Newforma Project Center vs. Trimble SysQue vs. Viewpoint ProContractor

Newforma is a great tool to collaborate with large teams and between firms. It allows for great documentation of transfers, activities, and other procedural aspects of projects that require collaboration between disciplines, for example, MEP, electrical, architectural and technology. For internal use, Newforma has been great for communications tracking and archival, as well as for record-keeping of all the users in a team or number of teams. Many great options are features are unused due to a lack of training or exposure to them, for example, the graphical viewers that can preview CAD, Revit, and other formats, or the markup tool available with the desktop client.

Incentivized

For drawing plumbing where you are usually not needing any kind of taps it does really well. Once you become familiar with it, you can draw underground really quickly. Their water closet carrier families are great! Being able to draw a restroom skid with such a high level of detail is a definite plus. Also, being able to create point files easily since their hangers, floor drains, and cleanouts have the points embedded in them. For a small BIM department I think Trimble SysQue is a good option. They manage the database and you can send a request in for more content if it is needed. For larger BIM departments or people that are doing cloud spooling with Stratus or MSuite it becomes more problematic especially on the mechanical side with needing to use taps and the functionality of them being less than stellar. Larger BIM departments are usually able to have a person manage their database internally and that helps keep the content parameters consistent. Most MEP Fabrication content that I have used does very well with taps and the piping is able to be run quickly and does not need to be processed.

Incentivized

It is appropriate for the size and scale of my company - 150 projects a year that has a lot going on a multiple lines with each project. However there are many features and things that go unused with the software, because of how tinkery it can be. For example - our company needs a positive pay file, however we had to employ an outside service provide to create the file within the system. Same with a Backlog - the system kind of has a report but then again it has to be manipulated in order for it be of use. It gets the job done and has the reports needed to submit for certified payroll to the state, which was why we purchased Viewpoint ProContractor, however its ease of use is one of its biggest downfalls.

Incentivized

• Newforma sits on top of our previous filing system (Windows Explorer). This was very important to us because we didn't have to change the project numbering system in order to fit Newforma's design. Also, if we were to decide we didn't like it, we could easily revert back to our previous methods.
• Newforma does a great job of indexing information, making searches much easier by being able to use keywords instead of knowing the exact file location. No more traversing through countless folders before finding what you need.
• Newforma keeps a read receipt for everything that you submit through it for issue tracking, and keeps an easy to read record of your workflow.

Incentivized

• It allows Contractors to use Revit with Spooling functions.
• The database of millions of native Revit Families.
• Excellent support from Trimble.

Incentivized

• Procontractor is great with direct imports from CAD files.
• It is great with balancing sites or specific areas on site.
• Procontractor has multiple views and reports that help you to view the dirt movement on the site (grid, profile, 3D).

Incentivized

• I have found it difficult to locate audits.
• Some users have issues while uploading project data.

• The ability to erase points that have been written to a TFL file would be a great addition.
• Fitting to fitting placement can act up from time to time.
• I think that the spooling can continue to improve.

Incentivized

• The program is siloed, so connecting to other software or databases is not going to happen.
• When hosted, the program can run slow.
• The program is not going to perform complex accounting tasks with subledgers.
• The program does not do much in terms of HR other than payroll.

Incentivized

I give Viewpoint ProContractor a 10 out of 10. This system is user friendly to help keep me organized on a daily basis. I can find everything I need daily with this system. I am able to look up our subcontactors, vendors and clients I need to find quickly. I am able to see bills that I need to pay as well as invoices that I need to send out.

While I have never asked for support myself, a Newforma representative has been in the office annually to give training seminars and info sessions on how to fully use the product. I find this essential to keep the product relevant and make sure everyone knows its full capabilities and an important part of customer support.

Incentivized

When something isn't working, you can contact support who will gladly remote into your system and try and work out a solution. Though several of the issues we encountered, they were not able to fix and had to submit for further review. While some were eventually rectified in updates, it takes time for these to be addressed and implemented.

Incentivized

A good competitor against other similar solutions and support is excellent.

Incentivized

Benchmark Fabrication MEP

Incentivized

Procore beats Viewpoint hands down but can integrate well with Viewpoint Vista accounting software. I think that if the Viewpoint software was more flexible if they were more interested in patches, updates, and hearing customer feedback in the way the Procore does, that they would actually have the opportunity to corner the market.

Incentivized

• Newforma makes it easy to transfer, share, archive, and search extensive data sets in a single GUI
• For it to be effective, all users in a team must receive a basic training and use it consistently
• Adoption in the industry is good (A/E); many teams use it consistently. Learning to use it once produces time-saving in subsequent projects

Incentivized

• It has allowed us to produce high level detailed models
• It gives us the ability to produce point files that aid in a speedier layout process for the field.

Incentivized

• Overall it allowed us to go electronic for certified payroll allowing us to be more accurate in reporting which was a giant win for the company
• It's viewable pay estimates with dates and records of payment are crucial to a company like ours that relies on a general contractor and the state for payment of EADA quantites
• Negatively training is not the easiest for the company and therefore onboarding new employees with no experience with the software is time consuming and difficult.

Incentivized