When done properly, electronic plan review enormously improves the efficiency of the reviewing agency. ThThis takes pressure off of the designers and contractors, saves them money and keeps them from breaking the law to survive.

Misconceptions of Electronic Plan Review Plan reviewers that have never done electronic plan review usually think it's too complicated to learn and operate. In fact, electronic review has exactly the opposite effect. It's very easy to set up and greatly simplifies the review work. Also, design firms are very receptive to it, since they realize the advantages it provides them.

Another reason reviewing agencies resist electronic review is because they think it's expensive. I use a computer work station with a 500 GB hard drive and dual screens (30-in. and 27-in. flat panel monitors). The bigger the screens and the higher the resolution the better, and you need at least 4 GB of RAM (preferably 8 GB or more). In 2006 the total hardware cost was around $10,000. As of this writing, however, computer hardware producers have come out with improved lines of work stations that are considerably less expensive. The total hardware cost has dropped to around $3,500 for a better setup than I use.

Also, there is concern about the cost of software. Good CADD software costs upwards of $4,000. However, the premier CADD software producer in the country provides an excellent plan review program as a free download from its website. So if you think the software is expensive, think again. It costs nothing.

Another concern is the expense of CADD training. It takes some education and a good deal of experience to become a proficient CADD operator. That’s not the case with the plan review software. It’s simple enough that training isn’t necessary at all. Evidently the people that developed it realized the need for review software and also realized that plan reviewers aren’t CADD operators. They had the foresight to develop a simple program specifically for that purpose. Any plan reviewer with minimal computer knowledge can easily be performing electronic review in a very short period of time.

Summary Following is an outline of the advantages of electronic plan review:

The economics of speed: With electronic correspondence, documents are submitted and returned immediately over the internet rather than by postal mailing. There is no wasted time mailing rejected documents. Resubmittal is performed instantly. This reduces design cost and cost of delays of construction startup caused by excessive review time. Other savings include eliminating paper, postage, printing, packaging, and associated manpower costs to do all of that. This saves time and money for the design firms and the government as well.

Eliminating paper: This is a tremendous advantage to the reviewer and reviewing agency. When everything is done electronically there is no need for paper document filing cabinets, flat file cabinets, hanging files or large amounts of physical storage space. There is no need for drafting boards. Everything is accessed instantly by simply turning on your computer.

Archiving: If older archived documents need to be retrieved, there is no need to go to a warehouse and dig through paper files. When stored electronically, documents several years old can be accessed at once. Years of project files can be saved on DVDs or data storage chips and will take up less physical space than a desk drawer.

Simplicity: This is the most misunderstood part of electronic plan review. Failing to realize the simplicity of it is the reason it isn’t happening. Setting up electronic review is not only one of the easiest things I’ve ever done, it makes the review process itself tremendously simpler as well. It takes a little time and a bit of revolutionary thinking, but once in place, it very effectively simplifies the reviewer’s work. You need powerful equipment, and an effective electronic filing system, but you do not have to be a CADD operator. It takes no specialized training.

Technological advancement: Implementing electronic review puts the government reviewing agency on an advanced technical level equal to that of the design firms. That’s where it should be. This allows design firms to capitalize on the efficiency of their electronic design methods.

Diplomacy: There is another technological advancement that a lot of reviewers don’t seem to know about. It’s called the telephone. Unlike most reviewers, anytime I review a project I call and talk to the designer. In concert with the speed of electronic submittal, the telephone provides instant communication that makes the review process quicker and more amicable. A phone call is diplomatic. It