AU2018267643A1

AU2018267643A1 - Component management system and method

Info

Publication number: AU2018267643A1
Application number: AU2018267643A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Troy Cavallaro
Original assignee: BETTER HOMES QUEENSLAND Pty Ltd
Current assignee: BETTER HOMES QUEENSLAND Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2012-05-02
Filing date: 2018-11-22
Publication date: 2018-12-13
Also published as: AU2013205741A1

Abstract

A computer implemented method and system of generating a building estimate. The method includes receiving, on a data interface, a plan of a building; determining, by a processor based upon the plan, a plurality of 5 elements required to construct the building; retrieving, from a data store, a plurality of activities, at least one activity associated with an element of the plurality of elements; and determining, by the processor, a building estimate, based at least in part based upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities. Receive, on a data interface, a plan of a building 1210 :: Determine, based upon the plan, a plurality of elements required to construct the building Retrieve, from a data store, a plurality of activities required to construct the building 1220 \ Determine a building estimate, based at least in part based upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities

Description

TITLE

COMPONENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to component management. In particular, although not exclusively, the invention relates to component management systems and methods for construction.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

When building a new house it is common to choose a pre-drafted house plan. Such house plans are much cheaper than individually prepared plans as the cost of the design of the house can be shared by several individuals. Additionally, the house can often be physically viewed as a display home, and a cost of the house can be well estimated.

A disadvantage of pre-drafted house plans are that they are unlikely to be suited exactly to a potential purchaser's needs. It is therefore common to amend the pre-drafted house plan to suit the potential purchaser. Such amendments can be minor, including removal or addition of a window, door or the like, or substantial such as the addition of a room.

While it may be relatively simple to modify a floorplan when making such an amendment, it is a time consuming and manual process estimating costs relating to the amendments. For example, standard products are likely to be supplied at a discount, and a modification will have costs outside of the material cost, such as installation and other related modifications. Accordingly, many companies discourage such amendments through a high cost rather than actually estimating the costs associated with the amendments.

Additionally, predetermined deviations to a plan may be made available to customers. For example, it may be communicated that an extra window or door has a predetermined cost, based on averages or another estimate. However, the costs of these deviations are not

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 accurate. For example, the addition or removal of a door may have different follow-on implications based upon where the door is.

There exists software of the prior art that enables a user to estimate a cost of a house based upon a plan. This software is, however, based on national statics or average square meter prices, and is accordingly not accurate.

Furthermore, the process of managing individual components of a plan is time consuming. For example, if a component on a plan, such as a door handle or light fitting, is changed to a different model, the cost needs to be changed, a variation needs to be generated, invoices to clients need to be modified, work orders for the installation of the components need to be modified, and purchase orders to suppliers and/or installers need to be modified. This is further complicated by different components potentially having different installation costs or requirements, and is currently performed manually.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved component management systems and methods.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of some embodiments of the present invention to provide consumers with improvements and advantages over the above described prior art, and/or overcome and alleviate one or more of the above described disadvantages of the prior art, and/or provide a useful commercial choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect, the invention resides in a computer implemented method of generating a building estimate, including:

receiving, on a data interface, a plan of a building;

determining, by a processor based upon the plan, a plurality of elements required to construct the building;

retrieving, from a data store, a plurality of activities, at least one activity associated with an element of the plurality of elements;

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 determining, by the processor, a building estimate, based at least in part upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities; and generating, by the processor, at least one work order based upon the plurality of activities.

Preferably, the building includes a house, an office building, an apartment building, a factory, a bridge or a statue.

Preferably, the building estimate includes a cost estimate. Alternatively or additionally, the building estimate includes at least one of a time estimate, a work order and a bill of material.

Preferably, the method further includes:

receiving, on a data interface, a modification to the plan;

determining, based upon the modification to the plan, a revised plurality of elements required to construct the building; and determining a revised building estimate at least in part based upon 15 the revised plurality of elements and the plurality of activities.

Preferably, the method further includes:

receiving, on a data interface, a modification to the plan; determining, by the processor and based upon the modification to the plan, a revised plurality of activities; and determining, by the processor, a revised building estimate at least in part based upon the plurality of elements and the revised plurality of activities.

