NG Bailey, utilising Amtech software, wins Award!

NG Bailey, utilising Amtech Group Ltd software, has won the “Most innovative use of Technology” at the prestigious CIPS Supply Management awards 2014.

The category rewards procurement and supply chain teams that have used technology in an innovate way to improve performance or efficiency.

Amtech’s team worked in conjunction with NG Bailey’s senior procurement professionals in order to create a tool to better manage their purchasing.

With hundreds of engineers on the road, NG Bailey sort to optimise control of what was being bought, how much was being paid for items and where these items were being purchased from. The goal of the development was to taking advantage of NG Bailey’s considerable purchasing power for discounts, but also improve fulfilment of purchase agreements with suppliers – resulting in improved receipt of forecast rebates from their suppliers.

Amtech developed a web based tool to allow engineers to request the products they required for a specific job, from any mobile device and send this back to the central purchasing system for items to be correctly procured at the optimum price.

The application uses the new Active Product Selector “APS” to ensure engineers are only using the manufactures where you have agreed discounts and Net prices. This functionality is also available in Amtech’s newly launched XG range, the most powerful Estimating system on the market.

This data is exclusively supplied by Luckins, which is the industry standard for product and pricing information in the building services sector.

This was huge achievement for both companies and shows continued innovation from Amtech, as the trusted name in the Building services software market.

Is Electrical Contractor software worth the money?

Different types of Electrical Contracting software have been around for a long time in varying levels.  How beneficial is using electrical software over good old pencil and paper?  How much time would it save you?  More importantly how much is that time worth to you and your business?

At Amtech, we thought it was worth a look, so we went out and talked to our customers, software testers and technical specialists and turned it into a nifty online savings calculator with the ability to take your business details and tell you how much effective software could save you. Then, we took all of that, and turned it into our Savings Calculator.

Simply answer up to nine questions about your organisation to see how much using effective electrical contracting software could save you. We’ll even recommend the most appropriate piece of our software, based on your answers, and tell you how long it’ll take to make your money back.

Why not give it a go?  What could you save with Amtech software? Start calculating how much you could save today!

 

Amtech FastTest for iPad Video

Take a look at the day in the life of our resident electrician Dave, to see how FastTest for iPad can help you make time for the more important things in life.

Click for more information on FastTest for iPad or call 0800 028 28 28.

Amtech ProDesign Revit Plug In Demo

We demonstrate the ProDesign Revit plugin, which allows users to import and export electrical systems data between Revit and ProDesign.

Click for more information on ProDesign or call 0800 028 28 28.

Amtech FastTest iPad App

Coming in 2013 the brand new FastTest iPad App. This is a demonstration of just some of the features.

Click for more information on FastTest for iPad or call 0800 028 28 28.

Amtech Expands BIM Data Services To Include Intelligent Data Content for Revit MEP 2013

Amtech, the market-leading software developer for the UK Building Services Industry, is expanding its product offerings to include intelligent data content for Autodesk® Revit® MEP via Building Data™ SysQue™ (“SysQue”), pursuant to a recently announced strategic product and technology partnership between Amtech and Building Data, LLC.

SysQue managed data content, powered by the Building Data database, is a cloud-based software as a service that enables designers, engineers and contractors to design in Revit MEP using real-world, manufacturing-specific content that’s ready for fabrication and meets the detailing, fabrication, manufacturing, and installation requirements of MEP contractors.

Amtech’s new partnership with Building Data will extend Amtech’s lead in MEP Design, Estimating and Project Management software and its Information Services (Luckins) to include Building Information Modeling (BIM) with Revit MEP content — available directly through LuckinsLive, the online portal for price and labour data used by the majority of UK contractors’ estimating and purchasing systems. Using SysQue, Revit MEP 2013 is enhanced to model systems with materials and sizes based on actual manufacturer products by name and part number.

SysQue web services offered by Amtech will extend the Revit MEP BIM data to include Luckins material cost, labor values, submittal documents and procurement part numbers, and also includes Excel reporting – making the model data-rich and ready for a multitude of additional functions – including cost analysis, prefabrication, manufacturing and installation.

“Providing this additional level of real-world, manufacturer BIM data for creating detailed, constructible models directly in Revit furthers Amtech’s unique advantage of fostering product integration for improved customer productivity and efficiency,” commented Amtech’s CEO, Mark Tindall. “Going forward, our customers will be able to compile detailed Estimates or generate Bills of Material directly from their Revit MEP models – while still using the Luckins data services they’ve depended on for years.”

For more information visit the Amtech website or call 0800 028 28 28.

