Congratulations to NextPlans' customer SteelFab on being named ENR Southeast Specialty Contractor of the Year. Click Here for More

This entry was posted on August 3, 2012 at 12:26 PM and has received 50321 views. There are currently 1573 comments. Print this entry.

Contact: Zane Sharpe, (866)215-0428, zanesharpe@nextplans.com
Charlotte, NC - July 22, 2012
NextPlans, an industry leading provider of construction performance management software and tools, has announced that Stephanie Hinson has joined the NextPlans' team as Program Manager.
In her role, Hinson will provide project management for existing and new clients. In addition, she will work as part of NextPlans' product development team. Hinson has over 10 years of experience in the real estate and construction industry.
"Stephanie will be a great addition to our program management team," said Zane Sharpe, Vice President of NextPlans. "She will be working with new and existing accounts to oversee the performance of existing services, and will work with our product development team on behalf of the clients."
Hinson is a member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), and has been chosen to be a part of the USGBC's "Classroom to Boardroom Diversity Mentorship Program." Under the program, undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds pursuing studies and careers in fields related to sustainability by offering their mentees professional advice, networking opportunities and career building experiences.

This entry was posted on July 20, 2012 at 12:52 PM and has received 53727 views. There are currently 3242 comments. Print this entry.

By Donald Berry, Construction Executive

Technology solution providers have been helping construction companies improve their workflows, reduce inefficiencies, increase productivity and enhance overall profitability since the advent of computing. In the past decade, the internet has accelerated the adoption and acceptance of new solutions for project collaboration, data sharing, equipment auctions and asset tracking. It also has spawned a new generation of cloud computing software and apps for tablets and smartphones. To keep contractors up to date on the latest trends in technology, Construction Executive asked the industry's leading solution providers for their insights and advice.

How can a contractor justify the costs of implementing a new software system and training employees?

Zane Sharpe, Vice President - NextPlans

To justify the costs of implementation and training associated with a new software system, a contractor has to look at soft cost as much as hard cost when evaluating alternatives. Identifying where your personnel's time is spent versus where you intended their time to be spent is a large part of the process. When making a software selection, contractors must ensure they are working with a software company that has people who understand how to manage construction projects, know how contractors make money, understand workflows, and can build a customized implementation and training approach.

Too many contractors select systems for the featured bells and whistles. While these features may be appealing, they may not impact a contractor's performance and bottom line. Make sure you choose software that your firm will utilize to its fullest capacity. Many firms invest in a costly technology solution and end up using less than 10 percent of its capabilities. This can happen as a result of poor training and implementation, but it's often the case that the contractor simply bought more technology than they really needed.

Finally, because every construction project presents unique challenges, contractors can justify their investment by selecting a flexible system that can be customized to their specific needs and business processes. If investing in software allows a contractor to refocus employees' time on responsibilities and activities that are more beneficial to the company's bottom line, then the investment in software and training has been justified.

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This entry was posted on May 25, 2012 at 11:14 AM and has received 70898 views. There are currently 3143 comments. Print this entry.

Contact: Chris Perkins, (336)724-2871, cperkins@nextplans.com

Winston Salem, NC – May 1, 2012
Latest enhancements focuses on improved bid invitation processes, batched document downloads, enhanced collaboration, and easier project notifications.

NextPlans, a provider of construction project management software, announced a series of enhancements and updates to the NextPlans system.

"We are always soliciting feedback from our users," said Zane Sharpe, Vice President of Sharpe Images. "Our development team responded by delivering a range of enhancements to the NextPlans system that will increase users efficiency and collaboration,"

The recent upgrades included:

• Easier Bid Invitations - Not only can users respond to a bid invite via email (accept and decline), but they now can respond after logging in to the NextPlans application. When they log-in, users are now are given the opportunity to accept or decline from the start page.
• Batch Document Downloading - Last year, NextPlans provided users with the ability to batch download project documents instantly. We have extended this to give users the ability to batch download multiple discipline folders, or an entire project.
• Re-sending of notifications - Users asked for the ability to re-send notifications to project team member, and now that is available.

"NextPlans is a very flexible system, and our users consistently find that they are able to significantly improve their project performance by using the tools we provide," Sharpe added. "This latest upgrade will provide even more tools to help our customers successfully deliver projects."

This entry was posted on May 8, 2012 at 1:47 PM and has received 53009 views. There are currently 1327 comments. Print this entry.

Please Join the Associated Builders and Contractors for Work Zone Flagger Training March 20, 2012

ABC Gaylor Training Center $75 ABC Members - $125 Non Members Visit www.abccarolinas.org for more information

This entry was posted on March 13, 2012 at 1:24 PM and has received 38999 views. There are currently 1093 comments. Print this entry. Download attachment.

Thursday, February 23rd 3:00pm - 5:00pm Complimentary Event For ABC Members The Wingate Hotel 6155 Corporate Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607

email mlewter@abccarolinas.org to RSVP

This entry was posted on January 30, 2012 at 5:24 PM and has received 81045 views. There are currently 4212 comments. Print this entry. Download attachment.

Turner Construction - Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel

Adams Electric - CMC Main Surgical Services

Congratulations to all the Eagle & Merit Award Winners! Thank you for your participation in the 2011 Excellence in Construction Awards Competition. Many great projects were submitted this year and we look forward to more of the same for 2012! Click here to read more. Thanks to ABC of the Carolinas for this post

This entry was posted on January 24, 2012 at 2:47 PM and has received 35226 views. There are currently 982 comments. Print this entry.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NextPlans and Sharpe Images Launch NextBids Contact: Chris Perkins, 1020 Burke St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, (336)724-2871

Winston Salem, NC - July 22, 2011

Sharpe Images and NextPlans are pleased to announce their new public on-line plan room service "NextBids". "NextBids will provide more project content and service capabilities to our users by including projects in Virginia and Georgia. We hope to build on our long-standing slogan 'Do you know where your next project is... We Do!' by servicing a broader geographic region", states Chris Perkins, Director - Technical Services. For more information, visit www.nextbids.com

This entry was posted on July 22, 2011 at 1:30 PM and has received 57590 views. There are currently 1648 comments. Print this entry.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NextPlans January 2011 Feature Release Contact: Chris Perkins, 1020 Burke St, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, (336)724-2871

Winston Salem, NC - January 10, 2011

NextPlans, a project information management and distribution (PIMD) service, is pleased to announce its January 2011 Feature Release.

Collaboration Subject Lines – Added the ability to change the subject line of a collaboration email. We have also added, under review notifications, a list view of the notifications to include the subject lines. If a user does not specify a subject line, the notification will revert to the default subject line previously in place.

Collaboration Message Formatting – Added a text editor to the message box, allowing formatting of the message body of a collaboration email.

iPhone/iPad – NextPlans now allows viewing of project documents via iPhone/iPad. This does not require an app, just navigate to the sites as normal, and view a document. You can also add the PDF to iBooks if you use that app (this will allow you to save a document for subsequent viewing).

Streaming Downloads - All users will be able to more efficiently download multiple documents from any NextPlans plan room. This will, for many users, bypass the package download method of batch downloads of project documents. By selecting this new option, users can instantly download the contents of a project folder to their computer versus downloading individually or placing a Package Download order.

This entry was posted on January 10, 2011 at 1:30 PM and has received 48442 views. There are currently 3920 comments. Print this entry.