Preferably, the method further includes generating, by the processor, a plurality of work orders based upon the plurality of activities.

Preferably, the method further includes interactively presenting the plurality of work orders for printing based upon a date of the work order.

Preferably, the method further includes automatically generating, by the processor, invoices based upon the building estimate.

Preferably, the method further includes:

presenting, on an output interface, a material tree;

receiving, on a data interface, modifications to the material tree; and

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 revising, by the processor, a building estimate based upon the modifications to the material tree.

Preferably, the method further includes:

receiving, on a data interface, cost information relating an element of the plurality of elements and a first supplier;

determining, by the processor, a cost difference between the element from the first supplier and the element from at least a second supplier; and presenting, on a data interface, the cost difference.

Preferably, the method further includes determining, by the processor, that the cost difference is greater than a threshold.

Preferably, the method further includes:

determining, by the processor, that the first supplier is less expensive than the second supplier;

determining, by the processor, a building estimate based upon costs of the first supplier.

Preferably, the method further includes:

receiving, on a data interface, an availability of a contractor;

determining, by the processor, that the contractor is unavailable at a scheduled time; and revising, by the processor, a building estimate to include one of a revised schedule time for the contractor and a new contractor.

According to another aspect, the invention resides in a system for generating a building estimate, including:

a processor;

a data interface coupled to the processor; and a memory coupled to the processor including instruction code executable by the processor for:

receiving, on the data interface, a plan of a building; determining, by the processor based upon the plan, a plurality of elements required to construct the building;

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 determining, by the processor, a building estimate, based at least in part upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities; and generating at least one work order based upon the plurality of activities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To assist in understanding the invention and to enable a person skilled in the art to put the invention into practical effect, preferred embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example only 10 with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a component management system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a screenshot of a job list screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the 15 present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a screenshot of an accounts payable screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screenshot of an estimation screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a screenshot of a material tree screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screenshot of a material maintenance screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a screenshot of a job progress screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of 30 the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a screenshot of a job management screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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FIG. 9 illustrates a screenshot of a supplier schedule screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a screenshot of a print queue screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a screenshot of a supplier materials screen of the component management system of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method of component management, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 diagrammatically illustrates a computing device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that minor deviations from the layout of components as illustrated in the drawings will not detract from the proper functioning of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention comprise component management systems and methods. Elements of the invention are illustrated in concise outline form in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are necessary to the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, but so as not to clutter the 25 disclosure with excessive detail that will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the present description.

In this patent specification, adjectives such as first and second, left and right, front and back, top and bottom, etc., are used solely to define one element or method step from another element or method step without 30 necessarily requiring a specific relative position or sequence that is described by the adjectives. Words such as “comprises” or “includes” are not used to define an exclusive set of elements or method steps. Rather,

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 such words merely define a minimum set of elements or method steps included in a particular embodiment of the present invention.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the 5 prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

According to one aspect, the invention resides in a computer implemented method of generating a building estimate, including: receiving, on a data interface, a plan of a building; determining, based upon the plan, a plurality of elements required to construct the building;

retrieving, from a data store, a plurality of activities required to construct the building; and determining a building estimate, based at least in part based upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities, wherein at least one activity of the plurality of activities is associated with one element of the plurality of elements.

Advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention include an ability to quickly and efficiently generate building estimates such as cost estimates, time estimates and bills of material, an ability to efficiently manage construction projects, including considering delays and other unforseen circumstances, an ability to efficiently modify a plan, and an ability to efficiently select cost efficient subcontractors.

FIG. 1 illustrates a component management system 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The component management system 100 includes a server 105, a database 110 coupled to the server 105, and a plurality of computing 25 devices 115a-b coupled to the server 105.

The computing devices 115a-b can be personal computers, smart phones, tablet computers, or any other suitable device enabling a user to interact with the system 100.

A first computing device 115a can be a personal computer including Architectural Design software such as Revit of Autodesk, California, USA. A user of the first computing device 115a can draw a building from scratch, or open a building for editing. The editing can

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 include the addition or removal of a door, window or other component, or more complex editing such as the addition of a room to a house.