TradeSkills4U Partner with Amtech to Deliver First Class Training

One of Britain’s largest independent electrical training providers, Tradeskills4u, announced today that they have successfully partnered with building services software company, Amtech. This exciting partnership is set to benefit the thousands of electricians both companies currently service. In addition to first class training, Tradeskills4u customers will now be able to access specialist Amtech software created to ease the stress of running their own business. All Trade Skills 4U customers will be eligible for discounts on Amtech software when they book a course. In a similar fashion, all Amtech customers that purchase the useful software will benefit from a discount on Tradeskills4u specialist electrical and renewable energy training. Both companies are said to be thrilled about the partnership, which will help add value to their existing services and benefit their customer base.

‘Partnering with Amtech is a great move for us and our customers. Having initially met with the company earlier this year, it was clear from the beginning that our services complemented each other very well. Exploring the relationship further has enabled us to realise that we could add value for all of our clients by forming a partnership of this kind,’ said Carl Bennett, MD of Tradeskills4u.  ‘It gives me great pleasure to offer Amtech’s software and go that extra mile as we believe applications like this can prove invaluable to an electrician and their business. This relationship is dedicated to the success of both our customers and together we can look forward to enriched future for all parties involved,‘ added Carl.

“When we met Tradeskills4u a partnership was immediately on the cards. We were very impressed with the professional way in which they run their training centres. We were pleasantly surprised to find a company in the construction training market who measure up to our high standards and are very much looking forward to working together,” added Amtech’s Sales Director, Nick Harper.

Since its inception in 2005 Trade Skills 4U have gone from strength to strength and have grown to be the UK’s leading specialist electrical training company. They have stood out from the crowd by providing a service which stands head and shoulders above the rest. In 2009 Trade Skills 4U made to shift to become a specialist electrical trainer and now offer the widest choice of electrical training courses in Britain. Each year they train more people in City & Guilds electrical qualifications than anyone else in the UK. Trade Skills 4U have recently cemented their place as the industry leader when their MOD1 and MOD2 courses were approved for accreditation by City & Guilds. This means that new students taking their course packages will be able get certificates for their electrical installation training.

Trade Skills 4U’s expertise in electrical training makes them the perfect partner for Amtech who offer a number of products which are designed specifically for the electrical installer including software for Inspection & Testing, electrical design, cable calculations, estimation, job costing , service  management and protection co-ordination.

For more information visit the Amtech website or call us on 0800 028 28 28.

Taking control with technology

Managing building services can often be a challenging area for social housing landlords and their contractors. Amtech offers a range of solutions to help take control of these key operational areas, including Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR).

Amtech is the UK’s leading provider of software, data and information for building services. The company has been delivering innovative software products for over 25 years, exploiting the latest technologies to create practical solutions for everyday tasks.

As such, the company has developed a comprehensive range of products that bring a higher level of efficiency to the maintenance of key social housing assets and the management of building services projects. These range from the management of electrical Inspection & Testing certification through to broader service and maintenance operations – as well as electrical design, estimating, job costing and contract management.

Electrical Inspection & Testing
When managing the electrical safety of social housing there are two key areas to address. The first is to ensure that the required Inspection & Testing, such as the Electrical Installation Condition Reports on each dwelling, are carried out in a timely and compliant fashion.

The second is to manage the administration of these reports and resulting certificates. Amtech’s FastTest has been specifically developed to simplify the management of electrical certification, even across multi-residential buildings and extensive estates with multiple engineers working on certification projects.

Multi-user functionality
Unlike other electrical certification software FastTest gives complete control over large teams of electrical engineers working simultaneously on Inspection & Testing projects. It is capable of synchronising input from a large number of engineers at any one time, working on PCs and/or mobile devices from local or remote locations. It stores all information within a dynamic data management system, providing access to this central database so that all data is kept fully up to date.

FastTest allows engineers to create a full range of 17th Edition Amendment 1 certificates, work on live projects and add electronic signatures. It also features an automated reminder system to ensure that re-tests and instrument calibrations are never overlooked.

That’s why FastTest is the most widely used Inspection & Testing software in the UK.

Fast and accurate electrical design
Amtech’s ProDesign is the UK’s leading electrical design software, providing full electrical design and calculations to BS 7671. ProDesign is ideal for projects of all sizes from individual houses to residential blocks and provides a wide range of design options.

Crucially, ProDesign allows schematic drawings to be produced quickly and easily, while ‘what if’ scenarios can be evaluated with the click of a mouse. Seamless integration with FastTest ensures that completed designs can be exported to FastTest for production of certificates – saving many hours of work compared to manually re-entering the information.

Service and maintenance management
Amtech’s Service Manager provides complete control of planned preventative maintenance (PPM), reactive and call-out jobs and minor works – at both operational and strategic levels. A fully networkable Outlook-style interface, powerful GPS tracking and electronic on-screen mapping all combine to ensure that resources are used to maximum effect.

