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Complete Your Takeoff
Trench Tools
You will have Trench Tools that can display takeoff values by Linear or Volume measurements. This is the main form you will see when you launch the Trench Tool. Trench slope options can be selected from the main form.
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Sectional Cut and Fill tools are also included with this plugin and will be discussed further in this guide.(Figure 17)
Truck Parts and more…
Truck Parts are a new addition to version 3.0. Trucks allow you to calculate Import and Export totals in either CU YD or by the load. (Figure 18)
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From the right hand window for Templates, you select the folder labeled EarthWorkPro Spot Elevations. In the folder you have a template for Existing and Proposed Elevations. To launch the template either double click on it or use the Green button to the left. (Figure 19)
Default Properties
The form on the right shows the default settings. You can uncheck the box next to “Scaled” if you prefer it. Unchecking the box will make it easier to see the points you digitize on the page. (Figure 20)
Note: You can also change the properties later on after you do the digitizing.
Setting the Point and Entering the Elevation
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After all of the digitizing is done either for Existing Spot Elevations, Proposed Spot Elevations, or for both Existing and Proposed Spot Elevations you can click the Triangulate button on the Home Tab. PlanSwift will automatically draw areas in between all points and an average elevation is calculated from the three points it touches. Areas are shown in Blue for Proposed and Brown for Existing. (Figure 22)
Fixing Takeoff Mistakes
Entering Elevations
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If you made a mistake entering an elevation, and already clicked “OK” a label will show you the elevation. To change the elevation for any particular point you MUST: First, turn off the digitizer, next delete the point by Double Clicking it and finally re-digitize the point by using the green “Continue With” button found next to the item from the left hand side. (Figure 23)
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The point MUST be deleted and then re-digitized in order to enter a new elevation for it.
Digitizing Points
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If you make a mistake and click a point where there is no spot elevation simply click the “Cancel” button on the Enter Elevation window. This will close the window and automatically delete the last point placed. To continue, proceed with clicking a new point in the correct position. (Figure 25)
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For example, if you have contours of 117 and 118 you will enter 117.5 for the value of the elevation between those contours. (Figure 29) The value of 117.5 will be averaged throughout the entire area that will be digitized. Hypothetically, if you were to go to the site and walk anywhere within the area between those contours of 117 and 118 you would be, plus or minus 0.5 at most, standing at an elevation of 117.5 at any given point within that area. It is very important to understand that topography lines and contours are only a very close approximation of how the earth is curved. Earthwork Pro was developed using the fundamental basic principles that are used to approximate the area under the curve in math. The area under the curve has also been sequenced using Riemann Sums and generates even better approximations with more subintervals. These basic principles are what guide us to enter the AVERAGE elevation between the two contours for the Earthwork Pro plugin.
(Figures 28, 29, 30)
Digitizing the Area Between the Contour Lines
After you have entered the elevation and made any necessary adjustments, click Ok on the form. (Figure 28) The “Digitizer Record” button on the ribbon bar will light up RED indicating that the digitizer is in record mode and you will also see the Flying Tool Hint prompting you to “Click Next Point” (Figure 31)
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Modifying the Default Snap Settings
PlanSwift , by default, has a setting called Hover to Snap Axis which is that you can turned on in the settingsSettings. This is used for framing and is not needed for Earthwork Pro takeoffs. You will want to To turn this off in , open the Settings tab Tab on scroll to the Snapping options. Simply uncheck the box next to Hover to Snap Axis. (Figure 34)
Using the Snap Feature for Digitizing
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The REPORTS tab also has a report to display the calculations. Use the Preview tab to see it as so. (Figure 55)
Adjusting Elevations on Multiple Contours
Earlier, we showed in the properties window that elevations can be adjusted on a digitized contour. Elevations of Proposed contours are generally the ones being adjusted, but Existing can be adjusted too. (Figure 56)
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First, in the Takeoff Summary window on the left side of PlanSwift, use the lightbulbs to hide any contours you do not want to adjust. (Figure 57) Second, select the remaining contours and move them into a new folder. I labeled my new folder “Adjustments” for this example. (Figure 57) Third, click over to the Estimating Tab in PlanSwift and find those contours in the new folder you created. (Figure 58) Fourth, switch the Estimating Layout to the EWP Adjust Elevations layout, highlight all of the contours use the SHIFT key to select them, then right click in the desired column you’re are adjusting the value for and use the Fill With option to set the new value. (Figure 58)
Using Trench Tools (PlanSwift)
There are a few different trenching tools. First, you can choose to display the trench measurement by volume or by length. You can also calculate backfill by volume or by weight.
