Aside from the application itself (ConstructConnect Takeoff), takeoff, in the very simplest terms, is:
- Cumulative measurements of construction objects (Takeoff Items in our program) for the purpose of estimating the costs associated with building those objects ("the takeoff for Project X is done")
- Individual measurements for a single construction object ("a piece of takeoff represents a door, a wall, or some area 'Takeoff Item' such as carpeting or concrete")
- The act of taking those measurements. For our purposes, by drawing on an electronic representation of the blueprints or plans using Takeoff Items that represent various construction objects ("I need to takeoff Project X and get those results to the estimator for bidding")
Other names for "takeoff" include:
- Take off (the materials necessary to build a specific construction object)
- Measurements
- Quantity Surveys
- Construction Estimate (although, takeoff only represents part of an estimate)
Before modern takeoff applications, an estimator would get out his or her paper plans, an estimating rule, and colored pencils. Using these tools, the estimator measured the plans and transferred those measurements to a ledger or maybe a spreadsheet to add up the "take off" for all the plans in a project. Obviously, doing this manually is time-consuming and prone to errors.
Using ConstructConnect Takeoff, you still measure your plans, but in a much more efficient and accurate way. Our motto is, "If it is colored, it is counted." which makes verifying your cumulative quantities much easier.
The next Chapters focus on the Takeoff Tab, Creating Takeoff Items to represent various building objects, using those Takeoff Items to draw takeoff, editing takeoff, and drawing Annotations, which are just markups on your drawings that make them easier to use, but do not affect takeoff results.
Exporting the Plan Organizer Grid