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Autodesk Build

Autodesk Build
Formerly PlanGrid

Overview

What is Autodesk Build?

Autodesk Build, based on the former PlanGrid, is construction productivity software. It includes tools to collaborate, collect, and manage project information throughout the project’s construction and operations lifespan. It enables document centralization and tracking.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Autodesk Build has become an essential tool for a variety of use cases in the construction industry. Users have found the software to be …
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PlanGrid!

7 out of 10
February 25, 2020
Incentivized
Currently, PlanGrid is used by our organization. As a way to view PDFs of the layout or plans of a building. Nearly all use the mobile …
Continue reading

PlanGrid for the future

10 out of 10
January 08, 2019
Incentivized
We use PlanGrid to distribute project and design documents to our field personnel, communicate design changes from the field to the design …
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Plangrid

9 out of 10
December 22, 2018
Incentivized
It is being used within the different groups of the company. Not as a whole organization.
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 10 features
  • Mobile app (54)
    9.4
    94%
  • Plan distribution & viewing (56)
    8.6
    86%
  • Plan markups & sharing (56)
    8.6
    86%
  • Document sharing (55)
    7.6
    76%
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Pricing

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Nailgun

$39

Cloud
user per month

Dozer

$59

Cloud
user per month

Crane

$139

Cloud
user per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://app.plangrid.com/pricing

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Runding's PlanGrid to Kahua File Manager Sync Demo

YouTube

3 BIM construction cloud product demo plangrid build mobile

YouTube

PlanGrid Demo

YouTube

PlanGrid - Report Collaboration and Approval

YouTube

Software Demo Video for Plan Grid

YouTube

ACC Connect Demo: Google Drive Files To PlanGrid

YouTube
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Features

Construction Project & Field Management

Features related to collaboration between construction management and project execution (e.g. the office and the job site, general contractors and subcontractors)

7.9
Avg 7.4
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Product Details

What is Autodesk Build?

Autodesk Build (based on the former PlanGrid) is construction productivity software used on more than 500,000 projects around the world. The company provides contractors and owners in all construction verticals the tools to collaborate effectively and collect and manage project information throughout the project’s construction and operations lifespan.

Autodesk Build aims to increase team productivity by: streamlining document management and control, providing collaborators with easy access to all project information from any device, and enabling seamless collaboration. This leads to building the most comprehensive record set for the entire construction and operations lifecycle and consistently delivering on time and on budget.

Autodesk Build Features

Construction Project & Field Management Features

  • Supported: Plan distribution & viewing
  • Supported: Plan markups & sharing
  • Supported: Document sharing
  • Supported: Issue tracking & punchlists
  • Supported: Photo documentation
  • Supported: Jobsite reports
  • Supported: RFI tools
  • Supported: Collaboration & approvals
  • Supported: As-built drawings
  • Supported: Mobile app

Autodesk Build Screenshots

Screenshot of No confusing folders - all your plans at your fingertips.Screenshot of Easy overlay to visually detect changes or clashes.Screenshot of Track issues directly on the plan, including descriptions, photos, cost, and schedule impacts.Screenshot of Mark up plans for instant communication between field and office.Screenshot of Attach any kind of construction documents to your plans, including 360 photos.Screenshot of Track, review, and submit all your field reports on a mobile device.

Autodesk Build Integrations

Autodesk Build Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Mobile Web
Supported LanguagesEnglish, Spanish, French, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Polish, Swedish

Frequently Asked Questions

Autodesk Build, based on the former PlanGrid, is construction productivity software. It includes tools to collaborate, collect, and manage project information throughout the project’s construction and operations lifespan. It enables document centralization and tracking.

Procore, Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, and Fieldwire are common alternatives for Autodesk Build.

Reviewers rate Mobile app highest, with a score of 9.4.

The most common users of Autodesk Build are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

View all alternatives
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Reviews and Ratings

(148)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Autodesk Build has become an essential tool for a variety of use cases in the construction industry. Users have found the software to be particularly effective in streamlining project management processes and enhancing communication within their organizations and with stakeholders. With Autodesk Build, users can create punch lists, track their completion, and easily share updates with team members. This has significantly improved efficiency and reduced errors in the field.

Another major benefit of Autodesk Build is its ability to facilitate collaboration among different departments and subcontractors. Users appreciate how the software allows them to upload and update project drawings, ensuring that everyone is working with the most up-to-date information. The overlay feature in Autodesk Build has been widely utilized to locate and resolve issues by overlaying different plans, saving time and improving problem-solving capabilities.

