iPlanner

The Swedish construction company Redsen is the project’s client. iPlanner is a web application that lets users design their buildings and choose building materials using the integrated planner5D. Direct orders for the building supplies can be placed on the iPlanner website. Three different user groups are supported by the app: individual homeowners who wish to build or renovate their homes, construction firms that provide their services and supplies, and consultants who may offer advisory services to customers while the project is being built or planned from the start.

Industry - Construction Technology
Client - Redsen
Project Duration - 18 Months
Project Name - iPlanner
Sweden

Challenge

The client required a web application to let the customers visualize their plan to build/renovate their home/commercial space using a digital tool, instantly get an accurate cost estimation, and request the construction of the project to a construction company, all inside the website. One of the main challenges was to develop the application within tight deadlines that could visualize the building plans in both 2D and 3D. Additionally, including all the variables that would be implemented into the cost calculation system was a complex goal to achieve.

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Solution

Initially, we only had raw data about construction materials. However, as we collaborated with our client, we came up with additional solutions for how the site would function. Using a rough requirement description provided by the client, we created an operational plan to develop the tool. We were responsible for designing the project, user flows, and the entire logic of the software. To ensure the project’s success, we conducted extensive market research and designed it from the ground up. One of the requirements was to have a modeling tool that would enable customers to design their dream homes. As it was vital to launch the product in the market as soon as possible, we opted to integrate planner5D, which already met our specifications. We worked closely with planner5D to develop custom solutions that would better serve our project’s goals. One of the key features we developed was a project price calculation tool. This feature provides clients with a detailed breakdown of the project’s cost, including time, labor, transportation, material costs, and all other relevant price components. Clients are presented with a list of construction companies, along with their respective price offerings based on the project specifications. To create a quick and direct messaging system, we integrated Socket.io. The built-in messenger can be used by clients and construction businesses to communicate once they begin negotiating a project. The clients and construction firms can work together, make adjustments, and undo each other’s changes. Up until the customer and the building business choose the final version of the project, this process might go back and forth.

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Key Features

  • A special registration process for construction companies-construction companies are asked to input their price for labor services during registration, which is later used in calculating their specific price for a particular project.

  • Renovation projects-In renovation projects, the client builds the current state of their house and the desired state of the house. Our system calculates the differences between the 2 states and provides a cost estimate based on that.

  • Full integration with Planner5D-a 2D/3D tool for building a visualization of the house, with customized settings designed specifically for iPlanner.

  • Building Element hierarchy-building elements are what we use for calculating the project price from the visual data of planner5D. The hierarchy looks like this: 1. Building elements 2. Production results 3. Resources. By custom creation and combination of Resources, Admins create Production results, and by combining Production results, they create Building elements, which are used in Planner5D models.

  • Project price calculation-a detailed breakdown of the project price calculation, taking into account the time, labor effort, transportation, material cost, taxes, and all other relevant price components. Clients can choose from a list of construction companies with their respective price offerings based on the project specifications.

  • Project Review system-clients and construction companies can collaborate on the same project, make changes, and revert each other’s changes. This process can go back and forth continuously until the client and the construction company decide on the final version of the project.

  • Contract generation-the system automatically generates a contract by inputting all the available client, construction company, and project info into a contract in a .pdf format, which can be printed and signed by both parties.

  • Media uploads-a separate directory for uploading any files related to the project. Both parties upload files, shared or private, in a directory.

  • Real-time messaging in the system-we’ve used Socket.io to create a messaging feature. Once customers and construction companies start discussing a project together, they can get in touch using the built-in messenger.

  • Ordering materials-once the project is ready for initiation, the clients can order construction materials in a few clicks, because the system has already done all the necessary calculations based on what the client built.

  • Manual projects-this is an exclusive feature for construction companies so that they can build projects without the visual part of planner5D, by just inputting data on building materials.

  • Templates-the Admin and consultants can pre-build project templates, which can later be used by clients for creating projects using the templates. This feature enables users not to start from scratch if there is a template with a similar layout they can just edit.

Used Tech Stack

Frontend

Frameworks:
React

React

Next.js

Next.js

Libraries:
Antd

Antd

Miscellaneous:
Webpack

Webpack

Backend

Runtime environment:
Node.js

Node.js

Database:
MongoDB

MongoDB

Server:
Apache

Apache

Other

Analytics:
Google Analytics

Google Analytics

Tag managers:
Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager

Background

Client’s Testimonial

Emil Korsian

We succeeded in achieving results that exceeded our expectations with Esterox LLC. Esterox team took a crucial role in developing the product and expanding its functionality. Awareness of emerging web development trends from Esterox's side allowed us to develop a website following global industry standards. We value the synergistic and productive client/team collaboration that gave birth to our project and will continue to strengthen and develop.

Emil Korsian
Founder of iPlanner