NOVA AVA Updates 2018: What the year had to offer

31. December 2018

The NOVA AVA updates 2018 have noticeably simplified day-to-day work. New automation, greater ease of use and clever improvements to details have made AVA work even more efficient. 2018 was all about smart functions that save you time and make it easier to get an overview. Which highlights were particularly impressive? Find out at a glance here.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

News from February 2018

Beta version: UPDATE for NOVA AVA BIM Add-On!

And it’s all in there!

Thank you for your feedback! And here are the features that we have been able to implement since the launch of the beta phase: improved interpretation of quantity information from IFC (IFCBaseQuantities, PSets_Revit, Archicad, …)
Integration of all extended component properties (PSets)
Filtered views and cost evaluations directly in the 3D viewer when activating a characteristic of a component, e.g:
Material, type/variant, property (e.g. LoadBearing, IsExternal, …) …
Creation and storage of combined SmartViews for quick overviews and filters
New function for importing and exporting BIM BOQ containers in accordance with DIN Spec 93150, so that sampled 3D models can now be processed as combined information from IFC and GAEBXML
Additional option to generate the contract award specifications after selective choice of the service areas to be considered (with merging)
Optimized representation of multi-layer components and material layers from IFC
Completion of the considered elements from TGA models

February 3

New integration: the expert network on Baufragen.de

Access bundled expert knowledge directly from NOVA AVA now!

Today, knowledge and expert advice should be available quickly and on the go – and this is exactly what Baufragen.de ensures. The independent network of experts bundles specialist expertise from the construction industry and makes it easy for its users to use.

Individual questions can be answered quickly and conveniently online with specialists from construction product manufacturers and institutes. Via online chat, NOVA AVA users can now ask their questions directly from the program in around 40 different subject areas from “Fall protection” to “Doors, gates, frames”.

They then receive qualified answers on products, technical solutions or contact persons promptly. This eliminates the need for cumbersome and time-consuming research on websites, in catalogs or at trade fairs. In contrast to traditional databases for product research, Baufragen.de is specially designed for direct communication between players in the construction industry and consultants.

February 27

What March had to offer

Beta phase extended: NOVA AVA BIM Add-On

Test the BIM features until 31.03.2018!

We’re doing one more round – your opportunity to take another close look at the BIM add-on. Things will get serious from April!

Important note:
The official release will have a different data model, the models from the beta phase will not be adopted in the update.

If you still want to transfer your data:
SIMPLY SAVE IT AS A BIM-BOQ-CONTAINER

March 14

Cost planning – BOQ creation according to service areas

Derive LVs from cost planning – now even more flexible

Previously, the contract award units (CAs) already had to exist in the project in order to transfer the data from cost planning to them for tendering and cost calculation. From now on, it is sufficient to assign a service area to the cost planning items. NOVA AVA then automatically generates new service specifications based on this link. You can decide whether a separate BOQ should be created for each service area or whether several BOQs should be combined in one tender based on your selection.

STLB-Bau Online – Check for up-to-dateness

This means that tender texts are always up to date!

If a BOQ item is created with the STLB-Bau Online tender text system, then the greatest possible legal certainty is given in accordance with VOB. But what happens if the BOQ contains “outdated” content? This can now be “checked” in NOVA AVA: all item texts within a specification that has not yet been commissioned are sent to the STLB-Bau Online server and checked there for compliance with the current STLB-Bau texts, including the regulations and standards contained therein. And in the Bill of Quantities, the texts are automatically updated after the check.

Price comparison list – new print option for notes

Notes on bid items per bidder

With the new print option, notes that have been entered for the bidder’s offer items in the properties dialog can now be clearly displayed in the price comparison list.

Tendering platform – additions

New features in the tendering module

messages can now be sent freely to participants (and no longer only in response to queries)
the rejection of participation can now also be set by the tenderer himself
the rejection of participation is now also provided with a time stamp

Measurement module with amount control

The better overview

Yes, it’s true, the recording and approval of measurements is simply more practical and faster with the combined amount control! In addition, the displays for documents and comments on the measurements are now also more clearly highlighted.

