In the structural steel industry, winning bids relies on a delicate balance of speed and accuracy. General contractors demand rapid turnarounds on project estimates, but a single miscalculation in material requirements or labor hours can turn a profitable job into a costly liability. To stay competitive, modern structural steel fabricators are increasingly turning to advanced digital tools to eliminate bottlenecks in their estimating workflows.
The Traditional Takeoff Process: Time-Consuming and Prone to Error
Historically, performing a structural steel takeoff has been a highly manual, labor-intensive process. Estimators and detailers spend hours, sometimes days, poring over complex architectural and structural drawings. They must manually identify every required piece of material, calculate lengths and weights, estimate labor costs, and account for potential scrap.
While this meticulous approach is necessary for accuracy, it creates a significant bottleneck. Manual takeoffs limit the number of bids a fabricator can submit and increase the risk of human error. In an industry where lead times and tight margins dictate success, relying solely on manual estimating processes is no longer a viable long-term strategy.
Enter Automation: Letting Software Do the Heavy Lifting
Vector Intelligence is software that allows users to streamline their fabrication process. Rather than spending days on manual calculations, a fabricator will download drawings and inspect and do a takeoff.
The software provides annotated PDFs designed for seamless integration with most existing on-screen takeoff platform. These are built with measurement object functionality, enabling clients to easily adjust lengths and input additional data directly within the working PDF.
Additionally, Vector Produces a CSV / XML document. The CSV / XML and PDF output contain all essential data points for each steel member captured by the program. The structure of the output, regarding the order and naming conventions, can be altered and saved to match existing estimating and material report templates. By completely digitizing this workflow, fabricators can bid on more projects with a higher degree of confidence.
How Vector Intelligence Benefits You
At Infra-Metals, we are committed to providing our partners with the tools they need to succeed. That is why we are proud to highlight our acquisition and integration of Vector Intelligence.
This powerful platform ensures that the software automatically does the take off versus the manual process. By integrating this technology into your bidding strategy, your fabrication shop can achieve a 50-80% conservative time savings on estimating workflows. This massive reduction in administrative overhead allows your team to focus on what you do best: delivering high-quality fabricated steel on time and on budget.
Ready to Modernize Your Bidding Process?
If you need a partner dedicated to serving your projects with the same unwavering commitment you provide your own clients, Infra-Metals is standing by to meet your structural steel supply and processing needs. Contact us today or submit a request for quote for your next fabrication project, and learn more about how Vector Intelligence can help your business Bid More, and Win More.