Service Manager Mobile can be used with a range of mobile devices to improve communications and overall efficiency while reducing paperwork and enhancing the accuracy of data collection. Improved control of the mobile workforce also facilitates the allocation of 2-hour time slots for appointments, as recommended by the Audit Commission.

Refurbishment and installation projects
Amtech’s Estimating, combined with Luckins product and pricing data services, provides a versatile estimating package that makes the production of estimates for refurbishment projects and new installations faster and more accurate. Estimates can be fine-tuned with advanced tools for managing supplier quotations and making ‘what if’ comparisons for material substitution. When combined with other modules from the Amtech range, the information from the estimate can also be used for ongoing project management with Amtech’s powerful electronic filing system.

Amtech’s extensive family of products and services also includes modules for Procurement, Job Costing, Accounts and Contract Management.

For more information visit the Amtech website or call us on 0800 028 28 28.

Article originally appeared in Inside Housing, September 2012 issue.

 

Data management takes care of the bottom line

There’s a lot of effort involved in producing estimates and staying on top of project data, so a software package that can ease this burden may go some way to making jobs easier and more profitable. Nick Harper, Sales Director at Amtech, looks at the possibilities.

In any successful business there has to be an element of teamwork, between the people in the company and between the different parts of the business. Basically, it’s essential that not only should the left hand know what the right hand is doing, but they should be helping each other out.

The same is true of the core processes that you are involved in every day, from producing estimates to running the jobs and getting paid for them. The more efficient each of these processes is, the more likely you are to make a sensible profit.

At the heart of many of these processes is the information the business needs and the technology you use to manage it – and using the right information technology (IT) can make all of these processes easier and more efficient. And there are levels of IT that can benefit every size of business from a major contractor to a sole trader.

These principles are best explained by looking at each of these processes and how they can share information.

Good practice
Starting with the estimating, there is an element of ‘the more you bid the more you win’, therefore a good estimating system should help to produce more estimates so you can bid for more jobs. It should also help to ensure you quote the right price, based on up-to-date materials prices from a database that is updated on a weekly basis.

Once the job has been won, any projected profits from the estimate will only be realised if the job is run as efficiently as possible. This applies to everything from procurement of the materials, through the management of variations and dayworks to the valuation of completed works and unfixed materials and submission of Applications for Payment.

Thirdly, and just as important as winning and running the jobs, is the financial side of the business; measuring and controlling the financial performance of each individual project as well as the cumulative effects of all projects on the overall finances of the business.

And fourthly, you may have a service and maintenance operation that just covers warranty obligations or may operate as a separate business unit with ongoing maintenance contracts.

Strong support
Clearly, each of these areas needs to be strong in its own right but they should also add strength to each other to gain maximum benefits. It’s also important that these areas can share information without you having to re-type all of the information to get it from one system to the other. It is far more productive to allow the information to flow from one process to the other.

For example, the information from the estimate still has an important role to play once the job has been won. It can be used to generate ‘buying lists’ for individual projects, for different phases of a project or for all of the company’s current projects to maximise buying power. It also plays an important role in ensuring that the actual costs of the project are in line with projected costs.

To that end, integration with job costing software is invaluable. You can populate the job costing package with a breakdown of estimated costs and revenue, organised into meaningful ‘pots’ of information, or cost heads; such as tube, valves, heat emitters etc. These budgets form the basis for comparing estimated costs against actual costs as the job progresses.

Division of labour
You can also set up separate cost heads for materials, labour and sub-contract costs so you can compare actual costs for each of these areas. Crucially, for maximum productivity, this needs to happen automatically through the integration capabilities of the software so that analysis and reporting becomes a by-product of day to day operations, rather than an extra task.

As the job proceeds, you can use cost information in the management of variations and dayworks and for producing valuations for Applications for Payment. At the same time, integration with accounts modules ensures that each purchase order, time sheet, material and sub-contract invoice is automatically posted onto the relevant contract as a by-product of processing the payroll, purchase ledger and sub-contract ledger – along with Applications for Payment and sales invoices – and updates the ledgers in accounts. And, of course, the accounts software should be configured to deal with the unique accounting requirements of the construction industry, such as the CIS scheme.

Where a service management software package is in use, it needs to help you track the costs and performance of each contract automatically and flag up areas where profitability is below expected levels, just like job costing does with installation projects. Links to accounts software allow invoices to be raised, with all of the relevant information already laid out.

Planning ahead
So these are just a few examples of the importance of being able to share information throughout the business, highlighting the need to make such integration as easy and straightforward as possible. The important thing is to ensure that the software you choose meets not only your current needs but can also be expanded as your business grows. Teaming up with a supplier than can meet all of these needs and advise on the best options for your business is clearly the most sensible way to achieve this.