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By default the trenching tools have 5 parts attached as an assembly. Those parts are: Excavated Volume, Pipe Displaced Volume, Native Backfill, Pipe Zone Backfill, and Bedding. You can add more parts to the trenching tool from the templates, such as pipe, labor, and how many trucks needed to import or export. If you see a zero in the quantity of a part it could be a calculated value or it could be due to that part not being used, for example, not all trenches require pipe or backfill around the pipe. (Figure 60)
Using the Depth Options for a Trench
If you have a trench that has slope in it, you can use the Depth Options tab to calculate an average trench depth. You must check the box next to “Calculate Trench Depth” to see the four input properties. Enter a value for each. The trenching tool will use an average depth to then calculate the overall volume based on that average depth and the total digitized length. If your plans have trenches of multiple depths, or a single trench that will have varying depth, it is recommended that you string together several trenching tools to get the most accurate calculations. (Figure 61)
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The General Instructions tab on this form contains additional text to assist you in using this tool.
Trench Reports and Layouts
The trenching tools have their own report and estimating layout. The report summarizes each of the parts in the trenching tool. The estimating layout displays the volume or weight of each part and also shows the cross sectional area of the trench. These layouts can be very useful for seeing values quickly. (Figures 62 and 63)
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The Trenching Pipe parts include a part for creating your own pipe. It is recommended that you first copy and then paste that part and then modify the copied part. This will allow you to reuse the custom part as many times as you like. Copy and Pasting parts is a very common way to customize your PlanSwift parts and enhance your Earthwork Pro plugin. (Figure 66)
Using Sectional Cut & Fill Tools
From the Templates window on the right hand side expand the folder for Sectional Cut and Fill Tools. There is single tool for Cut and a single tool for Fill. Double click or click on the green “record” button to launch these tools from the right panel in Templates. (Figure 67)
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To reuse the item, the green “Continue With” button on the left panel in Pages or Takeoff Summary will launch the takeoff item again with the same station distance. The station distance is automatically inserted into the name of the item for reference. (Figure 70)
Using Parts with (Enter Qty)
From the left hand panel in the Templates window open the folder and choose the part you need. These parts require you to enter a value for the quantity (as opposed to most other types of parts which have a calculated value for the quantity)
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Note: It is important to understand that these parts will not update their values like other parts do because you are entering the quantity instead of having it calculated from the takeoff items.
Using Layouts and Reports
Estimating Layouts on the Estimating Tab
The Earthwork Pro plugin comes with several pre-built layouts inside of the Estimating tab. These are designed to allow you to quickly view property values in different columns on the estimate grid. The grid and its columns will change when you click on the layout. (Figure 72)
Note: For Metric users, the (M) indicates that the layout has some specific properties that use metric units instead of imperial.
You can print any off these layouts from the estimating tab or export them to Excel.
(Figure 73)
Report Layouts on the Reports Tab
Reports are designed to function a little differently than the estimate. Reports have more filters built into them and are more printer friendly. The estimating data is what feeds information to the Reports. On the “Show on Report” estimating layout, we have built a simple way to filter the estimating data on or off of the Report. (Figure 74)
Note: This a feature we built into Earthwork Pro and is not found on other PlanSwift items by default.
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You can also export to more formats from the Reports tab and print the reports as well. (Figure 76)
Printing the Image
When you click on the print button inside of the Earthwork Pro window, you will get a print preview window. From this window, you can print the image or export the image into a PDF or other image type. (Figure 77)
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