Moreover, Autodesk Build offers various tools that enhance job efficiency across multiple departments. It provides easy access to project documents on mobile devices, making it convenient for note-taking during meetings or site observations. Users have also praised its ability to connect the office with field teams, enabling real-time communication and immediate access to project drawings. By centralizing document management activities, Autodesk Build simplifies construction project management and helps maintain accurate project records.

Overall, Autodesk Build has proven to be an invaluable asset in commercial construction, addressing critical needs such as efficient plan navigation, improved communication, collaboration among team members, and accurate documentation throughout the construction process. Whether it's generating estimates, reviewing drawings, managing punch lists, or distributing project documents, this software has become a go-to solution for professionals looking to enhance productivity and streamline their workflows in the construction industry.

Efficient Collaboration: Users highly praised PlanGrid's mobile apps for their ability to easily share and collaborate on construction project documentation, with multiple reviewers highlighting this feature as extremely valuable. This aspect of the software facilitates communication and collaboration among team members, both on-site and off-site, throughout various phases of construction projects.

Responsive Technical Support: The promptness and helpfulness of PlanGrid's email-based technical support team were greatly appreciated by users. Several reviewers mentioned that they received prompt assistance in addressing any technical issues or inquiries. This level of support contributes to a positive user experience.

Intuitive Interface: Reviewers commended PlanGrid's website layout for being easy to use and understand, allowing new users to quickly jump in and perform basic to moderate tasks without extensive training. The intuitive and user-friendly interface was highly praised, enabling users to navigate the software effortlessly.

  1. Limited Document Management: Some users have expressed frustration with the document management capabilities of PlanGrid, stating that it is difficult to find and organize attachments within the software. This lack of effective organization and search capabilities hinders productivity for these users.

  2. Pricing Constraints: Several reviewers have mentioned that the pricing of PlanGrid can be a significant drawback, especially for smaller companies or projects with limited budgets. The current pricing structure is considered expensive by some users, who suggest offering more tiers of cost to accommodate different sizes of companies.

  3. Lack of Customization Options: Users have highlighted the limited customization options in PlanGrid as a con. They desire the ability to personalize and customize the interface and layout to better suit their specific needs. The current interface is perceived as inflexible, making it challenging for users to adapt the software according to their preferences.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 33)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Jeffrey Rudacille | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are currently in the process of integrating Plangrid in all of our departments except accounting. We initially used it just for doing punch-lists but now require all projects to use it for progress photos, plan viewing and markups, as well as the aforementioned punch-lists. It immediately saves us money in requiring less printing of plans as well as better documentation of punch-lists with attached pictures. Plangrid also breeds collaboration by allowing easy sharing of all data within the program.
  • Plangrid is the best SaaS I have seen for ease of uploading construction plans and automated organization of those plans.
  • For companies that are not using other products for mobile access, the Plangrid mobile apps are perfect to allow people on and off site to share and collaborate in many phases of construction project documentation.
  • Plangrid has a very responsive technical support team (although it is pretty much email only).
  • Plangrid's website layout is easy to use and understand and allows new users to jump right in and do basic to moderate tasks without little training.
  • Plangrid is in the process of adding enhanced construction documentation such as better Submittal, RFI, and Field Reporting modules, but the ones in place right now will not be up to par for some people used to more full-featured applications such as Sage or Procore.
  • Like other SaaS Construction applications, Plangrid is very expensive. Too expensive in my opinion. They should find ways to offer more tiers of cost so smaller companies can use the application is a limited manner and not have to pay the same cost as the larger companies which may get more use out of advanced features.
  • On the same theme of cost, many of Plangrids collaboration features require all collaborators to have a license. Try telling all 30 subs on your project that they have to run out and pay an extra $50-$100/MO per employee to collaborate with you. Does not always go over well.
  • Plangrids Field Report, Submittal and RFI modules are still a bit of a work in progress.
Plangrid is well suited for companies (that are not currently using a different SaaS construction package) to make their construction document management more collaborative and mobile friendly. Companies requiring/wanting their subs and owners to collaborate with them as part of the life of a construction project will find Plangrid very helpful in fulfilling this goal. On the negative side, companies that are fully entrenched in using other construction suites will struggle to fully use Plangrid to its potential as pre-built integration between Plangrid and other packages is limited.
February 25, 2020

PlanGrid!