The first computing device 115a communicates the plans of the building to the server 105. The first computing device 115a can include a plug-in that enables a user to save a plan directly from architectural software, such as Revit, to a portion of the server 105. Alternatively, the first computing device 115a can communicate the plans to the server via a global communications network 120 such as the Internet, or any other suitable means to facilitate communication of the plans.

Upon reception of the plans, the server 105 determines a plurality of elements required to construct the building. Elements can include prefabricated window panes, doors, skirting boards, plasterboard, timber, and any other material.

The server 105 determines a plurality of activities required to construct the building. The activities can include applying for relevant permits, laying groundwork for the building, electrical or plumbing work, and activities relating to elements of the plurality of elements determined above, such as installing doors, and may include sub-activities such as installing reinforcing around the door, or installing an architrave. According to certain embodiments, the activities are a type of element.

The server 105 then determines a building estimate, based at least in part based upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities. The building estimate can include a cost estimate, a time estimate, a work order and a bill of material, for example.

The database 110 can include cost information relating to materials, subcontractors, council fees and other costs relating to the construction of a building.

The cost estimate can be used to generate a quote or cost estimate for a client, a time estimate for project planning, a bill or material to calculate material costs and/or a work order for subcontractors.

A second computing device 115b can be a contractor computer, for entering costs and availability. For example, a flooring contractor can enter a price per square meter to install different types of flooring.

2018267643 22 Nov 2018

The system 100 can be configured to select a cheapest contractor for each of the plurality of activities. Alternatively, preferred contractors can be chosen. Alternatively or additionally, contractors can be manually selected by a user of the system 100.

According to certain embodiments, the contractor is given feedback relating to their costs when entering them to the system 100. The system 100 can compare the costs of the contractor with those of other contractors and report to the contractor that his or her fees are higher than those of other contractors. This can help reduce the contractor cost as the 10 contractor is then able to provide revised costs.

The plan can also be modified subsequently to determining the plurality of elements and activities required to construct the building. This may be performed by modifying the plan directly in architectural software, or through the system 100 by other means.

Upon reception of the revised plan, a revised plurality of elements required and/or a revised plurality of activities to construct the building is determined. The building estimate is then revised based at least in part upon the revised elements and/or activities.

According to certain embodiments, the method further includes 20 automatically generating revised work orders, revised based upon the revised plurality of activities.

The embodiments described herein relate to residential buildings. A person skilled in the art will, however, readily understand that the present invention can be adapted to suit buildings other than residential buildings, 25 including but not limited to office buildings, apartment buildings, factories, bridges, statues or other structures.

FIG. 2 illustrates a screenshot 200 of a job list screen of the component management system 100.

The job list screen includes a plurality of jobs 205. Each job 205 30 includes a plurality of information fields including a job code field 210, a job number field 215, a primary client field 220, a brief job description field 225, a client reference field 230, a location field 235, a registered plan field

2018267643 22 Nov 2018

240, a quoted date field 245, a promised delivery date field 250 and an address field 255.

Data in information fields 210-255 can include data that has been manually input, such as the address field 255, or data that has been automatically generated by the system 100, such as the job number field 215.

The job list screen includes a plurality of search fields 260, which can be used to filter the plurality of jobs 205. The search fields 260 can include job number search fields, address related search fields such as street, suburb or the like, or date range search fields.

The job list screen further includes a menu including a plurality of buttons 265a-j, including a job list button 265a, an accounts payable button 265b, an accounts receivable button 265c, an estimating button 265d, a job progress button 265e, a job management button 265f, a supplier schedule button 265g, a supplier materials button 265g, a company documents 265i, and an analysis button 265j.

As will become readily present below, each button 265a-j can be used to navigate the user to a different screen of the system 100.

The job list button 265a navigates the user to the job list screen described above. The accounts payable button 265b navigates the user to an accounts payable screen, further described with reference to FIG. 3, the accounts receivable button 265c navigates the user to an accounts receivable screen (not further described), the estimating button 265d navigates the user to a estimation screen, further described with reference to FIG. 4, the job progress button 265e navigates the user to a job progress screen, further described with reference to FIG. 7, the job management button 265f navigates the user to a job management screen, further described with reference to FIG. 8, the supplier schedule button 265g navigates the user to a supplier schedule screen, further described with reference to FIG. 9, the supplier materials button 265g navigates the user to a supplier materials screen, further described with reference to FIG. 11, the company documents button 265i navigates the user to a company documents screen, not further described, and the analysis

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 button 265j navigates the user to an analysis screen, not further described.