 

Horses for courses
If you’re running a smaller contracting company you may feel you don’t need specialist software – but you are almost certainly spending a considerable amount of time in producing quotes and dealing with other administration. You may be getting by with standard packages such as Word or Excel, perhaps with a bit of copy and paste between them, but that’s not making the best use of your time.

In fact, there is now software that has been designed for smaller businesses in the heating and plumbing industries. It’s competitively priced, easy to use and designed to produce quotes, buying lists, purchase orders and invoices very quickly, leaving you with more time to do the ‘real work’ or maybe put your feet up.

First you select the items you need from a list in the software, which also keeps the prices of these items up-to-date, and build a quote, which already contains your details and logo so you don’t have to add them for every quote. You can then print the quote for posting to the customer, or email it. If any changes are required it is very simple to just open the quote, make the changes, and produce a new version.

Once your quote has been accepted you can print a ‘buying list’ to take or send to your merchant. This list automatically uses the information you put in the quote (unless you’ve chosen to edit it first) ensuring nothing is missed.

When the job is complete you simply open the software and print an invoice at the click of a mouse, again using the original information from the quote. The result is that information you entered when producing the quote now flows through all of these tasks with the minimum of input from you!

For more information visit the Amtech website or call us on 0800 028 28 28.

Article originally appeared in PHAM News, September 2012 issue

 

The simpler way to protect

Amtech’s Philip Grace suggests a better solution for protective device manufactures than a sheet of tracing paper!

It is not difficult to remember the time when protective device manufactures would use a sheet of tracing paper for each of the devices used in a circuit and to place these on top of each other to provide a rudimentary system for determining the circuit co-ordination.

That seems a long time ago yet even with advances in technology many contractors are still wary of carrying out a protection study on a circuit. This is now even more daunting with the proliferation of adjustable breakers being used these days – even on final circuits.

Clearly there are advantages to using adjustable devices as they give the designer the ability to tailor the protection characteristic to the circuit it protects. As a result it may be possible to reduce the overload setting on a protective device and reduce the required cable size accordingly.

A solution to this is to find an easy way of working with adjustable breakers. This is where advanced software packages come in as they can make the process so easy to use that you will not need to be an expert to use them. Therefore, the need to sub-contract specialist work such as protection coordination is greatly reduced.

Using software to design an electrical system is now fast and easy, plus there is the added benefit of being able to quickly amend designs if the client changes the specification.

How it works
Some packages contain large databases of protective devices, so you can select the exact device you are using, rather than ‘guessing’ with ‘generic’ devices, and simply drop it into the system. Another benefit of this is that tedious searches through catalogues are eliminated as the time current characteristic for each device that is stored in the software is supplied direct from the device manufacturer. Some packages even include manufacturers’ data sheets and graphical trip unit images.

Making protective device adjustments in the software is also easy. A very popular method is using a simple graph view of the devices in the circuit with the characteristics of each device shown on one screen alongside each other. This method allows overload, short circuit, instantaneous and earth fault settings to be changed simply by increasing or decreasing the values on screen until the co-ordination is acceptable. This is reflected instantly on screen.

In fact, some software will automatically determine the overload settings depending on the design current in the circuit.

The role of this type of software is to help turn complex, time consuming tasks into simple and far more intuitive processes. This includes validating adjustable breakers in seconds with complete confidence that your calculations are accurate. However, there are other benefits – not only can the time current discrimination be shown visually on screen, the whole circuit can also be checked instantly at the touch of a button, thus saving time and giving users more confidence in their designs.

This works by designing projects in the usual way, typically building a schematic by selecting symbols from the on-screen library and dragging them into the project on screen. The software contains a large database of cables, busbars and protective devices so these can be easily selected and added instantly to the project. A big advantage is that the specifications of these components are often supplied from the manufacturers, so the information is up to date, accurate and, very importantly, specific to that device. This means you will be using the exact details for each component rather than using generic devices.

Error correction
Following the design process the next step is to click the ‘Discrimination Check’ button. Then the software goes through the design and automatically checks the discrimination. If an overlap is found the software displays an error message(s). When you click on one of the error messages you are taken directly to the relevant part of the graph so you can see instantly where the error is and can rectify it in seconds.

It’s probably true to say that this type of software is one of the overlooked heroes of the electrical world. Even people using design software are often unaware of some of the capabilities it offers. This software also offers opportunities for companies who are currently ‘farming’ this type of work out because they either do not have the time or expertise. The software takes the mystique out of electrical discrimination but with the advantage of accurate results, giving you complete confidence to do this work in-house.

For more information visit the Amtech website or call us on 0800 028 28 28.

Article originally appeared in Electrical Engineering, July/August 2012 issue