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Currently, PlanGrid is used by our organization. As a way to view PDFs of the layout or plans of a building. Nearly all use the mobile version for the iPad.
  • Ease of use
  • Mobile app
  • Management of users
  • License Management
For viewing hundreds of PDFs, PlanGrid allows users to view them for a specific project without having to open each individual file manually.
February 24, 2020

PlanGrid is great

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use PlanGrid to communicate information to the field. It allows us to share information with the field staff immediately. Our estimators also use it when attending pre-bid walks.
  • One of the things that we like about Plan Grid is when we receive an updated plan sheet we can upload it and have a record of the changes that have been made along the way.
  • Information can be shared in real time.
  • Our field team has all of the information that they need at their fingertips.
  • Uploading revised plans is a little cumbersome. It would be nice if you didn't have to add a new version every time you updated a sheet.
  • Sometimes the sheet number and name recognition does not work properly when adding a new job or updating sheets. There is a workaround but it would be nice if it was more consistent.
  • The cost seems a little high. It would be nice if they increased the plan limit for each pricing tier.
  • They got rid of their free version, 50 sheet limit. We used to have our estimators use this option, but now we have to pay for a subscription for a service that is only used once in a while.
PlanGrid works for almost every project that we do, large or small. We can share company specific documents that are required regardless of the project dollar value.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
PlanGrid is used by the field for plan management only. We distribute documents to the field to make sure everyone is using current plans. Punchlist is done this way. We also generally walk an area and mark up what needs to be corrected then assign a contact or sub symbol to complete in PlanGrid.
  • Plan management
  • Ease of use
  • Punchlist implementation and tracking for items through to completion
  • Document storage
  • Unlicensed client access for issue corrections
  • Mark up tools. Need symbols that relate to construction industry (outlet, fire alarm, light switch, drain etc.) that can be selected from a list to update better on redline drawings
  • Issue symbols should not be limited to 2 characters. I have run into several scenarios that I need a 3rd character to identify the issue symbol with
Again, with plan management, we use a self-developed program for dailies, pictures, RFI's, etc. so we have no need for the RFI’s, dailies, submittals, or tasks functions. We would use more of the task capabilities in PlanGrid if we could keep an ongoing log for our QC program rather than having to update and send daily.
Nicholas Bittner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We love using PlanGrid for it ability to put all the documents, questions and images in one place for a project team. It's extremely useful to us during the program verification and design stages. We can track issues that need resolved during the detailing at the construction documents stage later on in the process. We've used the app on iPhones and iPads as well as Windows devices, but much prefer iOS.
  • Reliability
  • Progress Photos
  • IssuesLog
  • Sharing access with non-users
  • Best suited for construction progress and documentation of existing field issues.
  • Not as well suited for design and sharing with non-paying users. Sometimes it's helpful to share the project site with the project's owner. They often are not in the construction industry and would only be accessing the site during this project with our firm. It would be good to create guest access.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
PlanGrid will be used for 1 specific project, across our organization. It solves the issues of coherent communication. Right now, we rely on e-mail attachments in order to have up-to-date drawings. This becomes confusing internally, as well as for our subcontractors. PlanGrid enables us to always have the most up to date drawings, accessible from PC or phones, anywhere there is internet available. It also helps to coordinate RFIs, schedules, etc.
  • PlanGrid syncs drawing sets across users and devices. This is a strength because everyone on PlanGrid has the most up-to-date drawings without any effort, other than uploading. For subs, it is easy to distribute the latest drawing uploads.
  • PlanGrid is quite easy to use. Unlike other CM software, PlanGrid only has a few features but it uses all of them well.
  • PlanGrid has a great iPhone and Android app, so users on site can have the entire document and RFI log on their phone, with full access to all features.
  • The photo attachment process is a bit complicated. In Procore (another similar software I've used), you can upload photos directly into RFIs for your reference, or into e-mails. For PlanGrid, you have to first upload the photo into the documents tab, then link them into the RFI. It's not intuitive and can add confusion to the documents tab.
  • Photos can't be directly uploaded. Between different devices and colleagues, it's possible you'll get an important photo outside of the PlanGrid photo capture feature within its app. Again, it's complicated for users to use.
  • In their new drawings viewer, the icons for actions do not have icons available. I had to use them all in order to understand what they meant, and I'm fairly tech savvy. I'm not sure if a new person to PlanGrid will pick up on each icon's abilities very easily.
  • There's no all-in-one solution in CM, but PlanGrid is fairly barebones, and I don't believe it has any ability to connect to other software. There's no ability to take meeting munites; you can hack the field reports feature to accomplish this, but it's clear that was not the intent of the designers.
PlanGrid is very good for drawings, tasks, punch lists, and the like. Unlike Procore, it's not an all-in-one solution, which is good because I don't need even half of the features Procore offers. But it will require other software for office use (i.e., financials, finish schedules, and corporate documents) and the company will need to be on top of coordinating all of the information between software. I do not use financials or corporate docs; I just want to keep up with RFIs and drawings, and for that, it is very good.
December 21, 2018

