Emjay Systems Inc - Data Management Services

Why do we need data anyway?

There are several components that make up EVERY mechanical contractor's bid on EVERY project.  There are unitary material costs, material quoted costs, labor unitary costs, labor lump sum costs, subcontracting costs, equipment costs, efficiencies, and bid multipliers.  Armed with all of these items we can compile our price and send it our for consideration.   Data, good data, makes this process go smoothly!

Though some pricing gets presented by vendors and subcontractors, much of our bids comes from unitary data that can be utilized on virtually every bid.  Our labor units, material units, mark-ups, unit pricing and multipliers are very much the same and are handled a data sets.  For example, 3" CS pipe has a fairly consistent labor unit for installation and a material unit for purchase that can be count on to be consistent on every bid.

That's what we are talking about when it comes to data management!  It's all the slightly variable data units that make up a bid that need to be properly maintained so the bid is as accurate as possible.

Data Sets? What are they?

A great Mechanical Estimating System is built solely on three things.  The raw data held somewhere within the system.  The handling of that data to compile it into legible parts and good reporting so the bid can be read, processed and manipulated.

Granted, there is much more to it but as it relates to data that about tells the story.  We have data sets for each piping group, like PVC piping, Victaulic piping, copper sweat piping, galvanized spiral ductwork, Aquatherm piping systems, etc.

For each type of system and piping type, there are associated data sets that control the labor, the material costs, unitary data and they impact the cost of your project depending on what you are putting into your take-off as your bid progresses.

Our job is to make sure these minutes bits of information are accurate and ready to be used by the program when needed.  There are literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of information, data sets, that need to be updated on a fairly regular basis.

What are the systems types?

Data sets are then managed by the program and assembled into system types.  We do have lots of different types of systems that are critical as it relates to offering a Total Mechanical Contracting Estimating System.  Some of these systems are as follows:

PVC DWV Piping
Carbon Steel Grooved
Carbon Steel Threaded
Carbon Steel Butt Welded
SS Butt Welded
SS Sanitary Butt Welded
SS Pharmaceutical Welded
Aquatherm Piping
Flanges of multiple classes
Ductwork of several grades
Fiberglass Piping
Galvanized Steel Socket Weld
Galvanized Steel Threaded
Copper Sweat
Copper Braze
Copper Grooved
And many more ...

we have over 150 different common material system types to choose from for your projects.

How much does this cost?

There has been literally thousands of hours put into the building and the developing of this Mechanical Estimating System so we could share it with you.  You are getting the benefit of countless days of working on data and programming.  So the cost?  It is minimal and well worth every penny!

The initial cost your largest investment in this system helps us put time and effort into sales, marketing, improvements and developing more things to help you. 

After the initial purchase, you will have a maintenance fee that must be paid to continue your use of this system. 

It's kind of like joining a mechanical estimating club where we all work together to keep ourselves functioning at  a high level.  It is critical for all of us to make sure we have the best to do our job!

Overall this is the best money you will ever spend to keep up with your estimating data and making sure your proposal go out the door with the best price that you can offer on any given day!

Why should we have accurate estimates?

The more accurate your project estimate is the more you are going to be able to plan for success.  It's not like it was years ago, when you put out your best guess and there was enough money in the job you could make a few mistakes and still be able to make money.  No more!

We all have to make sure we don't miss anything in our bids, AND we must manage our labor very closely.  A skilled tradesman which we all use, are valuable and the only place we have to make money is to beat our labor expense.  How do we do that?  We have to plan better and try to minimize our amount of time needed on the job to get it successfully completed.

To be able to do that, we must have a great bid to start with.  From there we can plan our most effective execution plan to ensure that we have a successful way to go about getting the job done on time and under budget!

What do the other systems do?

The other guys have an interesting approach towards data management - they just don't do it!  Yes the big boys have data services available for you to use costing several thousand dollars per year and you need to manage it!  Kind of cool huh?

The problem is you aren't in the data management business, and honestly what general happens is, the money gets spent in other ways and you very expensive software system systematically piece by piece becomes obsolete and really an elaborate spreadsheet that does contain accurate information any more!

We don't see a scenario where that even remotely works or is okay with us!  We are selling you a Total Solution for you to run your company on and it needs to be fully operational and up to date, period!

This is exactly why we maintain the data, and we consider this to be not an option.  Our maintenance fees are much cheaper because we handle it and we make sure the data is good for OUR system so you don't have to worry!

How do the updates work?

Data sets and program updates are a continual thing if you are doing your job properly.  If you have ever purchased a software system and you also decided not to purchase the maintenance?  To put it nicely, you just wasted your money and your time because now you are potentially missing an improvement that could make all the difference in the way it operates.

This is exactly why we decided to make our maintenance fees mandatory as long as you continue to use the software.  This is a team effort and why wouldn't it be of interest to anyone using our software, you get up to date data AND software improvements that WILL save you time and make your bids better and more accurate!

As far as how they work?  It's really simple.  We work with the cloud storage provided to you, and when an update is available you will be notified.  You then have an opportunity to upgrade and you follow the instructions.

There are time when it is not so frequent and there are time when they are more often.  We try to save them up so it doesn't cause interruption.

Why data maintenance?

Data maintenance is something we have spent some time explaining here.  It is critical to your and our success going forward with this system.  Here's why.

Piping manufacturers are continually changing their material pricing and those prices need to be accounted for when they happen.  If you don't do this then you can no longer trust your estimating system since the pricing is no longer accurate. So now, armed with your "normal" discounts off of the list price you are coming up short and the worst part is you do not know it!

I am sure on most larger project bids, your procedure it to get pricing from the supplier to "check" the numbers.  What if you didn't have to do this on the smaller projects?  How much time would that save you in bidding the bulk of your bids, your "bread and butter" projects, the small jobs that come and go all the time!

Data Maintenance helps you be better informed on pricing trends, better equipped to handle your project buys, and more accurate bids every time!  Who wouldn't want that and we are here to help you get it done!

Data makes the world go around!

What are we doing here really?  Yes we are putting together an easy way to do a take-off, we certainly have accomplished that!  We are helping you train your estimators to be better at their trade and put out more reliable and accurate numbers to hopefully improve your chances at selling where you can be profitable.  But what else is going on here?

We are maintaining, handling and manipulating data for you - that is huge!  When you are done with your take-off, essentially your work is complete and your bid is almost done!  That is the way it should be!

The data we maintain for you is up to date, and you can go to your computer and do the technical things that you are good at and let us worry about the rest!

We believe that the data is one of the strongest things we have to offer and with all of it, you will soon be the one that your customer will rely on for the most comprehensive and complete project bids!  Now isn't that what we all want?  We think so too!