Choose from additional case studies ------------------------ Drywall contractor finds Sage Timberline Office improves efficiency and makes it easy to track job profitability C.F. Jordan finds flexibility and ease with Sage Timberline Office. Job Cost adaptability means perfect fit for diverse developer. Property Management enhances developer's recurring efficiencies. Accounting gives new lease on doing more with less. Managing subs with Sage Timberline Office accounting gives G.C. edge. Management co.'s diversity finds match with Sage Timberline Office flexibility. Accounting and reporting is at heart of S.F. Furniture Mart. Ruvin Bros. boosts service with detailed job costs. Arbor Custom Homes revel in wowing customers, subs and suppliers. Production management helps grow revenues for Crosswinds. Nabholz Construction Corp. tackles year-end with ease. Kilroy Realty's use of forecasting casts no doubt. Midland finds all-in-one integration, security, and customization. Turner Heritage Homes doubles work load, not staff. Production homebuilder tracks profits via Production Management. Production builder does more with significantly less effort. Accounting and property management helps developer leverage growth, operate lean. Job Cost allows Australian builder to account for all costs. Lee Masonry finds rock solid, flexible-fit solutions. Accounting sparks new efficiencies for Hydaker-Wheatlake. Full integration, flexible reporting parlayed into Wenzel's success. Mechanical contractor embraces security and control through integration. Software saves HVAC service company time, money. Electrical contractor Paul A. Nickle banks on Payroll. Linear Electric adds Sage Timberline Office to simplify, accelerate accounting. Port estimating gets done in a fraction of the time. Vandenberg Air Force Base picks up speed with Sage Timberline Office. Best Buy includes estimating and accounting with best practices. Efficient estimating saves Dow Corning on capital improvements. Demolition leader gets flexibility and report detail to impact bottom line. EMR Drywall juggles jobs with ease. Flexible reporting leads B.R. Fries to more opportunity. Industrial gases supplier Praxair Inc. cuts estimating time in half. Eby Construction gains consistency from Sage Timberline Office versatility. G.C. puts Project Management to work, adds to bottom line. HFH manages premier office building with Sage Timberline Office James Frank Construction: Detailed Perfection With Sage Timberline Office Federal labs streamline estimates. People's First Properties Banks on Sage Software Van Tassel Construction Grows with Sage Software and Timberline Office Forms Nevada Developer Builds Success With Sage Timberline Office Mechanical Contractor Gets A Handle on Costs With Sage Timberline Office Managing The Paper Trail: Document Management Delivers Success Sage Timberline Office facilitates success for Control Group Thor Construction Thrives With Sage Timberline Office
Efficient estimating saves Dow Corning on capital improvements

Multi-national corporation Dow Corning relies on Sage Timberline Office estimating software for quick, accurate estimates when it's making decisions on capital improvements and construction projects.

Lead Estimator David Rupp says he and another estimator do up to 400 estimates a year using Sage Timberline Office mostly for conceptual estimates used by economic evaluators to decide whether a proposed project makes good business sense.

"I can do five or six different options with different configurations and different types of equipment and different materials of construction while looking for the lowest cost and the one with the best fit," Rupp says. "Sage Timberline Office makes it easy to change a few details on an estimate for comparison purposes."

Multiple users made easy
With thousands of employees and sites around the world, Dow Corning has more estimating work than its two full-time estimators could possibly keep up with. So Rupp put together a two- to four-hour training program that introduces new users to Sage Timberline Office software as well as general estimating concepts.

"If they want to know how much it costs to put in a pump, they can do it very quickly on their own. If they're talking about opening up a whole new site in a new country, then they generally come to the two of us here in Midland, Mich.," Rupp says.

With 13 licenses to use the software, Dow Corning has two full-time users, about 10 part-time users and up to 75 occasional users, Rupp estimates. They manage that by using the Sage Timberline Office License Manager, which they keep on a central server that all the employees can access.

"Using license manager, we can keep track of who has access and who doesn't," Rupp says. "One of the problems we had was people trying to use the software when they didn't understand how to, so now we don't give them access to the database on our server unless they go through the training. I'm the gatekeeper."

Customizable assemblies
With so many occasional users, Rupp says he needed to find a way to make using the software as easy as possible for people who might not remember its finer points.

"It's not like a bicycle where you don't use it for two months and you go right back to it. People tend to forget," Rupp says.

So he designed numerous assemblies that simplify the estimating process with straightforward questions that are easy for the user to answer without remembering formulas.

"With the assemblies, these people can very quickly go in and get an estimate and not have to remember all the background things to take into consideration because we prompt them," Rupp says. "The two of us here at Midland have put together all of the questions they need for a particular type of normal installation, whether it be a tank, a pump a building. We've done all that pre-thinking for them."

Sharing reports
One feature that has made life easier at Dow Corning is the ability to create a PDF file of a report. That allows Rupp to share his estimates with colleagues around the world electronically even if they don't have the Sage Timberline Office estimating software.

"In the past, we had to send hard copies. You either had the software or you had to have a hard copy. With the PDF file, I can print the estimate out or it can be electronically sent to people around the world, and they don't have to know anything about the software," Rupp says.

Download Printable Version (PDF)