Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Bluebeam Structural Steel estimating with JPC Toolsets. Today, we will explore the efficient usage of JPC toolsets for estimating, specifically focusing on creating custom toolsets for projects where the Engineer of Record utilizes Member schedules to designate structural members on drawings instead of the conventional Type and Size approach seen in the US AISC standard and Canadian Standard.
This discussion is pertinent to various standards supported by JPC toolsets, accommodating the needs of projects across different regions, including certain provinces or projects that prefer the use of member schedules.
Let's dive into a practical example by using a sample project from Australia, inspired by a query from one of our customers in that region. The initial step in any project is to establish our scale. While there are additional functionalities like linking drawing sets with hyperlinks, we'll cover those in future videos. Once the scale is confirmed, we can proceed to create the necessary custom folders.
It's important to note that there are numerous grids or member schedules used by different Engineering firms. The schedules may vary between firms, but the overall structure could be consistent across their projects. When creating tool chests, I recommend using the name of the Engineering firm as part of the toolset name, followed by specific identifiers for each type based on the sizes in the schedules.
Once the custom toolset is set up, you can start populating it by dragging and dropping Type and Sizes from the JPC Toolsets database. This step requires having the JPC Toolsets database, ensuring that all settings of a recorded member remain connected even when copied and pasted.
While the initial setup might seem time-consuming, it's crucial to recognize that the effort pays off in the long run. All settings and toolsets will be saved, streamlining future designs for the engineering firm. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that JPC Toolsets' database contains a wealth of information specific to a standard. In practice, you might only use a small percentage of the database for each estimate. This emphasizes the need to simplify the database for efficiency.
If, at any point, you find sizes missing in your custom toolsets, you can easily rectify this by going back to the JPC Toolset and dragging and dropping the required members into your custom toolset. This ensures that your toolsets remain dynamic and adaptable to evolving project needs.
In conclusion, for those interested in learning more or seeking additional information, please feel free to refer to our newly created website at www.jpctoolset.com or reach out via email at johnp@jpctoolset.com. We encourage you to explore further and engage with our resources. Till next time, we hope you all enjoyed this
1 окт 2024
