A Governments Guide to Electronic Plan Review: The What, Why and How.

Contractors looking to construct something new are constantly approaching internal government departments. You are undoubtedly well-versed in the conventional procedures of acquiring a building permit, which involves gathering necessary documents, creating blueprints, scheduling collaborative meetings, and submitting and reviewing the plans for approval.

Fortunately, we live in the digital age, with more intuitive and straightforward ways to plan and permit. An electronic plan review solution has emerged as a revolutionary software that government entities can adopt. Some have already done so.

What electronic plan review?

Electronic plan review is a digital process that involves reviewing plans through a web-based cloud platform rather than using paper. With e-PlanREVIEW, there are several advantages over traditional plan review. Instead of stacks of paper, multiple drawing markups, and numerous meetings to finalize the plans, electronic plan review eliminates paper use and enables real-time markup of digital documents. Collaboration is also faster and more accessible through online electronic plan review software.

Building officials, planning managers, plan reviewers, and permit clerks are some of the most common types of people who could best take advantage of electronic plan review. 

How are digital plans reviewed?

Plans can be digitally reviewed with electronic plan review software. This software has a range of benefits, including:

• Real-time team collaboration.

• Enhanced markup tools.

• Document versioning.

• Shared licenses.

• Comment management.

• Building code compliance verification.

• Optical character recognition.

Combine all of this, and you get an exceptionally effective way to review and submit plans easily.

How to conduct an electronic plan review?

Electronic plan review software has five core steps:

1. The applicant uploads electronic plans using a citizen portal (such as e-PlanSoft goPost™).

2. They then assign the plans for review to the appropriate people or departments using automated workflows.

3. The plan reviewers collaborate until the plan review is complete.

4. They return the reviewed plans, marked-up plans, and correction list to the applicant.

5. Repeat this process until the plans are approved.

What should you consider before adopting electronic plan review software?

Before deciding to use an electronic plan review, it is essential to ensure that you have the required equipment and resources to support it. The minimum requirement is a supported browser - Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. 

Before adopting an electronic plan review platform, it is vital to consider logistical factors and technical requirements. It would be best if you determined whether the platform needs to integrate with other products and whether your users have enough bandwidth. Assessing whether you can dedicate time to learning and implementing the software is also essential. Answering these questions will help ensure the solution is feasible for your organization. 

Make plan reviews easier, faster, and more intuitive.

Although only some people are willing to adopt electronic plan reviews, this modern approach is expected to eventually replace traditional plan reviews, particularly in local government. Electronic plan review offers advanced features allowing you to produce plans, annotate them in real time, provide live feedback, and submit them for approval effortlessly. As a result, electronic plan review can be an extremely useful tool.