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Trimble e-Builder
What is Trimble e-Builder?
Trimble e-Builder is an enterprise solution for capital program and construction project management. Reduce risk, enhance collaboration and improve outcomes using the industry-leading digital project delivery software for owners.
Who Uses Trimble e-Builder?
e-Builder clients are owners who have capital construction programs in the Healthcare, Higher Education, K-12, Commercial Real Estate, Enterprise and Government sectors, as well as Program Managers.
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Trimble e-Builder
Reviews of Trimble e-Builder
User friendly system and allows you to capture information necessary for your project.
Comments:
Good financial reporting on projects and status of where things sit with what actor. Hold accountability with PMs, Directors, and Executive Directors.
Very good auditing tool that can help score performance on internal staff and outside consultants or contractors.
Pros:
Easy to build reports and dashboards. Building customized reports and workflows. Easy to use system. Allows everything to tie back to a project, include cost, budget, documents, forms, invoices, change orders, task orders, etc.
Cons:
System runs slow around noon-3pm EST. As an EB Admin, certain functionalities when creating forms are uneditable or would require you to remove a field and start over again. Dashboards do not quickly refresh with up to date changes made in processes or reports. Sometimes it takes almost 6hrs to refresh a dashboard based on new changes. Would like to see more online youtube training videos on certain modules (i.e., BI Reports, Schedule, Cashflows, etc.)
OCU experience
Comments: Excellent so far. Glad to transition to the product. As a Construction manager, I have visibility over key metrics to support project management.
Pros:
User friendly system. Easy to adjust work flows to fit our needs.
Cons:
Implementation was challenging with BA turnaround.
Review
Comments: Tracking processes, Change Orders, looking for stored documents, managing invoices, etc.
Pros:
Not easy to use at all. Many issues may be due to the implementation and not you. The owner of the enterprise is Broward County Public Schools, so I really don't know if the issues are due to you, or to the owner.
Cons:
When I want to export a list into Excel, its easy to do. BUT...if the list goes over to another page, then I have to go to the second page, and generate ANOTHER spreadsheet. Then I have two spreadsheets with identical name that I have to consolidate.Also, When I print an attachment (and by print it can be show as a pdf or word document, E-Builder does not keep the name of the document and gives it a generic name. If I have several of those PDFs open, I don't know which is which.I only understand about 10% of the software capabilities. Not user-friendly AT ALL. It is absolutely counter-intuitive to do anything, and training here is exceedingly poor.I like to produce charts. I've tried to self learn how to do so. Impossible.I see there is something like a Dashboard. This would be so useful to customize so as to have a lot of important information on a single screen or report, but it has been impossible for me to get ahead on this.
Great Product
Comments: Still making up mind, would like to explore cost management more
Pros:
User friendly, flexibility of managing and creating processes.
Cons:
Some limitations with processes and workflows
E-Builder
Pros:
Ease of use, once we understood the process
Cons:
Multiple implementation teams made initial setup frustrating
Awesome Product
Comments: Very good product, will be a great asset for our use
Pros:
The ability to manage capital projects efficiently
Cons:
You can make ebuilder very complex and confuse users.
Builder review
Comments: As an administrator I and my team have done more than was done during implementation. It is a reasonably intuitive system and we are getting things where they need to be
Pros:
Compiling all project data in one place as a one source of truth
Cons:
The implementation was very long with extended periods where both sides were unproductive and we were not given any initial product training so we could effectively engage with the implementation team
Found it clunky and hard to navigate
Pros:
It was nice for collaborating with a lot of people on a very large document in real time.
Cons:
Felt it was clunky, not intuitive and didn’t like the way things were organized.
Ebuilder
Pros:
It is good at tracking issues and rfis.
Cons:
The submittal app is very difficult to navigate and use properly.
Used to hate it, now I tolerate it
Pros:
+Extremely customisable. This is construction management software that you can tailor to fit the needs of your project. I've used e-Builder for three (3) different higher education institutions and each University is able to tailor e-Builder to fit the project's needs. +Notifications. E-Builder will email you a notification when you have a RFI to respond to, when you have a submittal to review, when you've been copied on a RFI response, etc. This is very helpful and allows you to notify multiple individuals at once through the software. It also keeps a record. +Documentation. E-Builder is meant to store documentation and it does excel in this. I've used e-Builder to access submittals, RFIs, drawing revisions, etc. on long term projects (24-36 month construction) when sometimes the documentation was uploaded years back. E-Builder does not put a time limit on an upload, so you can always access it.
Cons:
-Training is definitely required to use e-Builder. It can be confusing with different terminologies used such as "forms", "processes", etc. I just need to find submittals and RFIs but can easily get lost. Without training, it is easy to hate e-Builder, just like I did in the beginning. -Cost - this is not a cheap software and licenses can be costly.
Alternatives Considered:
e-Builder is great for project management from start to finish
Comments: e-Builder is beneficial to companies doing project management, design management, contract management, budgeting and document storage.
Pros:
I like the document management and contract management functions.
Cons:
I don't think it is user friendly to the degree that, in order to one thing done, you have to apply it in many different areas of the software. If you skip one application, it is void.
e-Builder review
Comments: So far, everything has been pretty good with e-Builder. Now that I know how to use it, it is a simple, and effective software.
Pros:
The submittals tab makes it easy to see what is outstanding and whose court it is in.
Cons:
It was very difficult to use in the beginning.
Good Project Management software!
Pros:
Easy to assign, track and follow up with day to day construction management.
Cons:
User Interface needs to be more friendly and easy to use.