FIG. 3 illustrates a screenshot 300 of an accounts payable screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The accounts payable screen is similar to accounts payable screens of the prior art, and allows users to enter orders and invoices to the system 100 for payment.

The accounts payable screen includes a new order button 305, for generating a new order, an edit order button 210, for editing an existing order, an edit invoice button 315, for editing an invoice, an invoice entry button 320, for entering an invoice into the system 100, and an edit supplier button 325 for editing details of a supplier.

In use, an order is generated for any material or services required using the new order button 305. Upon reception of an invoice, the invoice is entered into the system 100 using the invoice entry button 320, where it is matched to the order.

An expected cost can be entered into the system 100 when generating the order. Upon entry of an invoice, the system 100 can compare the invoice cost with the expected cost. If a discrepancy is found, a warning can be automatically generated by the system 100 and presented to a user. According to certain embodiments, the warning is only presented when the invoice deviates from the expected cost by more than a threshold.

The accounts payable screen additionally includes the menu including the plurality of buttons 265a-j as described above in the context of FIG. 2.

The system 100 further includes an accounts receivable screen (not shown), that processes received payments. The accounts receivable screen includes similar functionality to the accounts payable screen, except that invoices are generated rather than orders, and payments are received rather than invoices.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screenshot 400 of an estimation screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The estimation screen is used to generate a cost estimate for a job.

2018267643 22 Nov 2018

The estimation screen includes a find job button 405, which can be used to find the job in which an estimation is to be made. When a job is selected, details of the job are presented in a plurality of job details fields 410, and can include a description of the job, a client name, an address, 5 or any other suitable details.

The estimation screen includes a plurality of category tabs 415, which are used to categorise goods and or services that form part of the job. In the case of a residential building, examples of categories include doors, electrical, plumbing, lighting, air conditioning, and landscaping.

Each category tab 415 includes a plurality of item entries 420, each item entry 420 corresponding with at least one element or activity. Each item entry 420 includes group information 425, which can be used to group several items, quantity information 430 relating to the quantity of each item, unit information 435 for each item, which can, for example, be length, unit sale, or square meter, a manual override tick box 440, which enables the user to override automatic system settings and choose, for example, and alternative supplier or alter the price, a description 445, supplier details 450, unit cost excluding tax 455, unit cost including tax 460, total cost excluding tax 465 and total cost including tax (not shown).

Information in the item entry 420 is automatically generated from job data, such as a building plan, supplier information and material information. The building plan can, for example, be a Revit plan, the supplier information can include cost data, and the material information can include information relating to installation requirements such as 25 associated installation elements.

The management of items is performed using a material tree which is further described with reference to FIG. 5. A material tree can be generated or edited using the new material tree button 470. Additionally, materials available to the system 100 can be edited using the material 30 maintenance button 475.

The estimation screen additionally includes the menu including the plurality of buttons 265a-j as described above in the context of FIG. 2.

2018267643 22 Nov 2018

FIG. 5 illustrates a screenshot 500 of a material tree screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The material tree screen includes a tree of materials and services 505. The tree includes a plurality of item headings 510, each of which includes a plurality of sub-items 515. The sub-items 515 are shown upon selection of the item heading 510, in order to generate a compact visual representation of the material tree.

The material tree is automatically generated based upon building plan, the supplier information, and material information, and can be manually edited by a user.

An item, such as a door, is extracted from a plan such as a Revit plan. The system 100 determines any associated items required for the door based upon a set of rules. The rules may be stored in a database and can, for example, include that a door requires installation of framing, a handle, a lock, and painting.

The system 100 then retrieves the costs of the items (and their associated items) and supplier details from the database. The result is interactively presented to the user as branches of the material tree.

The material tree 505 can include several levels, such as an associated item having associated items. The lock, for example, which is associated with the door, may also be associated with lock installation.