March 31

BIM news and much more: Nova Ava updates from April

BIM add-on: release for starter package

BIM Add-On Starter Release!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who actively participated in the beta test! And now the time has come: the BIM add-on has been released and supports you productively with cost planning and tendering.

These are the features in the starter package:

IFC import interface (versions IFC2x3 & IFC4)
Generation and updating of the room and building book (RGB)
Model display and navigation in the 3D viewer
Bidirectional link between viewer and room book
Variable-supported quantity determination for components (sampling)

with own cost elements & (master) BOQ positions
with DBD-BIM cost elements & STLB construction items
Allocation of cost groups (DIN276) & service areas (LB)

Multi-model viewer with 3D change log

Which components are new
which have changed and how
Which elements no longer exist

Output of the room book-oriented cost planning in PDF & Excel
Creation of cost planning according to DIN276 directly from the RGB
Creation of BOQ for tendering & cost calculation from the RGB
Import & export of BIM-LV containers according to DIN SPEC 91350

April 1, 2018

BIM add-on: Compare models

Compare IFC models visually and log changes in detail!

When building models are updated, the question always arises: what exactly has changed? In the NOVA AVA BIM multi-model viewer, you can now visualize and “superimpose” several models at the same time. With the options new, changed, deleted, unchanged components, you can color models and see the differences at a glance. At the same time, you can generate detailed list outputs of component changes at the touch of a button, including a difference display of changed quantities and properties.

April 13, 2018

It’s the little things that count!

By the way …

… unobtrusive improvements are constantly flowing into NOVA AVA.

In the last few days it has been these:

Excel import with new flexibility
short and long texts can now be read and concatenated from up to 3 different columns each

Long text editor and PDF output
Indents now with improved display in the print output What could previously only be displayed using tables can now be conveniently displayed using the indent function

Update cost planning
There is now a new option to update the cost planning according to DIN276 from the BIM: either overwrite or add to it

3D model viewer – Duplicate filter
Filters can be defined in the BIM module to reduce the view in the viewer (and at the same time the cost evaluation) to certain components. This is now even faster with the “Duplicate” function…

Discount in invoices
Previously, only one discount % rate could be defined for an order; from now on, this can be done individually for each invoice

Print list cost planning
The comments column was a bit narrow – now it’s wider and easier to read

April 15, 2018

New invoice type: Budget billing without measurement

Better management of discounts without measurement

The new invoice type for construction invoicing replaces the previous advance payment. Now all invoice contents, including any deductions (net/gross) and the cash discount, can be taken into account – even if no measurements are available for the service. In the cumulative invoicing procedure, the corresponding payments actually made by the client are then taken into account and deducted in the subsequent invoices.

April 16, 2018

Announce award decision now with auto-email

Automatic e-mail notifications when an order is placed

Some are happy, others are not! After the tender evaluation in the awarding module, the order is placed. Participants can now be automatically informed of the result of the tender by system e-mail (including attachments):

the contractor receives notification of the contract award
the other participants receive a rejection

As always, you can design the templates for these emails yourself!

April 17, 2018

May 2018: New features for quantity takeoff and cost analysis

Quantity determination: more space and free sorting

Simply move calculation rows with the mouse

With the current version, quantity takeoff has become more flexible and convenient in all modules (BOQ creation, order and measurement):

new calculations and text comments are now always appended exactly where you are standing
the calculation lines and texts can now be freely sorted by drag&drop
Subtotals are always updated immediately
We have significantly increased the input lengths for explanations and free calculation approaches
Checking for compatibility with REB23.003 ensures continued compliant data exchange

May 10, 2018

Uniform typeface

Quickly adapt texts to the standard

When BOQ texts are copied from external sources, the typeface is usually not correct straight away. Either the font or the font size does not correspond to the set standard. From now on, you can standardize all texts with one call, without having to do without desired formatting such as bold, italics or underlining.