Review of E-builder
Comments: PM for construction projects, for municipalities, MD & VA. Many municipalities are using it, but most are not happy with it. Many changing to Procure.
Pros:
Really, nothing, not user friendly at all.
Cons:
Not user friendly, logic is off, very hard to navigate.
Stuebner review
Pros:
Could contact for helpHad all contractors on board .
Cons:
items not marked clearly for what shop drawings were for Password not working
Construction and Infection Prevention
Comments: great experience
Pros:
Ease of use and document organization within the folders
Cons:
At times documents don't get loaded quickly; I can't see documents at times
e-Builder
Comments:
Overall e-Builder experience is great, starting at their support desk; which by far is one of the best I have worked with. Many knowledgeable folks on the other end of the phone. Many have been promoted to Business Analysts, which says a lot for the company as a whole. I have worked with some Business Analysts on school district specific needs and have been very pleased with our outcome. Also our account Rep has always been in touch to make sure that we are getting what we need and I also get monthly reports from our success manager letting us know how we are looking statistically. All support form e-Builder is greatly appreciated.
Through my 5 years with e-Builder I have been able to complete my e-Builder certification and attend many very intuitive webinars which enhance my position. Always learning something new. I also have met some very great people at other organizations that use e-Builder and together we are able to collaborate how we use the software.
Pros:
I was hired to re-implement the e-Builder software. It requires an understanding of the data and the fields that need to be populated; and why you are populating those fields. Integration is an integral part of a successful implementation and it is very important to have all players that know about data included in initial discussions. e-Builder is easy to use and they have many tutorials in their community portal that showcase each module with examples of how it can and should be used. The reporting module is easy enough for all users to use and enhanced reporting with BI is available for those that have a bit more knowledge of report layout.
Cons:
Searching for documents across all projects could be enhanced. Systems created on global custom fields always means there can never be out of the box standardizations, so a lot of time is spent re-inventing processes or forms that should be standard to all. Working in contacts and user setups could also be enhanced. The mobile module needs enhancing on Androids.
Powerful Project Management Software
Pros:
Workflows are easy to use and very customizable for my organization.
Cons:
Training could be improved. Interface could use an update.
Using E-Builder for Higher Ed Project Managament
Comments: Our experience with Ebuilder has been amazing. Our company use to have weekly project meetings where we all got together to discuss statuses, budgets, important things however Ebuilder can store all that info in one place so we no longer to meet all the time. As a capital asset accountant one of my most used features is looking at all our project status updates from the project managers. I am able to quickly see if a project is complete in order to capitalize.
Pros:
Ebuilder has helped our capital asset's team track and manage all construction projects on campus. It centralizes all of our project info. We are able to se the project's budget, start date, end date, status updates, documents, invoices, etc. There is even a thread people can write comments and questions and it will email out a message to everyone on the project so they can see. It's a huge time saver in our opinion!
Cons:
One thing that I don't love about Ebuilder is that there a so many options on the dashboard it can be overwhelming and confusing. This may be able to adjusted based on your industry's preferences so it's not a huge deal.
Funtionality
Pros:
As a user, I find its functionality works well for what we use the platform for.
Cons:
I post invoices, tracking submitted invoices is cumbersome, I have to start the invoice submission process in order to see these details, then cancel the process after I'm done.
Nice integration, easy use
Comments: Great A++
Pros:
Easy to use cost effective solution to more robust construction management software.
Cons:
Learning curve is steep. After several trainings, its easy to use out of the box.
Not User Friendly
Comments: I don't use it alot. I do use it for one client.
Pros:
I really don't have alot of good things to save about E-Builder. It is difficult to use.
Cons:
I find E-Builder to be confusing and difficult to use.
Sometimes a Harmonica Is More Appropriate than an Orchestra
Comments: I am a Materials Coordinator. Per my Agency's format- I am mostly in folders: Progress Photos ("04"-07); 03-01-09; 03-08 through 12-all subfolders; 03-16-01-all subfolders; 03-16 & 17-all subfolders. I look at submittals via Submittal Register. Processes I use most is consultant daily activity report (DR_) and equipment report (DARCA).
Pros:
It is a method to get at much info into an electronic format. As in the Microsoft Office software, the method of entering info into e-Builder vary from Process to Submittal, etc. In short, no consistency. I use the file naming convention format for record keeping for non-e-Builder projects.
Cons:
Unable to get a simple Excel list of file names, with upload date (a harmonica), found in a folder directly from e-Builder software. It drives me nuts I can only see two or three documents in the tiny window when I do materials review & file naming consistency. I create my own Excel sheet manually. I select an individual document, "Properties", copy the file name into an Excel spreadsheet-repeat steps. When a log can be created directly from e-Builder (an orchestra), it is in WORD (useless for sorting) in narrow columns stuffing long file names in multiple rows & extra useless verbiage filling the remaining columns. It can be edited, with the time wasted doing that, create an Excel spreadsheet manually. In the file naming convention, there is no File TYPE ID to identify material certification info (photo of object's marking, pdf of paper tag, cutsheet) collected in the field. Currently I use "MS_" for "Materials Sh**t." Sorting by "MS_" brings up lots of "Miscellaneous" documents when doing closeout review. Adding suffice "TAG_" would help; it appears to not conflict with the current file naming File TYPE IDs.
E-builder review
Comments: Good
Pros:
I like the ease to use the software and navigation.
Cons:
I do not like the things related to password change.
I like using e-builder
Pros:
The product is easy to use and very intuitive to quickly learn
Cons:
Unable to delete history and other editing privileges