PlanGrid has been awesome

Michael Carter | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
In our company we use PlanGrid across all departments, starting with estimating for proposals all the way through punch list before turnover. It has been a valuable tool with job tracking and management.
  • PlanGrid is ideal with the submission of RFI’s directly to the design team
  • PlanGrid makes real time Punch List creation and tracking easy
  • PlanGrid is much easier with an Ipad to perform job walks than carrying a full set of construction drawings
  • Revisions and changes are a breeze and update quickly
  • I would like to see PlanGrid assist in supporting photos from the user device not taken within PlanGrid
  • I would like to be able to manipulate documents loaded to PlanGrid similar to sheet markups
  • Adding a few more document templates for daily reports would be nice
PlanGrid is perfect for job site meetings and punch list walks. It is less than ideal for large conferences unless you have an available monitor to plug the laptop/desktop into.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our company uses PlanGrid for a mobile plan and specification sharing platform. It has been the easiest to use for storing plans, updating them with current drawings and being able to share them via the mobile app with our field staff.
  • Their upload process is fast.
  • The takeoff and markup tools work very well.
  • The mobile application works very well.
  • The price point for sharing between employees is missing a level I feel...between the free and the next level version.
  • More integrations with other project management platforms would be great.
Smaller companies it may not be good for simply due to the cost of it. Otherwise, a company that has multiple teams of project managers, engineers, and foreman. this is a great platform for.
August 25, 2017

More bang for the buck

Les Yager | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use this in project management, field supervision and estimating. This addresses real-time information gathering, such as built drawings, photo records, the RFI process, to name a few. We are able to review previous changes to drawings and compare these to current. We can take photos of issues and email them directly to the engineer, architect, owner, and construction manager, for quicker response.
  • Real-time, cloud based project data - keeps everyone on the same page
  • Photo history allowing issues, concerns and documentation of conditions for owner
  • Easy to navigate site, able to be used on multiple platforms from mobile (IOS or Android), desktop or web based
  • RFI format
  • Adding a pricing request log
  • More detail on punch list
It's great for the mobile QC individual. He can use an iPad for instant access for all projects; not having to unroll and carry 20 to 30 sets of drawings and spec books. Keeps everyone working off the same set of drawings and easy to update. Photos of existing conditions and problems can be quickly documented and emailed out.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are currently using PlanGrid for all of our large projects that we are running in our service/special projects department. The biggest item addressed by PlanGrid for us is that we can instantly download the drawings to PlanGrid and our foreman have at their finger tips the most up to date set of drawings without us ever having to print out a set and have the foreman run to our office to pick up these drawings wasting time and money. We will have the set of paper drawings sitting in our offices until the foreman need to make a specific trip to our office then we can turn over to them.
  • Foreman have access to drawings on their iPads or laptops instantly.
  • As drawings are updated the most current drawing is always the first drawing foreman see.
  • Keeps us GREEN since we don't need to print out large sets of drawings.
  • Love it as it is currently so anything you do to make it better only makes it better for us.
If general you are working with us on PlanGrid then every time a new drawing or RFI is uploaded we are notified of these changes through PlanGrid's site.
James Nolan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have been using plangrid company wide for about 2 years now as a solution to document distribution issues. We offer access to the plangrid software to anyone willing to use it, it is our best resource for ensuring our entire team is up to date with the latest drawings available.
  • Plangrid is still the quickest PDF reader on the market. It's the only app that keeps pace with our industry.
  • The unlimited storage of attachments means that on projects where the number of RFIs can often reach into the hundreds, we never have to make a decision regarding which documents to share with the field.
  • The simple to use tools, such as quick document mark-up and photo capture have made generating RFIs simpler than ever before.
  • It'd be nice to have access to upload and edit documents from the app. Only for certain users.
  • A small business billing option that addresses multiple users of a single account would make managing access simpler. Being able to load unlimited sheets, but only access a specific limit on your team's devices.
  • Allow users to integrate their own RFI templates into the app, so RFIs can be generated in your own format right from the field, immediately ready to ship.
Plangrid is an excellent document sharing software within your internal team, but it does not serve as a full document management software similar to Procore. It is top notch for viewing and working with drawings, but is no use for distributing drawings for bidding or other purposes.
August 24, 2017

