All-Around Solutions from ProWall Tools
Words: Michael Devries, Mark Weidner
ProWall Tools software provides free submittals, wall compatibility, wall estimation, and project reports at your fingertips.
Words: Michael DeVries and Mark Weidner, H&B Powered by MiTek
Photos: Hohmann & Barnard
H&B Powered by MiTek is known as a leading international manufacturer of masonry anchors, waterproofing, and many other specialized masonry products. Knowing that producing and distributing products is not enough for our end customer, we developed our premium, free software, ProWall Tools. Now, architects, specifiers, suppliers, and contractors have a software tool that can quickly help them gather product information, create submittals, ensure that all products are compatible, and create custom take-offs faster than ever.
Are you still searching a company’s website, product by product, to get official product data? How about for Safety Data Sheets? Do you spend hours looking for LEED data, maybe never finding it? That’s so old school! Now you can get all of that information within about 30 seconds of your checking the appropriate boxes using ProWall Tools. Our software will greatly improve your efficiency, reduce labor costs, and increase profitability.
Spending all that time and doing all that work just to produce the same submittal and compete on the same level as everyone else is not a way to win jobs. There’s more with ProWall Tools. If you want to compete, you must be different. To help you compete and win, we even make CAD and BIM files available to you.
ProWall Tools is a cloud-based tool available via any device connected to the web. When you need to look up something on the go, simply grab your phone or tablet, and get it done right where you are. If you’re navigating a larger project or need to do some detailed drawing and measurements, use your Mac or PC with a bigger screen.
Breaking it down
ProWall Tools has four main areas available once you start a new project or select an existing project.
- Submittal
- Wall Compatibility
- Wall Estimator
- Project Reports
We know your time is precious, so we are continuously trying to make things faster and more efficient for you. In fact, most of the updates we make come from our users’ suggestions.
ProWall Tools Submittal is built for architects, engineers, and suppliers. You can quickly find and access all H&B Powered by MiTek product data. The submittal tab compiles the required information into one report, such as product information, LEED data, Safety Data Sheets, and CAD and BIM files (where available).
ProWall Tools Wall Compatibility encompasses the ease of use of ProWall Tools Submittal, and can quickly verify the combination of wall design for compatibility of H&B Powered by MiTek products. There’s no more guesswork. This tool allows for verification of system compatibility with back-up material, cavity depth, exterior finish, and design parameters. These parameters include building codes, wind speeds, and seismic design categories.
ProWall Tools Wall Estimating is an estimating tool that is super easy to use. In just minutes, the masonry estimator or mason contractor can have an accurate estimate and take-off for the job. All the mason contractor needs to do is follow a simple and easy-to-learn process, which consists of uploading a plan into the program, scaling the drawing, and drawing shapes to determine things like the square footage of building façade and lengths of flashing, to name a few.
The H&B Powered by MiTek product catalog is built into ProWall Tools and with a single click, you can access all that data with ease. You also can build custom catalogs for your company and drop those into the estimation for every aspect of the job. ProWall Tools Wall Estimator can export the estimation into an excel spreadsheet that the estimator can manipulate to add in, for example, waste factors, quantities, and total cost for the project. We even left the ability for you to be our guests to remain anonymous, and go back to the old school way of doing your work, product by product, if desired.
If any of this sounds difficult, we provide short video tutorials in ProWall Tolls and also can deliver in-person or teleconference video sessions to help you along. All of this is just the start. We have a full gamut of new features rolling out in the next year. Best of all, ProWall Tools is free.
For more information, visit H-B.com.