Upon selection of an item heading 510 in the element tree 505, details of the item are presented in a plurality of information fields 520. Some of the information fields can be associated with a drop down menu system or the like, which can be used to modify or replace the item.

The material tree can further include information relating to nonprice relating selections such as paint colour in a non-material specification list 525.

Upon modification of an item in the material tree 505, such a changing a supplier or price, the relevant modifications propagate throughout the system 100. For example, a work order can be automatically generated for a new supplier, when required, or the client invoices can be modified to include a price variation.

2018267643 22 Nov 2018

FIG. 6 illustrates a screenshot 600 of a material maintenance screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The material maintenance screen includes a plurality of item categories 605, each including a plurality of items (not shown). The user can enter a new 5 material using an add material button 610, or alternatively using a clone material button 615. The clone material button 615 is useful when a new material is to be added that is similar to an existing material. In this case, the existing material can be cloned and then modified, rather than defining the new material from scratch.

A material can be modified using the edit material button 620, such as changing a price of the material or other information relating to the material.

According to certain embodiments, invoices are only updated to include revised prices upon manual selection by the user. This enables 15 new invoices to be generated with the revised prices, while keeping older prices for pre-existing invoices.

Finally, the material maintenance screen includes a search button 625, for searching for the material.

FIG. 7 illustrates a screenshot 700 of a job progress screen, 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The job progress screen includes a plurality of jobs 705, each job comprising a plurality of activities 710. Each category 710 of each job 705 is classified according to a current status, an expected status, and a potential clash.

Examples of categories for a residential building include site inspection, earth works, slab, block work, truss, etc. Generally, categories can be chosen such that they correspond with milestones, and particularly milestones that are required to have been completed before other tasks can be performed.

Current status can include 'waiting', where the work cannot commence before another milestone is completed, and 'in progress', where the work is currently underway.

2018267643 22 Nov 2018

Expected status can include 'expected on time', where the work is expected to be performed on time, or 'delayed', where a previous delay will result in delay of the work.

The system 100 automatically checks availability of contractors and required dates to determine if there is a potential clash. If there is a potential clash, e.g. where a contractor is double booked, the category is marked as clashing. A user may then choose a different contractor, or delay the project accordingly.

The job progress screen additionally includes the menu including 10 the plurality of buttons 265a-j as described above in the context of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 illustrates a screenshot 800 of a job management screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The job management screen includes a find job button 805, similar to the find job buttons described earlier. Upon selection of a job, the user 15 is able to view a plurality of tasks 810 associated with the job, and mark the tasks as completed by selecting an associated task completion checkbox 815. The job management screen includes a plurality of categories 820 for categorising the tasks 810. The categories can, for example, correspond with milestones, or tasks performed by different 20 people.

Upon completion of a task, documents, such as invoices, can be automatically generated.

The job management screen additionally includes the menu including the plurality of buttons 265a-j as described above in the context 25 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screenshot 900 of a supplier schedule screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The supplier schedule screen includes a supplier selection button 905, with which the user can select a supplier. Upon selection of a 30 supplier, the suppliers schedule is presented as a calendar 910.

A plurality of services 915 provided by the supplier, corresponding, for example, to services of the material tree, is displayed in the calendar

2018267643 22 Nov 2018

910. The user can move or schedule services 915 in a similar manner to know calendar services of the prior art.

The supplier schedule screen additionally includes a print queue tab 920, which is used to automatically generate job orders for the supplier. The job orders are generated based upon their date as defined in the calendar 910. This enables on demand printing of work orders, and prevents unnecessary or early printing of job orders, which may change or be lost.

The supplier schedule screen additionally includes the menu including the plurality of buttons 265a-j as described above in the context of FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 illustrates a screenshot 1000 of a print queue screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The print queue screen includes a find supplier button 1005, which can be used by a user to select a supplier. The print queue screen enables a user to print work orders and other related documents for a supplier.

The print queue screen includes a plurality of work order fields 1005. Each work order field 1005 includes a print now selection button 1015, which enables a user to select a work order for printing, a work order description field 1020, which provides a textual description of the work order, a job number field 1025, which provides details of a job number associated with the work order, a client name field 1030, which provides client name information, a client address field 1035, which provides client address information, and a date queued field 1040, which provides date information relating to the work order.