May 14, 2018

From the ‘small news’ section

… there is something to report again:

Additional print option for outputting the quantity takeoff in short and long text Bill of Quantities
New option for GAEB export for pure short text output without long texts
More security when importing quantity files thanks to the automatic archiving function
New placeholders for the invoice lists to output the order and supplement values on the check invoices

May 22, 2018

Extend cost analysis freely

Even better documentation of the cost trend

The cost analysis module enables the tabular and graphical display of project costs from the budget to the final invoice. And this on the basis of any cost structures such as DIN276, trades, IFC room books, own account lists and much more.

From now on, these structures can be expanded to include your own free “booking lines”. This means that costs that are not directly included in the project specifications but still have to be assigned to a cost group can now also be posted.

May 23, 2018

Multiple selection now also for item categories

That’s more comfortable!

Previously, the item type could only be set via the properties dialog and only individually. From now on, you can set the item category directly in the table and in one step for all selected rows.

BIM add-on – new feature for total quantities

It couldn’t be quicker or more flexible!

After importing a model, questions arise about the total quantities, e.g. these:

How many cubic meters of reinforced concrete are in the outer walls?
How many square meters of 13 mm plasterboard for the partition walls?

In combination with the filter, you can perform any searches and selections based on all available properties – you can see the result immediately in the viewer and the cost table. And from now on, you will also receive information on how many components correspond to your search and the total quantities for the component group in question.

May 29, 2018

More on BIM and other small but significant improvements. June 2018

BIM add-on – the expansion continues!

And these are the new functions!

Synchronize components:

now with a tabular preview of the affected target components
clearer with display of the respective values of the source component based on the selected property, e.g. type/variant, material, etc…
now with the option to query any quantity variables

Working with set variables:

When opening the quantity field of a line (component part, free line, BOQ item…), a selection dialog for transferring quantity variables from the component part opens with a simple click or tap on the touchscreen.

Model comparison:

Extension of the display to project name, project description and import date for better differentiation

June 07, 2018

BIM Add-On – BCF Integration

Collaboration on the 3D model is now even easier!

The BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) is an open standard format that is used by numerous CAD applications and 3D viewers to exchange comments, screenshots, camera positions and 3D section planes for IFC models with project partners.

In NOVA AVA BIM, this information is created and processed as so-called tickets. In addition, further classifications can be assigned for priority, responsible person, status, etc. A ticket can now be saved and sent as a BCF file. The project partner can import it into their tool and immediately visualize the information at the exact point in the model that you have previously “photographed”. And so that this also works in reverse, BCF files can of course also be imported into NOVA AVA BIM.

Excel interface extended

Data exchange with Excel can now do even more!

We have processed these points from the Excel wish list:

When exporting a BOS, Excel columns are now also written for the unit price shares, another new column is set for the output of the item type
When importing an Excel file for BOQ creation, the unit price shares and the item type can now also be assigned – important: the Excel output file does not have to have a specific structure, the importer is flexible!
Until now, Excel files could only be read in GAEB-LVs, from now on you can also create ÖNORM-LVs from Excel – all outline structures are supported

Small and subtle improvements

It goes on and on!

And once again there are new and improved features:

for a better overview in tables and print lists, you can now set in your profile whether headings (areas, sections, titles, …) should be displayed and printed larger
Quantities can now be easily increased or decreased as a percentage throughout the BOQ with one command
you can upload your own font (e.g. your office standard) and use it in NOVA AVA BIM
The long texts of referenced BOQ items are now also displayed / editable in the cost planning modules (according to BIM, DIN276, …)
you can now also output the notes for BOQ items in the BOQ print lists
For the print list of the price comparison list, there is a new option for neutral output with anonymized bidder names

June 30, 2018

July 2018: What’s new with the BIM add-on

BIM add-on – now also for ÖNORM!