PlanGrid review

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
PlanGrid is being used throughout our department to help manage jobs and projects of varying sizes. It helps us with keep up to date with each project from the management team to the field employees who are installing the work. As-builts are much easier to keep up to date and by saving on paperwork with submittals, etc. it has been a real bonus.
  • Being able to include submittals and any other documentation as an attachment either per sheet or per project on 1 device is a lifesaver.
  • Marking up drawings for review between everyone involved is a very nice feature.
  • Having all of your projects at the touch of a finger through an iPad is awesome. The whole system is a time saver.
  • I would like to see it be better at scaling measurements, I feel there is plenty of room for improvement.
PlanGrid is well suited for being used to manage information between everyone involved with the project.
Melissa McCain | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized

We use PlanGrid in the hospital facilities maintenance world regularly to view our life safety drawings and confirm the integrity of fire and smoke barriers, etc., during environmental rounds, and to note any life safety deficiencies found during weekly rounds or unscheduled inspections. We are also able to check the size of suites and smoke compartments while in the field, and to capture any changes in life safety features (due to remodels., etc) so our LS plans are updated accordingly.

We used PlanGrid on an iPad while walking portions of our 6m S.F. academic health center campus during our most recent joint commission survey, and the LS code surveyor loved it! Carrying one iPad where we had everything he might ask for at our fingertips sure beat carrying around 4 or 5 sets of LS drawings, some of which have up to 40 pages!

Now that joint commission engineers (LS surveyors) are being forced into the digital age and utilizing tech more, I expect more of them will expect to see hospital facility managers utilizing mobile access to their building floor plans during the survey, and PlanGrid is perfect for this.

  • Accessing drawings on the fly. By having the PDFs readily available, you don't have to worry about internet connection issues or lagging issues by going to your plans on a website.
  • Being able to measure suite sizes, mark issues etc right on the iPad while out in field, instead of carrying a note pad.
  • PlanGrid has been focused on design & construction; I'd like to see more focus on user-friendly features (and marketing) to those of use MAINTAINING those facilities once they are built.
  • We met with rep from PlanGrid last summer here in our office and listed some features we'd like to see included eventually. We were told she would take these notes home to the development team, but no one ever followed up with us for more details or to give us an update.
  • PlanGrid missed a huge opportunity to market itself to healthcare facilities (where the need for such a product is increasing constantly) by not having a booth or presence at the national ASHE (Healthcare Engineering) conference. Many companies with similar technology were there; I was disappointed PlanGrid was not.
Great for hospital facilities team members who need to access Life Safety (LS) drawings - and document deficiencies - in the field!
August 18, 2017

