It has been said that the last frontier for government automation is Plan Review. That is the function of taking plans into an organization and circulating those plans for review by various departments before approving or rejecting the plans. Bentley’s eB Plan Review has much to be said for it. First is the fact that it has been proven in the Nuclear industry, which has the most stringent requirements. Second the implementation options: either a perpetual license on the customer’s servers, or part of an Enterprise License Subscription, or in the cloud through Microsoft Azure.
The modules include a planning software, an input section, a distribution and tracking module, and a markup module. The planning software is where the workflow is configured graphically to fit the needs of each organization. The input section is where eB Plan Review can bring in any type of file readable by Windows, typically in PDF format. The distribution and tracking module sends the files out to each of the departments for review.
The markup module is necessary, of course, so that the departments can review the plans. Bentley ships Brava with eB Plan Review, however integration with BlueBeam and Adobe is an option as well. With Brava, each reviewer’s comments go on a separate layer, as the original submission is never changed. Then all the review layers come back to the project manager who combines them as necessary and publishes a single PDF file to be returned to the submitter. eB Plan Review also has security settings that permit only the right people to see and do what they are authorized for.
Agencies currently employ a wide variety of methods for plan review. Some are still marking up paper. Others use an ad hoc collection of markup software, spreadsheets for keeping status, email, etc. Others have implemented some form of integrated system, but there is plenty of room for improvement everywhere.
The benefits of eB Plan Review:
- Completely customizable to the idiosyncrasies of the particular agency, minimizing disruption
- Can integrate with all popular permitting and other government systems
- Shortens the time to gain approval for a project, meaning more taxes earlier and happier constituency
- Better ability to enforce standards
- Less manhours spent on the function