Link ÖNORM-LVs directly with IFC models

With this new function, the item quantities can now also be linked to the components from the 3D models and transferred for ÖNORM-LVs. And, as always, it’s really easy:

Import IFC file
Assign the model in the BOQ properties
Start BOQ editing and open 3D viewer
Transfer selected component quantities and calculations to desired BOQ item(s)

BIM add-on – exciting new functions

New BIM features at the start!

The BIM add-on is getting more features, here are the latest additions:

Link 3D models directly to BOQs: simply select components using the flexible filters and assign the quantity estimates to the desired BOQ items – with automatic updating when updating the 3D model
in the BIM add-on, you can now use the filtered 3D view for previewing component samples with synchronization
the BIM add-on offers a new view and cost evaluation of the data, grouped by building component and independent of the spatial building structure
Quick search directly in the 3D model: simply enter a term and the display of the virtual building model is limited to the (component) hits as you type
Extended interface to DBD-BIM: for sampling, the cost elements based on STLB-Bau can now be transferred from DBD-BIM with direct assignment of the component dimensions.
This has a major advantage: if the building model is updated, the quantities of the items for cost planning and Bill of Quantities are adjusted fully automatically!

July 31, 2018

August 2018: These innovations came in the summer

Summer mini update

There is still a lot to do!

And that is new:

the print list of bidder details can now be output in direct comparison for all selected bids
With the BIM add-on, cost planning based on a building model can now be sampled fully automatically. The properties of the cost elements are compared with those of the components and assigned
DBD-BIM interface: the component variables can now be linked directly to the quantity formulas of DBD-BIM – cost plans and specifications are automatically updated when the model is updated
DBD-BIM-Batch: what is it?
-> This allows you to automatically link the DBD-BIM keys from IFC files with the associated STLB-Bau items – and you can create a cost calculation according to DIN276 and your Bill of Quantities from a 3D model at the touch of a button
Optimized handling on touch devices for easier moving and enlarging of application windows

August 1, 2018

BIM add-on – VOB-compliant quantities

It’s the openings that count!

For building components with openings, the decisive factor for determining the quantities using the overmeasurement rules is which service is being carried out. The simple example of the wall makes it clear: for the masonry service, the opening area of 2.5 square meters is relevant, whereas for the tiling it is 0.1 square meters. This is precisely why you can decide for yourself in NOVA AVA BIM which openings you take into account when determining the service quantities. Clear and comprehensible.

August 13, 2018

NOVA is getting even faster!

Web applications are scalable!

We have accelerated the system. Incidentally, this is also a nice advantage of cloud solutions: we scale the hardware centrally. And for you as a user, the minimum requirements remain the same: Browser and internet access!

August 13, 2018

BIM Add-On – 4D is complete!

How construction invoicing works with BIM in the cloud

The fourth dimension? That’s the costs. And in NOVA AVA BIM, you can now also work completely 3D model-based in the billing modules right up to the final invoice:

Supplement management: conveniently link components with supplement items, the dimensions are saved as subsets using variables. Clear overview: select a supplement and you can immediately see in the 3D model where the supplementary services are incurred

Recording measurements: Select components in the viewer, tick the assigned service items and enter the service status %ual, done! The system determines the measurement values for each component and order item. Practical: can of course also be used for the external service notification on the platform directly by the contractor, then the client only has to approve it!

Target/actual comparison: this then arises automatically – select components and carry out cost comparisons in the viewer

August 14, 2018

Updates on awarding and tendering – October 2018

Awarding – evaluate offers even faster in the price comparison list

Activate positions more easily in the rating

With this new function, it is now much easier to decide whether items should be evaluated or not. You can activate and deactivate items directly in the price comparison list. The variant calculation with basic, alternative and contingent items now also takes place without an additional dialog. You can see at a glance: what if?!

October 17, 2018

Tender – negotiate offers with target price

Now with target price negotiation!

In the Awarding module, any bid (e.g. the “ideal bidder”) can now be specified as the basis for the negotiation procedure with the bidders. In each bidding round, you have the option of setting the target price yourself on the online platform!