HANNOVER, Germany, December 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
In plant construction AUCOTEC's tendering solution significantly reduces the process of quoting
Obtaining estimates is a science all of its own, especially in complex plant construction. The vast variety of components alone makes compiling an accurate tender a challenge; comparison of the quotes is a procedure that can take weeks. As an element of its Engineering Base (EB) software system, AUCOTEC AG of Germany has developed a tool which significantly shortens and simplifies the tendering stage for plant operators and their suppliers.
Costly manual labour
The effort involved used to be enormous, but no longer. The firm requesting the quote starts by creating a process flow diagram (PFD) or flowsheet, from which datasheets, normally in .xls format, are generated for all the machinery and plant intended for inclusion in the tender. It is not unusual for a single tender to contain 600 of these specifications.
Firms wishing to tender must first identify their own area of expertise within the datasheets and then fill them in by hand. Tenderers specify their components depending on their own product range. Sometimes they amend the flowsheet on the basis of their own calculations, for instance by matching a drive or the surface area of a filter to the requirements. The party inviting the tender then has to "manually" compare the proposal engineering received from the various suppliers. That can take weeks. Thereafter the same procedure is repeated, involving the most interesting tenderers at least once more at a higher level of detail. Taking the cement industry as an example, the first phase of tendering can cost a big supplier as much as 100 000 US dollars, while the second stage can swallow ten times that amount in time, manpower and money.
Central data storage delivers dramatic reductions
Aucotec's solution generates enormous savings. At the press of a button, the firm inviting the bids generates a tender project in EB from the flowsheet, which tenderers can read into their own EB database, where they populate the data model with their offers. Datasheets and PFD are linked together. At the end of the quotation process EB's Tendering Manager compares each individual attribute of the object data that has been entered. Within a few minutes it displays the differences that would otherwise take weeks of work in sifting, sorting and assessment, all without switching between formats and tools, and without paper or Excel lists.
There are also major advantages for suppliers. One pilot client using EB and its tendering support achieved a 20% time saving at a stroke. One click on a datasheet is enough to find the exact position on the PFD. Working in the opposite direction, from plan symbol to datasheet, the route is every bit as quick. It is further simplified by the removal of the traditional need to enter material properties for the process media such as moisture content, weight, etc. onto every datasheet. With EB's consistent working method, one input of data is enough regardless of where the information is held; information appears in every linked display. Likewise for the tenderer, there is only one project to manage and no more need for resource-intensive data input into multiple systems.
Picture: EB saves weeks of work and a lot of money in the tendering process of plant operators and their suppliers: https://www.aucotec.com/files/dl/press/Engineering_tool_EB_saves_weeks_of_work_in_the_tendering_process.jpg
If printed, we would appreciate receiving a copy. Thank you very much!
Aucotec AG develops engineering software for the complete life cycle of machines, plants and mobile systems - with over 25 years of experience. The solutions range from flow diagrams via process control and electrical engineering for large-scale plants to modular harness design in the automotive industry. Over 40,000 Aucotec software systems are in use worldwide. Aucotec AG, with headquarters in Hanover, also comprises two additional German development centres in Frankfurt and Constance, regional distribution and support subsidiaries as well as a global network of subsidiaries and partners.
AUCOTEC AG, Hannover , Germany
Press and Public Relations: Johanna Kiesel ([email protected]), +49(0)-511-61-03-186
SOURCE AUCOTEC AG
Share this article