The 2019 Nova Ava updates have brought a breath of fresh air to construction cost management. With new modules, smarter functions and improved user convenience, workflows have been made more efficient and transparent. Whether scheduling, invoice overviews or BIM integration. 2019 was all about innovation and user orientation. Below you can see which features really made an impact this year and how they can change your project management.
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January 2019: Scheduling becomes smart and BIM 5D moves in
BETA: New scheduling module (Gantt) & BIM 5D
For Bau 2019 from 14.01. online for everyone!
Beta release of the new module for schedules
Within a NOVA project, you can now create one or more project plans for appointments. You can choose between “free” or “model-based” schedules. Dates and periods are optionally linked to components and services via the BIM add-on. Dependencies (e.g. start/end) between the individual dates can be used to determine the critical path. And date-related analyses for financial planning can be created in conjunction with the costs of the respective services.
January 7, 2019
All sorts of useful things
Not just large construction sites!
In addition to the implementation of overarching topics such as BIM 5D, we are constantly working on improving general functions in NOVA AVA BIM. We have now released these features online:
- Define print templates globally for all document types – just tick the box and your template for the cover page, header and footer applies to all print lists
- Quantity calculations for length and area dimensions are rounded to 2 decimal places – cubatures are rounded to 3 decimal places, this setting can now be freely set in the list of units for items
- Presetting for catalog assignments (e.g. DIN276 or LB) when creating new quantity approaches
- New DIN 276 edition 2018 is ready for use
- Correction in HVA-STB BOQ check for STLK guidelines (length of short texts) and adaptation of GAEB export as well as improved display in the print output of multi-line short texts
- Print version of the BOQ exam is now available
- GAEB-compliant processing of dependencies and references between execution descriptions combined with reference and repeat description procedures for BOQ items
January 31, 2019
February 2019: Comfort for texts, colors in the model & invoice lists
New print list for project invoices
All invoices of the project in one list!
Many of you had wished for this: an overview to list all approved invoices within the project. Now it works – the PDF is generated from the cost analysis project module!
February 6, 2019
Search and replace
Revising texts is now even easier!
The Bill of Quantities contains the same text in many places and has to be changed everywhere? This was also high on the wish list: replacing free text parts in the BOQ with one call. This can now be done using the new “Find and replace” function in the Edit menu of the Bill of Quantities. And optionally, the units can also be changed quickly, e.g. from unit to ST.
February 20, 2019
BIM Add-On – Filter models with color
Colors help to visualize quickly
With the current version, components selected via filters in 3D models can now be displayed in a selectable color. Increases the overview again!
February 28, 2019
March 2019: BIM cost planning explained by video from basics to professional
New videos on BIM – Cost planning
Cost planning at the touch of a button
Cost planning made easy using a BIM building model. Watch the 5 new videos on the topic!
Watch the first video:
More will follow!
March 5, 2019
Playlist for BIM 5D extended
The next videos are online!
Just take a look. This is all about what you can do with a sample cost plan – at the touch of a button:
- Cost calculation according to DIN276
- Breakdown of costs by service area
- Bill of Quantities for the invitation to tender
We also show how a BOQ can be linked to 3D models for quantity takeover and see what a BIM BOQ container is.
March 14, 2019
Cost planning – new columns
Now work with “from – to” values!
Is the cost planning too precise? Whenever you work with exact values, e.g. the unit prices from linked BOQ items, precise results are produced on the cost groups and totals lines. It can therefore be useful to enter flat-rate amounts “from – to” when submitting a cost estimate to the client. We have provided new fields for this purpose. Simply fill them in and use them as an option for PDF and Excel outputs. And we have also optimized the list, from now on all fields can be freely added and removed.
March 19, 2019
April 2019: Tables, appointments & viewers: Everything faster, more flexible, more colorful
Filter tables at lightning speed
Even more overview – with color!
Click here for the video: https://youtu.be/GQvNgTRJmQQ
In the NOVA AVA tables, rows can be marked with a color coding. This is useful, for example, to mark BOQ items or cost groups where something still needs to be done or that they have been completed.
What’s new is that we have now made the selection mode multiselect-capable (Ctrl/Cmd/Shift). And we’ve also added a super-fast filter, so you can filter exactly the lines you want to see and edit with just two clicks.
And the full text search now also works with the filter. Advantage: you can see the search and filter results immediately!
April 10, 2019
BIM 3D viewer – the new settings
This is how you can set the viewer for you!
There are now options to display edges and lines of the components and to set the zoom point and the zoom direction.
April 11, 2019
Variable deadlines for execution and acceptance of services
Appointments can now be booked with free time periods
Previously, only date fields for the details of execution and acceptance were available as “from date” / “to date”. We have made this more flexible and created new fields. There you can enter, for example: “expected in September”
April 17, 2019
May 2019: Email templates as you need them
Create e-mail templates easily
Just as flexible as the print templates!
You can now easily and conveniently design your own e-mail templates for all notifications:
- Invitation to tender
- Awarding
- Performance recording
- Documents
- User interactions
With everything that goes with it:
- Formatting
- Graphics
- intelligent placeholders
And when NOVA sends emails for you, you can choose from your standard templates or refine the content of your email individually.
