Betsy

Betsy provides Cost Estimation, Production-Planning and Control, Work Preparation, Follow-up Analysis and Invoicing as an integrated specific software package for the Pre-Fabrication plant producing structural elements like beams, columns, TT-slabs, façades, hollow core slabs... Betsy provides you with continual data flow from estimation to invoicing.

Estimation

Your bid is set up quickly using detailed specifications. The estimation structure fits to your production setup. That means it is "piece oriented" divided into individual elements even if you have to submit a quote with square meter items. For example, an element could be a concrete column or also be a bathroom unit consisting of floor, ceiling, four walls as well as interior works. The quotation is based on geometry (basic structure plus components like corbels, recesses, etc.), job costs from times for each individual production step (mould setup, reinforcement work, casting etc.), material costs (moulds, reinforcement, concrete, fittings etc.) and costs for transport and erection.

For hollow core elements, the estimation can be performed on the basis of unit prices per m² plus unit prices for optional items like holes, angled ends …

To help users who want to start from scratch, the software comes with predefined data (geometry and time consumption curves for individual production steps) for most common elements like beams and TT-slabs with or without prestressing, columns, plain or sand- wich façade elements and so on. It is easy to modify these data to the individual needs of every plant.

After cost estimation a surcharge calculation can be made, overheads spread and a cost-benefit analysis carried out. Additional costs, e.g. external consulting costs, can also be spread throughout the estimation. All of these costs end up in a detailed estimate, that can be split up (e.g. at works, transport, erection, etc.).

Labour estimation is made on the basis of shop drawings, taking into account the exact measurements of each element geometry, required reinforcement, fittings and so on.

Rough and fine planning

The main instrument for work preparation is the electronic planning board with a graphical user interface. Assignment of elements to moulds is done via drag and drop. Rough and fine planning use one common planning board.

The rough planning for the production processes can be performed on the basis of the contract estimation. Special rough planning moulds can be used, to avoid a too detailed planning. Nevertheless this aids in getting a rough overview of how plant capacity is used according to pieces, work hours per production step, volume (m³ concrete) and tons of reinforcement. The additional production expenditures necessary for various specifications is automatically brought into consideration.

The fine planning is developed from the results of the labour estimation, based on final shop drawings, which can be displayed with standard viewers (hpgl-, pdf- dwg- and tif-files) via right hand mouse click inside the planning board. As the labour estimation proceeds more and more new data flows to fine planning. If rough planning was done, these data replace the preliminary ones. Doing fine panning only is also possible.

Visualisation of the different checks before production (drawing approved, reinforcement cage ready, fittings delivered etc.) is possible by using element labels with status colours. Usually the planning board displays the elements in project colours, helping to track the different projects.
Traffic light likes status colours easily show whether a part is ready for production (yellow), produced (green), or not yet ready for production (red). An additional colour (orange) is used, if production lead time, as difference between casting and delivery or erection date, is below the defined level. So even if all stati for production are fulfilled, a drop of an element on a too late production date or a change of the delivery planned date from the project engineers gets directly visible. This is the most effective way to coordinate production with planned delivery or erection dates.

Operational Data Logging and Follow-up Analysis

Completion of various work stages or complete elements can be reported manually or using PDC terminals (bar code or touchless reader). In addition it is possible to define the variables necessary for your operational data logging. These actual values can be compared with the projected values, which come from the work estimation. This automated follow up analysis gives you a detailed break down of required time and costs for each project or, with some more data collections, for each group or even type of produced elements. Different possibilities for production data collection allows to minimize the efforts for this task.

Invoicing

Depending on the type of contract, there are different needs for a proper invoicing. If you have a global contract with only one total, the former mentioned follow up analysis already gives you sufficient information concerning wins and loss. If, according to your tender, you have to invoice each individual element or if you have even more complicated regulations like invoicing façade elements in m² though delivering individual elements or invoicing all steel under one tender item, Betsy supports you in the best possible way, eliminating annoying works but providing the client with easy to check and understand invoice documents.

Additional Modules

For plants with link bending machines, Betsy provides a REINFORCEMENT MODULE. Input is user definable as is layout for rebar labels with or without 2D Barcode to transfer steering data or graphic representation of rebar shapes. This module can be used also to collect rebar details from a shop drawing, to generate consumption lists per diameter and provide graphical and/or shape code bending information.

Detailed, graphical mould planning can be done with the MOULD-PLANNING MODULE. Based upon graphical information, either from files in Unitechnik format or even by picked geometry from plot-files, user can place individual prefab items on a mould in a graphical manner. Displacements and rotations of parts are possible and displayed directly. Three different types of planning are available.
- planning on moulds one by one,
- planning on moulds in a carrousel system,
- planning on flat beds.
The results can be transferred to steering computers or e.g. directly to laser devices.

General arrangement drawings and shop drawings

If available, Betsy widely uses drawings as basis of each planning step. As already mentioned, the shop drawings can be displayed in the planning board but also in the estimation and in the prefab element list, which shows each unit with its dates for drawing availability, production, delivery and erection. The general arrangement drawings can be used as a powerful planning tool inside Betsy. Not only to define erection and delivery sequence just by clicking on element labels inside the drawing, but giving quick graphical overviews for elements which have shop drawings, which are produced, delivered or invoiced to everybody who is connected to the Betsy system. We supply a little AutoCAD tool, to enable easy exchange of information from this popular CAD system to Betsy.

IBB, the company behind

IBB - Consultants & Engineers (German name: Ingenieurbüro für Bauinformatik, Ehlert - Darowski - Wolf) is the German market leader for Cost estimation and Production Planning for structural and architectural prefab parts. In Germany there are 125 companies producing such parts. 86 of them use Betsy, as do users in Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Switzerland and in the United Arab Emirates.
The current windows release is available since 1999, but the former DOS release started in 1986!
The practical demands of more than 400 daily users deliver the ideas for the always ongoing enhancements of BETSY. A benefit for all BETSY using companies!
Since January 2003 IBB is member of the German Precasters Organization (Fachver-
einigung Deutscher Betonfertigteilbau e.V.)!

If you want to print this information, please download our Betsy Flyer (4,2 MB)
If you need more information or if you want to get a demonstration of the software, either in your office or direct via internet, please contact:

IBB - Consultants & Engineers
Ingenieurbüro für Bauinformatik
Dr. Wolfgang Ehlert
St.-Aegidius-Str. 49
51147 Cologne
Germany
Tel +49 2203 928 614
Fax +49 2203 696 560
E-Mail:ehlert@betsy.de