PlanGrid Review

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
[It's being used for] New construction projects. [It's also used to] Store drawings and specs to access via an iPad in the field and punch list development and tracking at the end of a project.
  • Current drawing file management
  • Quick drawing review with detail links to corresponding sheets
  • Ability to take pictures and attach to any drawing for RFI comments
Great for new construction and major remodels. May not be ideal for small renovations.
Tad Rivenbark | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use PlanGrid for organizing our projects as they are constructed. We keep all drawings, RFI responses, Shop Drawings, and other documents in PlanGrid for easy access while at the jobsite. The ability to have all of these documents in one place makes things so much easier and more efficient compared to the old days of lugging around rolls of drawings and books full of paperwork. We also use PlanGrid for generating punch lists and tracking their completion.
  • Punchlists. I have not found another product that is as simple to use for punchlists.
  • Drawings, including updated versions of sheets. It's great to be able to simply swipe down on a sheet and see the older version(s) of the sheets.
  • Sheet comparisons are good and getting better. It's nice to be able to simply overlay different versions of sheets and clearly see what has changed.
  • More customization for punchlists would be appreciated. The ability to add the company logo and creating lists were nice additions to help the process. However it would be nice to be able to select items created by more than one person in the filters.
PlanGrid is great for punchlists. We also use it for generating reports of existing conditions on renovation projects. Its not really tailored to that type of use but is flexible enough that we have made it work. There is another product that we also use for documenting existing conditions that works better in the field, but the reports are not as good.
Kara Hermann, PE, LEED AP | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use PlanGrid in our construction division - mostly Project Managers, Project Engineers and Foreman. We use it to update drawings to the field to ensure they have the latest plans. The biggest issue it addresses in making sure the field has the latest drawings, easily referencing past drawings, and a tool for communication between the office and the field. Prior to PlanGrid, there were many instances where architectural or owner updates were not communicated to field efficiently and a lot of time was spent either slip-sheeting or updating paper binders of changes, resulting in re-work and lost time/money.
  • Organize plans and reference past drawing sets.
  • Communicate with the field.
  • Make sure the field has the latest plans.
  • Link architectural or owner changes (by way of attachments) on the drawings so the field has the latest changes (vs previous paper model where RFI's were stuck in a binder somewhere and stuff got missed).
  • Post submittals and schedules so the field has everything they need in one place.
  • We are an electrical firm. I would love to specify which drawings to view first in a whole set of drawings. Currently I label E1.0 to "_E1.0" so it will be up top, but update the drawings with the latest set means I need to manually add the "_" in front which is a pain.
  • Quick count.
  • Turn off specific markups, organized by date. I think you can do this on web but haven't been able to do on iPad.
  • Send an email summary of changes to the team so the field (who often does not refresh PlanGrid on a regular basis) knows that there has been an update.
I am always able to tell the field "update your plangrid" to make sure they are viewing the latest. This is critical so they are building the correct thing. Fixing mistakes is a waste of time and money. I believe one paper full-sized set is useful on the jobsite at the start for coordination and planning, then the iPad can be used for capturing changes or zeroing in on particular issues. I have found it incredibly useful when walking the jobsite and coordination questions come up from other trades. I am able to view their drawings and resolve the issue right there. The "big picture" is still hard to get using PlanGrid on a standard iPad. Perhaps the iPad Pro would help but not sure this is necessary in most cases. We have also gotten Apple TV's for the trailer and it is incredibly useful for viewing plans on the big screen from your iPad for coordination.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Plangrid mostly on-site for review construction process and prepare reports, across all the company departments. It allows to coordinate between disciplines and different plan versions easily and with access to the current project info
  • Prepare punch-list reports
  • Administrate and compare different plan versions
  • Document the project photographically in relation to plans
  • Annotate and draw on plans, include undo option and add a note layer
  • Allow users to generate reports from iPad app
  • The annotate photo option should be made easier, part of the photo taking process and not as an additional step.
Easy accessibility of plans on-site. There's a clear identification of the different versions of the plans and the tool to compare the differences between versions is greatly implemented and easy to interpret. The generation of the reports is easy and the report format is very clear, but improvements should be made in the web app to avoid jumping between punch-list review and punch-list list. You should be able to generate punch-list reports from iPad app. The annotate on plan options should be improved, it's difficult to draw directly on plan to clarify a detail or to make a modification.
Paul Deering | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use PlanGrid to view project plans on my iPad Pro at job sites. I often have the only current plans on hand when there are questions. More and more, Project Superintendents have out-of-date paper sets (sometimes Owners won't let Superintendents have the current set because it is not formally permitted yet - but that is what we are building in the field). I'll fault Cities and Counties as much as Owners, because most still require paper sets for permitting and approvals - and probably at job trailers too. Maybe you target municipalities and their massive plan rooms full of giant file drawers (I haven't had a plan file drawer for about 15 years now - and no plotter for about 5 years). Just make sure that PDF is the standard - don't let CAD enter into any municipal requirements. Thanks and good luck.
  • Easy navigation between plan sheets - even while walking a job site with no table.
  • Great zooming for review in the field.
  • Loading and deleting plan sets can be confusing and time-consuming.
  • Deleting plans or plan sets is difficult - I do it infrequently enough that I have a hard time finding what to click on.
Field review of plans in the field is great.

