I dont know if this has been discussed but I see a huge potential for bringing in manufacturers/suppliers for budgeting and cost estimation.
I know there is the Excel connection now but I wonder how well is it integrated with the BIM schedule generators?
I think there should be a special component or branch manager for schedules since its such an important step and the idea is to bring cost estimation as closer to the concept design as possible if one needs so.
I am thinking for Excel or some other app to be linked to a dynamic database of products and prices which would automatically make a cost estimation based on material and quantity takeoffs that are sent from BIM schedules. Is this possible now?
In the same time i know you do have the open-source approach where any actor can develop a web application. Is this one of the application scenario you are thinking of and marketing it as such?
Thanks for the good idea! We have not planned such an integration at this time, but several people have demoed how Speckle can be used for Carbon Cost estimation (eg1, eg2, eg3), and I believe a very similar process could be used for budgeting and cost estimation in some ways.
So yes, this is totally possible now and we’d love to see others building something like this!
For sure it is already possible but my ideal scenario is if you can bring this to a very accessible user experience without need of coding, so that suppliers are encouraged to join Speckle using a single app or maybe special connector although this might already be possible using Excel?
Now I just realized that I did not even mention builders/construction companies and how they could connect with Speckle ecosystem too for building quotations, etc.
Maybe I sped up things too fast but thats how how I see the potential of Speckle and 3D Data sharing especially in the context of globalization and remote working. Myself I am often freelancing for projects abroad and there is alot of times where I would benefit for a better grasp of local building costs to inform design decisions.
Probably some of these ideas are just a matter of user growth and awareness.