The system 100 automatically adds items to the print queue screen based upon timing information from the supplier schedule screen. A user can then print out current work orders.

The print queue screen additionally includes the menu including the plurality of buttons 265a-j as described above in the context of FIG. 2.

FIG. 11 illustrates a screenshot 1100 of a supplier materials screen, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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The supplier materials screen includes a plurality of material categories 1105, each including one or more suppliers 1110. According to certain embodiments, suppliers 1110 are displayed interactively upon selection of a material category 1105.

Upon selection of a supplier 1110, a plurality of materials 1115 that are associated with the supplier 1110 are presented. The user can then edit or delete one or more of the materials 1115 through selection of the materials, as is understood by one skilled in the art.

The supplier materials screen additionally includes the menu 10 including the plurality of buttons 265a-j as described above in the context of FIG. 2.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method 1200 of component management, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 1205, a plan of a building is received on a data interface.

The plan can be received through an architectural software plug in, as described above, or through any other suitable means.

In step 1210, a plurality of elements required to construct the building is determined, based upon the plan. The elements can, for example, comprise hardware or services.

In step 1215, a plurality of activities required to construct the building are retrieved from a data store. The activities can correspond directly to the plurality of elements and include, for example, installation of the elements.

In step 1220, a building estimate is determined, based at least in part upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities. At least one activity of the plurality of activities is associated with one element of the plurality of elements.

FIG. 13 diagrammatically illustrates a computing device 1300, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The server 105 and/or computing devices 115a-b of FIG. 1 can be identical to or similar to the computing device 1300. Similarly, the method 1200 of FIG. 12 can be implemented using the computing device 1300.

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The computing device 1300 includes a central processor 1302, a system memory 1304 and a system bus 1306 that couples various system components, including coupling the system memory 1304 to the central processor 1302. The system bus 1306 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The structure of system memory 1304 is well known to those skilled in the art and may include a basic input/output system (BIOS) stored in a read only memory (ROM) and one or more program modules such as operating systems, application programs and program data stored in random access memory (RAM).

The computing device 1300 can also include a variety of interface units and drives for reading and writing data. The data can include, for example, the training data or the mapping functions described in FIG. 1, and/or computer readable instructions for performing the method 100 of FIG. 1.

In particular, the computing device 1300 includes a hard disk interface 1308 and a removable memory interface 1310, respectively coupling a hard disk drive 1312 and a removable memory drive 1314 to the system bus 1306. Examples of removable memory drives 1314 include magnetic disk drives and optical disk drives. The drives and their associated computer-readable media, such as a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) 1316 provide non-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer system 1300. A single hard disk drive 1312 and a single removable memory drive 1314 are shown for illustration purposes only and with the understanding that the computing device 1300 can include several similar drives. Furthermore, the computing device 1300 can include drives for interfacing with other types of computer readable media.

The computing device 1300 may include additional interfaces for connecting devices to the system bus 1306. FIG. 13 shows a universal serial bus (USB) interface 1318 which may be used to couple a device to the system bus 1306. For example, an IEEE 1394 interface 1320 may be

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 used to couple additional devices to the computing device 1300. Examples of additional devices include cameras for receiving images or video, such as the training images of FIG. 1.

The computing device 1300 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers or other devices, such as a server, a router, a network personal computer, a peer device or other common network node, a wireless telephone or wireless personal digital assistant. The computing device 1300 includes a network interface 1322 that couples the system bus 1306 to a local area network (LAN) 1324. Networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks and home computer systems.

A wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, can also be accessed by the computing device, for example via a modem unit connected to a serial port interface 1326 or via the LAN 1324.

Video conferencing can be performed using the LAN 1324, the WAN, or a combination thereof.

It will be appreciated that the network connections shown and described are exemplary and other ways of establishing a communications link between computers can be used. The existence of any of various well-known protocols, such as TCP/IP, Frame Relay, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like, is presumed, and the computing device can be operated in a client-server configuration to permit a user to retrieve data from, for example, a web-based server.