August 16, 2017

Construction

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are using PlanGrid across the whole organization. It helps us to maintain drawings for multiple projects in multiple states but stills allows access for everyone involved in the project.
  • The organization of drawings and to be able to tag and find drawings with ease.
  • Multiple platform use. Whether on an iPad or a computer, they are both relatively the same use and instructions.
  • Being able to pull the history of a particular drawing or form is always helpful especially when changes are being made every day.
  • Being able to organize drawings after they have been uploaded needs some improvement. Currently if it is uploaded to a certain place and you need it in another folder it is difficult to get it there without deleting and then re-uploading.
  • Maybe I'm not doing it right, but when you back out and go to sheets it takes you back to the beginning instead of where you were searching for a drawing. If you were searching through 300 drawings you want to go back to that position not to the top.
With construction drawings it is always well suited. The problem lays when the General Contractor is wanting to add all RFI's, even if not relevant to you, to their drawings. Or if they are using a different program for their drawings and they are keeping them up to date on their site but it is difficult to keep up to date with PlanGrid because they are not actually updating drawings.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Plangrid is used throughout our organization to share/maintain current project drawings and information between Field Superintendents and Project Managers. We also utilize it to communicate with Owners and Architects on various issues requiring field changes and use the iPad app to do pre-punchlist walk-throughs with subcontractors. It is a very effective tool to maintain accurate project records, and cut down on the expense of getting paper copies of updated drawings to the field. On the estimating/sales side of the organization, it's helpful in preconstruction bid work by giving quick, accurate take-offs that we can use to help qualify unit pricing from subcontractors. Lots of really great tools are built into the system.
  • Quick, Accurate take-offs when qualifying pricing or tabulation of job takeoffs for reference in the field.
  • Easy and quick sharing of information and revisions with field staff, as well as easy sharing of information with project owners and architects.
  • Easy manipulation of the desktop and iPad versions of the software for field use and walkthroughs/punchlists.
  • I personally haven't found any issues with the platform that causes any trouble, or that can't be learned/taught to field staff.
[PlanGrid is well suited for] Construction projects with many sheets, multiple active revisions, and a lot of users that are interacting and interfacing with the project information on a daily basis.

Smaller, simple projects aren't really "dependent" on PlanGrid due to the size and nature of the project. A ten sheet drawing set that doesn't have any revisions is more of a hassle to set up on PlanGrid than simply running paper copies for field staff.

I recommend it to everyone who asks about the app when they see me using it in the field. I also recommend it to estimators who need to do quick takeoffs for high level budgeting, informal sales calls, etc.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Plangrid allows us to manage project documents far more efficiently than otherwise would be possible. Using an iPad in the field on commercial construction projects, we can have all project documents in one place, up to date, and easy to find instantly. This has improved communication with our subcontractors and allowed us to instantly answer questions that would otherwise take time returning to the site office and combing through drawings, submittals or RFIs. Plangrid saves times, cuts costs, improves communication, and increases quality by having all documents at the field's fingertips.
  • Hyperlinks are fantastic for ensuring RFIs, sketches, and other changes are electronically posted to drawings so all users have the latest and most current project documents.
  • Overlays/sheet compare are great for comparing changes in drawing revisions and overlaying floor plans to check for conflicts. PlanGrid does this particularly well. The process is easy.
  • Issues list have dramatically changed how we handle QC on the job site. Issue creation, tracking, and generation of issues lists for subs have allowed an easy and concise way to create, maintain, and enforce to do lists and correct defective work with subcontractors.
  • Some of the notation tools can be cumbersome to use on Apple devices. It is hard to be precise. A snap to feature would be great.
  • Perhaps due to limitations by Apple, the camera button is small and hard to use on iPhones. Often I need to take photos one handed while holding a tape measure in my other hand. Increasing the size of the on screen camera button would really help.
  • More robust issue filtering on Apple devices would be nice. It can be difficult to navigate thousands of issues in the field on an Apple device with only a basic search function. Having the ability to filter issues like on the Plangrid website would be ideal.
Plangrid is great for the field. It works well on iPads and the like and is fantastic to have while walking a job site, running crews, or coordinating trades. Having all project documents at the ready while walking with designers, owners, inspectors, etc. saves significant and prevents costly errors in construction. Plangrid really excels in the field. It is not particularly well suited to estimating, take offs, complex drawing notations, etc.
Brandon Zahrt | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
PlanGrid is currently being used within our company to deliver up to date plans, specifications, and addendum between our office an supervisors in the field. We currently have three subscriptions of PlanGrid. One large subscription (5000 pages) for the main office to upload all documents for ongoing projects, and two smaller subscriptions (500 pages) that are utilized by our in field staff. The in field staff manages their downloads based on the projects they will be on over the next few weeks. PlanGrid has greatly reduced the time it takes to get accurate information from our estimating/project management staff out to our field staff, and eliminated costly errors generated from working off old project documents. In addition it helps keep the office staff aware of any issues on site during the course of our daily operations. The foreman is able to send RFI's, document damaged or incorrect work, and provide daily as built markups so adjustments to scheduling can be made as required.
  • PlanGrid gives us the ability to maintain the most current set of drawings for a project. When plans change the user still has the ability to review the old version to determine where and why something has changed.
  • PlanGrid lets the user include PDF documents for the project without using up the number of sheets in the subsctiption. This allows us to provide the field staff with specifications, addendum write-ups, and other internal documents our company uses to make sure things are done correctly the first time.
  • PlanGrid allows our users in the field to submit RFI's, document issues, scale drawings, and provide daily markups of the work completed. This keeps our office staff informed of what is going on in the field and make adjustments to increase productivity and profitability.
  • PlanGrid lacks in the scaling/measuring of plans. We would like to see an improvement in setting up the scale for a sheet and make it easier to measure in ways other than a straight line.
  • I would like to see PlanGrids sheet recognition improve when uploading plan sheets. Sometimes it picks up the plan number and title, but not consistently.
PlanGrid is a useful tool for contractors both small and large. It is easy to use and helps with production and profitability.
Rick Crouch | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized

