Creating Orders using Chief Material List

[EJdrake]

Wondering if anyone out there is using the material list that chief creates to create customer orders?

 

Currently at our lumber yard we use the dimensions on the plan to figure out our quantities manually. We are unable to create a material list that has all the material needed for a specific order (ex. siding, roofing, millwork ect.) because we do not take the time to make sure everything in the plan is accurate enough to order off of. 

 

Is it even possible to expect a plan to be so accurate with all the right material and right quantities that a person could order exactly what the material list says? 

 

We are using x12. Any thoughts and comments would be appreciated!

 

EJ

ejd@hamlinbc.com 

 

[GeneDavis]

You need to analyze carefully to compare:

 

The time spent to make an accurate model, with the clock started where you typically stop and call a project finished enough for permitting and construction.

 

The time spent to do a detailed and accurate material takeoff, from those construction documents.

 

The editing I do to "finish" a model in order to produce a usable material list always begins with editing every single elevation of exterior wall framing.

 

The structural plans for floors and roofs are part of the con docs, and for my projects, have been edited to portray the build, so the material list for those elements is already accurate.

 

If you are building with trusses, your material lists, no matter how accurate your model, will not have all the bracing elements, so you'll need to do something about that.  The workaround I use is to draw a 2x4x16' once into a roofing plan, copy/replicate it by the number you think the truss system will need (including temporary bracing) and put these on a layer that is then turned off.

I do the same for wall bracing materials.

 

Once you have done a couple of models this way, it goes quickly.

 

[joey_martin]

5 hours ago, EJdrake said:

we do not take the time to make sure everything in the plan is accurate enough to order off of.

That's your first problem.

 

5 hours ago, EJdrake said:

Is it even possible to expect a plan to be so accurate with all the right material and right quantities that a person could order exactly what the material list says? 

Yes. Otherwise just use 2D CAD or pencil and paper.

 

I have created orders from the material list. In fact, as a "proof" one of my homes is currently under construction and we are comparing the take off from the supplier to the materials list Chief generated and we are pretty much right on the money. Chief DOES NOT account for waste, so you need to add a % to the number, but for roofing, siding, sheathing, sub-flooring, flooring, etc...we are right on.

[Alaskan_Son]

10 hours ago, EJdrake said:

Is it even possible to expect a plan to be so accurate with all the right material and right quantities that a person could order exactly what the material list says?

 

Yes, but it takes a considerable upfront investment in creating an accurate model.

 

5 hours ago, joey_martin said:

Chief DOES NOT account for waste

This is only partially true.  OOB Chief doesn't account for waste, but we can easily set up the model to account for waste just like we model anything.  Waste can either be added as extra items, or even better, it can be added to the source objects themselves using the Components tab.