The operation of the computing device can be controlled by a variety of different program modules. Examples of program modules are routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The present invention may also be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, personal digital assistants and the like. Furthermore, the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

The above description of various embodiments of the present invention is provided for purposes of description to one of ordinary skill in the related art. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to a single disclosed embodiment. As mentioned above, numerous alternatives and variations to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the above teaching. Accordingly, while some alternative embodiments have been discussed specifically, other embodiments will be apparent or relatively easily developed by those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, this patent specification is intended to embrace all alternatives, modifications and variations of the present invention that have been discussed herein, and other embodiments that fall within the spirit and scope of the above described invention.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are:

1. A computer implemented method of generating a building estimate, including:

receiving, on a data interface, a plan of a building;

determining, by a processor, based upon the plan, a plurality of elements required to construct the building;

retrieving, from a data store, a plurality of activities, at least one activity associated with an element of the plurality of elements;

determining, by the processor, a building estimate, based at least in part upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities; and generating, by the processor, at least one work order based upon the plurality of activities.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the building includes a house, an office building, an apartment building, a factory, a bridge or a statue.
3. The method of either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the building estimate includes a cost estimate.
4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the building estimate includes at least one of a time estimate, a work order and a bill of material.
5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further including: receiving, on the data interface, a modification to the plan; determining, based upon the modification to the plan, a revised plurality of elements required to construct the building; and determining a revised building estimate at least in part based upon the revised plurality of elements and the plurality of activities.
6. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further including: receiving, on the data interface, a modification to the plan;

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 determining, by the processor and based upon the modification to the plan, a revised plurality of activities; and determining, by the processor, a revised building estimate at least in part based upon the plurality of elements and the revised plurality of 5 activities.
7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further including generating, by the processor, a plurality of work orders based upon the plurality of activities.
8. The method of claim 7, further including interactively presenting the plurality of work orders for printing based upon a date of the work order.
9. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further including 15 automatically generating, by the processor, invoices based upon the building estimate.
10. The method ofany one of the preceding claims, further including: presenting, on an output interface, a material tree;

20 receiving, on a data interface, modifications to the material tree;

and revising, by the processor, a building estimate based upon the modifications to the material tree.

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11. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further including:

receiving, on the data interface, cost information relating an element of the plurality of elements and a first supplier;

determining, by the processor, a cost difference between the element from the first supplier and the element from at least a second 30 supplier; and presenting, on a data interface, the cost difference.

2018267643 22 Nov 2018
12. The method of claim 11, further including determining, by the processor, that the cost difference is greater than a threshold.
13. The method of claim 11, further including:

determining, by the processor, that the first supplier is less expensive than the second supplier;

determining, by the processor, a building estimate based upon costs of the first supplier.
14. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further including: receiving, on a data interface, an availability of a contractor; determining, by the processor, that the contractor is unavailable at a scheduled time; and revising, by the processor, a building estimate to include one of a revised schedule time for the contractor and a new contractor.
15. A system for generating a building estimate, including:

a processor;

a data interface coupled to the processor; and a memory coupled to the processor including instruction code executable by the processor for:

receiving, on the data interface, a plan of a building; determining, based upon the plan, a plurality of elements required to construct the building;

retrieving, from a data store, a plurality of activities, at least one activity associated with an element of the plurality of elements;

determining a building estimate, based at least in part upon the plurality of elements and the plurality of activities; and generating at least one work order based upon the plurality of activities.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the memory further includes instruction code, executable by the processor, for:

2018267643 22 Nov 2018 receiving, on the data interface, a modification to the plan; determining, based upon the modification to the plan, a revised plurality of elements required to construct the building; and determining a revised building estimate at least in part based upon 5 the revised plurality of elements and the plurality of activities.
17. The system of claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the memory further includes instruction code, executable by the processor, for:

receiving, on the data interface, a modification to the plan;

10 determining, by the processor and based upon the modification to the plan, a revised plurality of activities; and determining, by the processor, a revised building estimate at least in part based upon the plurality of elements and the revised plurality of activities.
18. The system of any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the memory further includes instruction code, executable by the processor, for generating, by the processor, a plurality of work orders based upon the plurality of activities.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory further includes instruction code, executable by the processor, for interactively presenting the plurality of work orders for printing based upon a date of the work order.
20. The system of any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the memory further includes instruction code, executable by the processor, for automatically generating invoices based upon the building estimate.