Our company is using PlanGrid nation-wide.

We use it on our iPads to document changes, show RFI's, do existing conditions reports, and help subcontractors with layout.

We keep all the submittals as attachments so you always have everything you need right in your hand at any time. It makes it so much easier to cross reference drawing and items such as Millwork shop drawings or Appliance Submittals to verify clearances. It's one of the best tools we have in the field.

  • It's great for Layout because you can get measurements with the scaling tool then have Architects verify on Layout approval.
  • Using it to store all the submittals and ASK's from everyone is really useful when you're walking around and want to be able to verify that something is going to fit or make sure needed clearances are being meet.
  • Best tool for doing existing conditions report because you can mark right on the drawings where there is a problem and even take pictures to prove the existing damage and its all kept together.
  • Overall it make my day a lot easier.
  • I would like to be able to save a page as an update without having to keep everything on the original plan.
Overall it's the best tool we have in the field. It saves time and makes it easier to show subcontractors where there may be problems that needs to be addressed without fumbling through a lot of drawings and submittals.
August 16, 2017

Timesaver

Jerry Rasmussen | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Plangrid is being used across the company. Key elements of PlanGrid for me are ease of use, organization, updates, and the ability to maneuver through the plans from detail to detail. Time savings is addressed very well by implementing PlanGrid subcontractor wide on projects. We are all looking at the same page.
  • User friendly, from a classroom training for PlanGrid to the PlanGrid videos online to help something forgotten or learn something new.
  • However spending time using PlanGrid one can pick up on quite a few "tricks."
  • Punchlist with PlanGrid is great, taking pictures and putting them right on the floor plan is easy, and eliminates wasted time searching what room what picture went with. You can also note that it is a completed item for tracking.
  • PlanGrid is great for running around the job site with an iPad and getting needed information from the plans on the spot, makes answering questions a lot easier and faster during these busy days.
  • PlanGrid is one of 3 apps I have used, I honestly cringe thinking about the other two apps. I think PlanGrid does a great job trying to improve themselves, I don't know what I could add.
Great for all sized projects, great for punchlist tracking. A great app to get all team members on, eliminating the errors caused by looking at non current drawings, or not receiving the updated version via email junk file location errors.
April 11, 2017

PlanGrid for the win!

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We utilize PlanGrid in the field. All of our superintendents have iPads and use PlanGrid on a regular basis to access project documents, drawings, etc. PlanGrid helps the office get pertinent project information to the field immediately. We have definitely reduced our costs associated with plotting drawings.
  • Has great software / programming for naming drawing sheets.
  • Online support is great.
  • Helps transmit information to the field instantly. No more hard copies.
  • PlanGrid is constantly changing / improving features within the software. Change is usually a good thing however, once you get familiar with a feature or program functionality, they change it! Can be a little frustrating.
  • Cost!
All in all, PlanGrid makes my life easier as a project coordinator. I am able to get information to our field in a timely manner. I am able to grab the latest and greatest drawings in a jiffy and share a link with our subcontractors or save the information directly to my computer, if needed.
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