Trimble Releases Accubid LiveCount Pro On-Screen Takeoff Tool for the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Trades

Trimble introduced enhancements to its Accubid® LiveCount® family of on-screen takeoff solutions for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) trades—a new version of LiveCount and LiveCount Pro, an upgrade tier offering to further refine search results. The software solutions provide contractors with the ability to seamlessly integrate and mark up digital image files to manage the quantification process during takeoffs. This eliminates the need to import and/or export information to either the on-screen takeoff tool or the estimate since they are linked.

The new version of LiveCount offers existing users many reasons to upgrade including the system's ability to create and manage alternate bids, giving contractors the tools they need to create "what if" scenarios. Contractors can also retrieve both length and count in one pass in LiveCount effectively cutting branch takeoff time in half. The LiveCount link to a takeoff can also be broken, providing contractors greater control by allowing manual overrides. This new feature is also shared with the latest update of the Accubid Classic Estimating and ChangeOrder solutions.

In addition to the features found in LiveCount, the new tier offering of LiveCount Pro introduces a unique auto count process, a symbol recognition feature that automatically quantifies like objects in the drawing. The auto count feature also ignores objects that have already been counted and allows the estimator to isolate part of the drawing to be counted. This can speed up takeoff time significantly. The unique ability to refine results as part of the auto count feature also allows contractors to hone in on those results, streamlining the on-screen takeoff process and increasing takeoff accuracy. This process expedites repetitive counting tasks and greatly reduces auto count errors and omissions.

LiveCount Pro can now speed up the project creation process by allowing easy naming and orientation of complex document sets. Imported drawings can be renamed, rotated and reviewed, all at the same time, allowing contractors to set up their projects very quickly.

"Accubid has historically shied away from symbol recognition in on-screen takeoff because of the inherent inaccuracies that have plagued these tools in the past," said Mark Mandarelli, director of products & technology for Trimble's Accubid Division. "With the auto count refinement process that we?ve incorporated into LiveCount, the takeoff accuracy can better meet the needs of our customer base."

LiveCount and Classic Estimating and ChangeOrder solutions are currently available through Trimble's Accubid Division by calling 800-222-8243. Existing LiveCount users can upgrade to LiveCount Pro for the price difference between the two solutions.