documents.  Similarly, don’t schedule an inspection too late, giving yourself time to make corrections as needed.

Blundered Blueprints

If you’ve ever tried to construct a complex model, toy, or furniture piece without an instruction manual, you can understand how difficult it would be to build a structure without blueprints. That’s bad enough, but what if you had the instructions, yet they were incorrect and you didn’t know it? Your job would be even harder! Builders deal with this problem all the time, and it’s because they typically use FTP to collaborate on a shared drawing file.  With so many revisions and updates, and so many different users accessing and updating the file, changes get lost or updates aren’t tracked or they’re overwritten. It’s a nightmarish scenario for building crews, but it’s avoidable.

Solution: Don’t use FTP for collaboration on such crucial documents – it isn’t suited for that. Instead, use a collaboration software tool that is specifically designed to establish a trail of accountability and prevent overwrites while ensuring everyone has the latest version of every file. Transferring files using transmittals and submittals keeps things more tidy and gives you nice document history.

Building Momentum

As a fresh new year kicks off, full of opportunity, A/E/C companies are gearing up for a busy year. Apart from some amazing architectural exhibitions and record-setting building achievements capturing the attention of an industry recently, one big trend is picking up speed – ‘Green’ Building.

From EPA awareness efforts to green building blogs around the web, the topic of employing ‘greener’ standards in our building practices has taken center stage in a promising new initiative for the betterment of our planet.

Visions of Green

A growing number of enterprises, organizations and building firms have become enchanted by the progressive movement, yielding a promising upswing in the amount of resources and awareness on the internet and other media. Here’s a few of those we’ve noticed recently:

The U.S. Green Building Council: With its ambitious vision focusing on sustainability for buildings and communities, the USGBC anticipates it will contribute $554 billion to the U.S. GDP over a stretch from 2009 to 2013. With tons of resources and educational materials available on their website, and memberships reaching in the hundreds of thousands, USGBC remains a forerunner in the green building movement.

Construction Digital: Despite being first and foremost a construction industry magazine, the Construction Digital website offers a robust suite of resources. Among their offerings, a sub-section focused on green building standards, information and news stories offering fresh perspectives on the newest applications of eco-friendly architecture and construction practices.

GreenBuilding.com: From residential to commercial, greenbuilding.com offers a diverse, almost limitless array of tips, tools, resources and advice about green building. While energy efficiency (in both home and office) is a primary focus for the 30-year building industry veteran and website curator, David Johnston, he takes this invaluable resource above and beyond with myriad training opportunities, localized info guides (by state), and ideas that seek to carve out new frontiers in green building.

Participation Counts

Sure, we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s out there in terms of green building resources, and undoubtedly there will be more to come. The important takeaway from the trends we’re seeing in the building community is twofold:

Firstly, green standards and practices are increasingly imperative for building a sustainable community. Those employing cheaper, less eco-friendly operations are becoming the minority. Providing resources and awareness is a key implement toward progress.

Secondly, everyone must participate. Here at eTransmittal.com, we take pride in offering a software solution that provides greener alternatives for the vast array of file sharing operations that builders employ every day. We are doing our part, and we’d love to hear what you’re doing to jump on the big green bandwagon. We’ll be pointing out more outstanding places on the web as we strive to develop positive A/E/C community relationships, so contact us with your suggestions today!

Sending large files, such as CAD drawings, is a necessity especially in the architecture industry. Due to size restrictions with most email clients, finding a way to send CAD files over the internet can prove to be more problematic than it should be.

While the demand for sending large files quickly and securely continues to grow, many firms and freelancers are still employing methods that can reduce the quality of the transmittal. With all the investments of drawing software, AutoCAD tools and the hard work put into each drawing, no one should have to settle for sending lower quality versions.

The most common pitfall when searching for ways to send large files is to try to ‘beat’ the maximum file size limits by reducing the size of the drawing file being sent. Many writings on the subject exist on the web, and forums are abuzz with myriad tools and methods by which to shrink your drawing file down to a transmittable size. Upon closer inspection, most of those methods require a sacrifice of one kind or another.

Sending large files electronically will always be a requisite for anyone working with AutoCAD, so it’s easy for the wrong habits to become common practice. Therefore, it’s imperative to solve this problem the proper way – by using tools without size limitations that let you send the file you created originally, without any reduction in quality or size.

The information age has hastened the pace of many professions, and the A/E/C industry is no exception. At the same time, advances in technology have raised the bar for the standards of quality to be expected. We can no longer rely on the limitations of email and the insecurity of FTP to accomplish such a common – and crucial – task.

By using the right tool for the job, you exempt yourself from the headaches and drawbacks of squeezing your drawing files into emails and zip folders. eTransmittal software is specifically designed for architecture, engineering and construction firms to handle the simple, yet important, task of sending big files electronically. There’s no cost to try it out, and the recipients of the files you’re sending aren’t required to have the software. Don’t let a shrunken-down drawing file rob you of the impressions you can make on your colleagues and clients.