Don't Let Manual Takeoff Short-Circuit Your Bids - Auto Takeoff for Electrical Contractors

In short

• Electrical takeoff requires identifying symbols, devices, circuits, equipment, wiring, and specialty systems across plans and schedules. Details on one page, takeoff on another, endless flipping between project pages just to get started!

• Add to the takeoff complexity, the estimator must account for all the materials and labor required to complete a build out.

• Takeoff BOOST™’s Expanded Auto Takeoff coverage, along with the included Estimating functionality in ConstructConnect Takeoff, helps electrical estimators go from reviewing plans to submitting a bid in record time.

• Auto Takeoff gives estimators a faster, more organized way to establish the initial measurement set for review.

• This feature is current in beta testing and will be available for all ConstructConnect Takeoff users soon.

Why this matters

Electrical plans combine symbols, tags, homeruns, schedules, panel information, notes, and details. Estimators are stuck starting from a blank page which means they spend a disproportionate amount of time clicking and flipping between pages. A large part of your time is spent tracing and counting before the scope is organized enough to review, let alone begin the actual estimate.

Takeoff BOOST™ Auto Takeoff helps bring common electrical categories into one structured starting point:

• Lighting fixtures
• Power devices
• Lighting controls
• Distribution and equipment
• Branch circuits and homeruns
• Feeders and service entrance
• Conduit, wire, and accessories
• Grounding and bonding
• Fire alarm
• Low-voltage and communications

A faster path to the first review

Load your plans set (Takeoff BOOST names and scales your pages automatically), open an electrical plan, verify the page scale, then launch Auto Takeoff and choose Electrical. You tell Auto Takeoff the scope you want and it feeds your options into Takeoff Assist, which immediately goes to work reviewing this plan and related pages for electrical work and related details.

The resulting conditions and marked-up plan provide a categorized starting point for reconciling devices, equipment, circuits, and specialty systems. Takeoff Assist explains what it’s doing the entire time and then gives you a recap of which pages it took off, what it found, and if there are any anomalies you need to research.

All this in minutes rather than hours or days of manually poring over project documents and drawing takeoff one click at a time!

The payoff for electrical estimators

It’s not as if these electrical plans became self-explanatory. The benefit to using Auto Takeoff and Takeoff Assist is that you can spend less time establishing repetitive counts and linework before the real estimating work begins.

Takeoff Assists organized first pass makes it easier to see what has been measured, what needs a second look, and what may need to be added manually.

Auto Takeoff creates Conditions and takeoff and let's you know what it and why in the Takeoff Assist panel.

Takeoff Assist isn’t just drawing measurements on a page, it’s understanding how the plans work together and the relationships between different takeoff objects. It shows you its insights and why it drew takeoff the way it did and calls out inconsistencies and things you may want to pay extra attention to.

Auto Takeoff and Takeoff Assist don't replace you as the estimator - your expertise are critical, but put them to work where they matter: fine tuning your estimate and polishing your proposals.

Keep the estimator in control

Automation is amazing but electrical estimating still depends on the full set of project information. Fixture and device types may tie to schedules. Branch circuits, feeders, and service entrance work may require panel schedules and risers. Conduit, wire, grounding, fire alarm, and low-voltage scope may depend on notes, details, and specifications.

As the expert, you still need to review the generated results against the complete drawing set, then adjust or add measurements as needed. Use natural language to communicate with Takeoff Assist and get your bid out faster than ever.

Keep an eye out for the next article in this series: Auto Takeoff for Painting