#1 most frequent
United States of America
89.6%1,300 installations of 1,451
What is HCSS?
HCSS is a construction software suite. It includes functionality for bidding, time card and project management, safety, planning, scheduling, equipment management, and data warehousing and reporting. Each module can be purchased separately. The suite can be hosted in the cloud.
Categories & Use Cases
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Screenshot of HeavyBid - build the structure of an estimate
Top Performing Features
Photo documentation
Users can document construction progress and/or issues by uploading photos from the field.
Category average: 8.4
Issue tracking & punchlists
Users can track issues from the field, and create punchlists upon substantial completion.
Category average: 8.2
Jobsite reports
Users can create and share reports on jobsite safety, daily progress, etc.
Category average: 8.3
Areas for Improvement
Plan markups & sharing
Users can annotate plans from the field and easily share plans/markups with other project stakeholders.
Category average: 8.2
Collaboration & approvals
Users can comment, send messages, and/or approve documents.
Category average: 8.1
RFI tools
Users can create, send, receive, and archive Requests for Information (RFIs), to record exchanges with subcontractors, vendors, and other suppliers.
Category average: 8.3
Who Buys & Uses HCSS
#2 most frequent
Canada
5.3%77 installations of 1,451
#3 most frequent
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1.4%21 installations of 1,451
The only one for heavy civil construction
Pros
- Production costs
- Production tracking
- Equipment allocations
Cons
- Appears complicated at initial onset; messy interface
- Not very user friendly, even after training
- Cumbersome when used in conjunction with other platforms
Return on Investment
- Forecasting
- Production
Other Software Used
Procore, Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Yardi Voyager
Usability
A Leader in the Construction World
Pros
- HCSS works wonderfully as a timecard. Using the application is very easy and it speaks very well to our data systems.
- HCSS is the pinnacle of estimating tools. It allows multiple analytics and set-ups for estimators. In addition, conversions of your bid into budgets are extremely easy once exported.
- Within HeavyJob, once you enter in manhours and production data they run all the data analysis for you, providing graphs and figures from your inputs.
Cons
- The software itself seems to be a bit outdated as far as user interface
- I'm not sure if this is a result of too much data or what, but the programs tend to be on the slower side when importing and exporting data.
Alternatives Considered
Sage Estimating
Other Software Used
Procore, DocuSign, Sage 500 ERP
The Cadillac Software
Pros
- Customer support.
- Easy to use.
Cons
- I can't think of any!
Return on Investment
- Money savings.
- Ability to bid more projects in less time.
From a Paper Notepad to a Sofeware Program, what an upgrade.
Pros
- Dispatcher's history function is of great use. The ability to quickly know what job and what crew used a certain piece of equipment is very useful.
- Dispatcher's ability to transfer information from one user to the next to reports for end users saves a lot of time and confusion.
- The amount of time and money that is saved by our lowboy drivers is huge because of the ability to located the piece using the GPS units
Cons
- In Dispatcher you should be able to make adjustment (date, time, equipment, notes) to scheduled equipment after it has been assigned to driver in dispatch screen
- In Dispatcher you should be able to select multiple pieces of equipment to modify in dispatch window
- Dispatch screen in Dispatcher would be better if displayed horizontally instead of vertical
Spot on estimating and Field Management software!
Pros
- #1 is support! HCSS is by far the best software support of any product we have ever used. Unlike most software companies HCSS utilizes their support calls to help upgrade their software. When you here them tell you that they will write down a particular issue you come across during a support call if they can't help you then and there they will research and get an answer to you extremely fast. If the software will not do it, you can bet there is a good chance it will be on the list of enhancements you will see come out in the near future.
- Estimating software is very extensive. Their software is capable of handling the smallest estimate all the way to the largest joint venture estimate. It has advanced features that make it extremely useful for analyzing job materials, subcontractors etc.
- HeavyJob is an extremely useful tool for the field to keep the office up to date with job costs. Everything is at the Foreman's fingertips on Tablets to allow the information from the field to get uploaded to HeavyJob manager which then can export to accounting. We are also able to give our Foreman the ability to deal with the Daily and weekly safety needs (Tailgate Meetings, incident Investigation, observations etc.) right on the Tablets thru HeavyJob.
Cons
- Dispatcher is not offered in a mobile version which we have asked for several times. I think they just don't have enough users to make it worthwhile.
- Heavybid needs to have the flexibility to add markup to add ons such as Bond and Small Tools etc.
- HCSS needs to have an onscreen takeoff to allow seamless integration of takeoff from the screen to Heavybid without having additional manual input.
Other Software Used
Bluebeam Revu
