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RapidBOM (A Telecommunications Network Estimating Tool)
RapidBOM was designed specifically for telecommunications estimating
professionals by an RCDD with years of field experience. Experience demonstrates that this tool will enable you to produce
higher quality estimates dramatically faster.
- RapidBOM offers:
An enhanced, regularly
updated electronic product catalog, which eliminates reviewing Web sites or hardcopy product catalogs for new parts or updated
information on old parts
- The ability to design while estimating, which expedites
the process and results in higher quality designs
- Intuitive and logical flow for telecommunications professionals
- Internal intelligence to safeguard against incomplete
estimates
- Complete customization for company or individual user
needs
- Fast production of complete BOM labor and material estimates
- Complete margin analysis
- Electronic interaction with distributors for expedited price
quotes
From a product integrity perspective,
RapidBOM protects you from overlooking products that are essential for a complete installation ensuring a fully comprehensive
estimate and full productivity from installers who need not find themselves at the site without a full complement of required
materials. Additionally, RapidBOM’s regularly updated, electronically enhanced catalog containing more that 100,000
products from more than 125 of the major suppliers (including NECA labor rates and standards for each product) eliminates
reviewing Web sites or hardcopy product catalogues for parts and saves time estimating.
Why Use RapidBOM?
RapidBOM is likely a new product to you. As is the case with
most estimators, you are moving to RapidBOM after having worked for years on traditional in-house spreadsheets. There is no
need for apprehensions about RapidBOM, since this product was developed by an RCDD with years of field experience and refined
with you, the telecommunications estimating professional, in mind. We are confident that at the conclusion of your brief online
familiarization session with RapidBOM you will fully appreciate how you can produce estimates faster and more comprehensively
than ever before.
RapidBOM has consistently been praised for its speed, ease of
use and resulting improvement in the effectiveness of the BOM and labor estimating process. Typically, users producing estimates
on less comprehensive and organized spreadsheets are confounded by the error-prone and time-consuming nature of the estimating
process. Further, the lack of immediately available product information when using spreadsheets, such as Excel, causes delays
by forcing the user to manually reference product information in catalogs or online while often missing out on new products
not yet in the catalog.
Our client partners have found that using the RapidBOM system
has dramatically reduced the amount of time necessary to prepare estimates and has improved the quality of the proposal at
the same time. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear from our client partners that RapidBOM has reduced BOM proposal generation
time by as much as 80% when compared to the manual spreadsheet process.
Who Uses RapidBOM?
RapidBOM is currently being used very successfully by
a variety of contractors, many of whom are doing work on major projects for the segments of the Federal Government, including
the United States Army, United States Air Force (Engineering and Installation Groups) and Air National Guard.
A sampling of RapidBOM clients includes:
SI
International
Raytheon Polar Services
Lomac Information Systems
University of Oregon Health Sciences
Georgia
University
University of Nebraska
Children's Hospital of Cincinnati
Vision Communications
National Network Services,
Inc
Top 10 Reasons to Use RapidBOM
- RapidBOM is a fully comprehensive network estimating
tool that automatically creates a Bill of Material for telecommunications bids.
- RapidBOM is a one-stop shop for a total build out design
of a network from faceplate to router.
- RapidBOM offers both ISP (inside plant) and OSP (outside
plant) functionality either separately or in conjunction with one another.
- RapidBOM enables fully integrated estimates to be prepared
in a fraction of the usual time, with integrity and quality unmatched by any alternative.
- RapidBOM will reduce the time needed to generate a BOM by 80
to 90% compared to the manual process.
- RapidBOM maintains meaningful product data on more than
130 manufacturers and more than 100,000 products.
- RapidBOM enables each company or user to customize the
database by adding products not in the standard RapidBOM catalog.
- RapidBOM safeguards against users overlooking products
that are necessary for a complete installation.
- RapidBOM produces a complete Bill of Material that incorporates
internal error checking and industry approved design standards to help ensure that your materials are ordered and in place
WHEN you need them.
- Those using RapidBOM save time producing estimates, develop
more accurate estimates and ultimately save money.
RapidBOM vs. Other Estimating Tools
When comparing RapidBOM to other telecommunications
estimating tools, please consider the following:
- RapidBOM Suite includes outside plant capabilities integrated
with inside plant. The ability to do outside plant estimating alone is beneficial, but the integration of both within a single
environment has proven to be invaluable.
- RapidBOM was developed by an RCDD with years of field experience
for use by telecommunications professionals. The entire focus of RapidBOM is on telecommunications with an interface that
is intuitive and natural for telecommunications-knowledgeable users.
- RapidBOM estimators can estimate while they design. The
synergy and clarity of estimates that derive from this process are unparalleled.
- RapidBOM also allows users to make textual comments for
the project, as well as for each element (master cross-connect, intermediate cross-connect, horizontal cross-connect, work
area outlet, etc.).
- As each element in RapidBOM is being defined, an iconic,
hierarchical representation of the project is created.
- Within a project, any element can be duplicated so that
the work done on one element can provide the basis for another, or an existing project can be duplicated to provide the foundation
for another project. Beyond this, individual elements of any project can be exported from that project and used in another
project.
- In RapidBOM, distance information is entered wherever
appropriate - e.g. Distance to Parent, Service Loop Length, Ceiling Height - from which cable length (including waste) is
calculated for all elements of a project. Once cable length is known, RapidBOM applies algorithms that are controllable by
the user to calculate from this cable length the number of each of those products that can be determined from cable length.
- RapidBOM automatically compares the BOM to TIA/EIA and BICSI
standards. To the extent the design fails to fully consider the requirements dictated by these standards, RapidBOM will report
the discrepancy to the user.
- RapidBOM enables the Master Cross-Connect (top level of any
project) to be marked as "Existing" thus establishing that cross-connect and all cross-connects associated with it and all
products within these cross-connects as already in place. In
all reports, the products are organized into meaningful groups, typically the Categories in RapidBOM.
- RapidBOM reports are specific to the element of the project
selected for reporting or for the entire project. The user determines which element of the project is to be reported upon.
The user may mark any of the products as Company Preferred,
thus providing a specific sub-set of products that are commonly used.
- RapidBOM's database/catalog of manufacturers and products
is included with RapidBOM at the prices listed above - it is an integral part of the software, not an add-on. And, with 100,000
products from more than 130 manufacturers, the ability for you or us to add other products as needed, and the ability to see
only those products that you most care about with a simple mouse-click makes RapidBOM's product catalog unbeatable.
- Mainstay continually updates the RapidBOM product catalog,
including cut sheets. All that is needed to understand a product is included in the product catalog, including customer-specific
prices electronically uploaded as needed.
- Mainstay is willing to work closely with you to refine
the RapidBOM product to meet any of your specific needs.
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