May 21, 2019
June 2019: Cloud boost, award power & award vibes
NOVA Cloud Computing
Database clusters, load balancers & Co !
Every day, new users decide to use NOVA AVA and BIM 5D in the cloud. This naturally means growing data volumes and higher traffic. With cluster technologies and load balancing systems, we guarantee not only consistent but also constantly improved performance for BIM-supported construction cost management: ready for BIG DATA!
June 2, 2019
NOVA nominated for the DETAIL Product Award 2019
NOVA AVA BIM 5D is nominated for the DETAIL Product Award 2019 in the category “Building Technology and Digital Systems” Whoop whoop whoop! And vote now – every click counts 🙂
June 3, 2019
From the tough everyday life of AVA…
…we also receive feature requests, of course, and they are not neglected! This is what we have been doing recently:
General: the number of decimal places for amounts can now be set to 2 for all print lists
Excel interface for Bill of Quantities: catalog assignments for items (e.g. to DIN276 cost groups, service areas or own cost breakdown structures) are now also supported – simply set the mapping in the column header!
Price comparison list: there are new evaluation and analysis functions for filtering outliers. This can also be used to create documents for price negotiations via PDF output
Price comparison list: a new option is available to output the bidder details in the print list of the bid comparison
Cost planning: BIM-based or according to DIN276 and trades – now calculations can be variably priced via the price list of the master BOQ items differentiated according to project characteristics, time periods, regions, etc. at the click of a mouse
Cost planning: previously, assigned BOQ items could not be edited – this is now possible, both for master BOQ content and for items from external libraries such as STLB-Bau Online!
Cost planning with Open BIM: Transfer of component information to cost determination in accordance with DIN276/LB/… An option can now be used to decide whether the individual component values (quantity and cost estimates) should be transferred in detail or summarized. In addition, the level of detail of the information for submission to the client can be controlled via the print output.
June 23, 2019
July 2019: NOVA AVA becomes IFC-certified
BIM Add-On – IFC certification for NOVA AVA BIM Add-On
The IFC import interface (2×3) is certified
NOVA AVA is the first web-based application for construction cost management worldwide to receive the official certificate from buildingSMART for successful testing of the IFC2x3 import interface (CV 2.0).
Click here for the certificate
This quality test ensures that you can use all the information for your 3D model-based cost planning and AVA numerically, semantically and in the viewer in accordance with the rules when importing a BIM IFC file.
Incidentally, there are only two AVA systems from Germany that can boast this seal of approval. You can find the official list of certified applications here:
July 21, 2019
August 2019: Rethinking controlling
Cost planning and controlling
New controlling evaluations using several criteria
Services can be assigned to different cost keys in NOVA, for example to DIN276, to service areas, to cost units, and much more. For cost planning and tracking, it is now possible to control costs based on these multiple criteria, e.g:
How high is the cost share – for cost unit A – in relation to DIN cost group 330 – differentiated by main order and supplements?
What costs are attributable to – service area 13 – in construction phase 4 – at the time of the cost calculation?
Such questions are now answered at the touch of a button in a PDF output.
August 27, 2019
September 2019: New GAEB interface, EFB forms & text portals
EFB Forms 221-222-223
New print lists now available!
Public clients request the EFB forms (221-222-223) for price determination for the tender review and contract award. With the newly implemented print outputs, you can now create the corresponding PDF documents directly from NOVA AVA.
September 6, 2019
Cost planning with Heinze Bauoffice and Ausschreiben.de
Sampling and cost planning according to DIN276
In the cost planning module, you can now also access the service descriptions from the Heinze Bauoffice online portals and the Ausschreiben.de library. This means that two additional text sources and price databases are available both for the sampling of BIM building models and for the creation of rough positions for cost estimates in accordance with DIN276.
September 15, 2019
GAEB data exchange X51 for cost planning
Importing and exporting cost plans
NOVA now processes the new GAEB exchange phase X51. This allows you to import cost plans from external systems, process them further and, of course, export them again. We have already implemented the interface in advance in accordance with the GAEB XML 3.3 regulations!
September 19, 2019
December 2019: STLB-Bau 2.0, more speed & invoice overview deluxe
STLB-Bau Online – New interface V2.0
Fewer clicks – more convenience!
With the newly integrated interface V2.0, working with STLB-Bau Online is now even easier: new items can be created directly one after the other without the window closing. The same applies to the subsequent editing and checking of items.
December 13, 2019
NOVA is faster!
BIM increases the amount of data
With conventional on-premise systems, it then depends on the memory of your device. For BIM models and for what you can do with them in the context of construction cost management. In the NOVA Cloud, the resources are many times higher – and we have also optimized the engine once again to further increase performance!
December 14, 2019
Project controlling – better invoice overview
Often desired = realized
We have now extended the print list of the project-related invoice overview (available from the cost analysis).
These are the new contents:
- Issue of the respective contractor
- all cumulative subtotals – i.e. the total releases on the corresponding release date
- Comparison between order and cumulative invoice total
- and the evaluation of project totals for order and invoice approval
December 16, 2019