On-Screen Takeoff

On-Screen Takeoff is a tried and true system. We currently create a database for each project, but the system does support a single database for multiple projects. We are a medium-sized business, so this suits us well. However, I'm not sure how well it scales to larger orgs.

Estimating and pre-construction where quantities are required are the focus of On-Screen Takeoff. There is a fantastic color coding and legend available to embed in the sheets, enabling clear communication of scope and values to both owners and subcontractors. I feel the clarity provided in these takeoff sheets cannot be as well provided by other software.

It is an excellent product for reading plans to prepare bids and validate field information.

Being able to quantify every detail of a construction project via the contract documents and drawings and compiling it all in one place to be used in an estimate or distributed to subcontractors is something you can't really put a value on.

On-Screen Takeoff is well suited for the large majority of tasks that involve gathering quantities and amounts from plans and drawings. It is so versatile and flexible that it does not matter the project type or scale the software is going to make your takeoff production rates much higher than with most other software. I have found that there are a few cases that may not justify getting a license for the software since the scope and accuracy of the take offs required are so minimal and relaxed that another simple or free software may be a more economical choice.

On-Screen Takeoff is great for less detailed drawings and conceptual estimate exercises. It can get hard to read markups on the drawings when there are a lot of different finishes, however. It is not that great for getting quantities for structural steel or structural concrete because there are not any weights in this software for different materials. It is very bad for collaboration among a project team of several members for the simple fact that the Takeoff file can only be saved to your computer. There is no live option for On-Screen which leaves room for mistakes and not looking at the most updated quantities.

Well suited to takeoff quantities needed from construction documents. Many short cuts and easy to learn program. It is even effective in creating visuals for communication, i.e. can label things, color code, have the takeoff numbers on the sheet in a legend, etc. It is less appropriate to try to format the outputs in a spread sheet - will need to export to excel. It is not the best tool for constructability reviews.

Well suited if you order a lot of product for your projects because the visible audit trail makes counting easier. If you are a subcontractor and you set up assemblies to the conditions you will know exact quantities of materials for whatever condition you are measuring.

In a way it is almost too good because having too accurate of counts for bidding purposes can make your bid too high and you won't win the work!

On-Screen Takeoff shines for any situation where you want higher consistency and accuracy from your estimates. Between their features such as zones, areas, typical groups, style sets and databases, On-Screen Takeoff allows your estimating team to fly. If you're willing to put in the upfront time to educate and build your workflows, On-Screen Takeoff gives companies the ability to assemble estimates and perform hand-offs seamlessly.

For myself I only use it for big changes on a project which has multiple drawing changes.

I think most of the reasoning was just provided on the previous pros and cons questions. On-Screen Takeoff (OST) is well suited for doing either quick takeoffs or getting into an elaborate, detailed takeoff. All though the viewing tools are quick and easy, I would still very much prefer using BlueBeam for looking through an overall set of drawings. With all of the hyperlink and bookmark functions of BlueBeam, OST doesn't compare and I rarely use OST unless I'm actually doing a takeoff.

[On-Screen Takeoff is well suited to] Area/count takeoffs.

On-Screen takeoff helps when estimators put together pricing for bids & budgets on a whole project - whether the project is large or small.