Here are a few links related to today’s episode:

• Join the Bluebeam User Group
• Download a zip file with instructional videos and some of the tools Patrick mentions in this episode
• Contact Patrick McLaughlin on LinkedIn if you’re interested in more information about customizing Bluebeam
• Try Bluebeam for free

00:00 - Introduction
Today we’re visiting with Patrick McLaughlin and Steve Smith.

Patrick is the Director of Virtual Design and Construction at Pond & Company (a full-service architecture, engineering, planning, and construction management firm). He is also responsible for managing and training Pond’s Bluebeam users and for helping those users develop time-saving workflows.

Steve Smith entered the construction industry straight out of high school as a laborer for a general contractor. He held positions at Leica Geosystems and Hilti before joining Bluebeam, where he now works as Director of Partnerships. In this role, Steve looks for ways to expand the use of Bluebeam workflows through integrations with other technologies used by AEC professionals.

03:50 - Better Use of Bluebeam
Patrick gives us a brief overview of Pond & Company, which is on the large end of the spectrum, and we acknowledge that Eddie will be today’s representative from a small company.

Tyler explains that our goal today is to save listeners some time, so he asks Patrick to kick us off with some of his favorite Bluebeam tools.

• Compare PDFs - This tool superimposes two versions of a layout.
• Cloud PDFs - This tool backs up changes to the cloud.
• Search - This tool can be used to locate and then strike-through words that become irrelevant in new versions. Tyler mentions that the history of those changes is stored for future reference.

Tyler shares about his experience as a detailer dealing with the numerous tweaks that occurred while he was working on a series of Wawa gas stations. Patrick mentions that the alignment function would have helped with those problems.

11:30 - Custom Tools
Patrick talks about how easy it is for users to create their own tools and then to organize those into a toolkit.

Eddie talks about the sketching tools and lines that he uses, and Scott refers to how central that feature has come for some fabricators. We discuss metadata and filenames. Patrick explains how Bluebeam folder structures can increase the fluidity of the design and communication processes.

Even on a small team, Eddie explains that thoughtful training helps to keep a team’s button layouts consistent.

20:10 - Dashboards
Patrick talks about how the dashboards feature enables you to create buttons that open any file on your computer, take you to any website on the Internet, or goes directly to any folder on your hard drive or server. These buttons can then be saved as a dashboard template that others can use on their computer.

Eddie explains that this versatility all the way up to the managerial level is one of the reasons that he loves Bluebeam. He asks Patrick to take us through the process of creating a dashboard, and he does so. He has gone so far as to develop entire landing pages for all of the departments in his company.

27:27 - Studio
Patrick discusses the two features within Studio:
-Projects allows you to upload a file of any type and share it with team members.
-Sessions allows you to upload entire PDFs–even large ones–that multiple people can then edit simultaneously.
-The creation of custom statuses that can then be color-c

Eddie shares his own experience with sharing of files and sessions even with people who don’t have Bluebeam. Steve talks through the extent to which that kind of sharing can take place.

37:55 - Field Reports
Patrick talks about using iPads during site visits. He uses voice-to-text to add notes on the PDF. These notes can then be synced up when he gets back to the office. These changes can then be compiled into a report to communicate changes to the relevant parties.

40:15 - Right-click Apply All Pages
Patrick shares this one final tip that you’ll want to use at the end of a long day. Then Eddie shares a little trick he’s learned to track those who’ve worked on the plans.

43:38 - BUGs - Bluebeam User Groups
Steve talks through the benefits of participating in one of various user groups that can help you increase your proficiency.

45:14 - Megaphone Message
Steve and Patrick share their excitement about the amazing things happening in the construction industry.

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