JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·11h ago · 10 min readOutsource, hire, or buy software: how steel fabricators fix an estimating bottlenecktldr: When the bids stack up faster than your estimators can count, you have three ways out: outsource the estimating, hire another estimator, or buy takeoff software. They solve three different probl00
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·5d ago · 13 min readFabrication estimating software: why sheet metal tools break on structural steeltldr: Search "fabrication estimating software" and almost everything you find prices sheet and plate parts by cut length, nest yield, and machine time. Structural steel is priced on a different basis 00
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Jul 29 · 10 min readFerra 1.5, our biggest release yet: connections, columns, and open signuptldr: Ferra 1.5 is the biggest release we've shipped. Connection data, column property detection, and joist and brace detection are all live today, along with a rebuilt 3D viewer, and you can now crea11N
MGMichael Guinbidferra.com·Jul 23 · 13 min readAISC steel shapes explained: W, HSS, C, L, WT, and how to read them off a drawingtldr: The structural steel shapes you meet on real jobs are wide flanges (W), hollow sections (HSS), channels (C), angles (L), and tees (WT). The designation on the drawing tells you the size, and for00
MGMichael Guinbidferra.com·Jul 20 · 10 min readSteel connection types explained: shear tabs, moment connections, gusset plates, and what they cost you in the shoptldr: For beam connections, the two main categories are simple and moment. The common types an estimator sees are shear tabs, clip angles, end plates, gusset plates, and moment connections. The type m00
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Jul 17 · 13 min readSketchDeck alternatives in 2026: what steel fabricators should test before switchingtldr: If you are shopping for a SketchDeck alternative, you already know what steel takeoff software is. The questions that matter now are why a shop switches, what to test before you renew, what gets10
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Jul 16 · 10 min readWhy structural steel fabricators lose margin on change orderstldr: A change order is a formal change to the contract after a job is awarded. In structural steel, margin does not usually disappear because of the changed steel alone. It disappears while identifyi00
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Jul 2 · 6 min readWhy steel estimators are still losing days to addendumstldr: Steel estimators do not lose days on the first takeoff. They lose them to addendums and drawing revisions that have to be manually re-checked, re-compared, and re-confirmed, one change at a time00
MGMichael Guinbidferra.com·Jun 26 · 8 min readAI construction estimating software is built for GCs. Here's what steel estimators actually need.tldr: AI construction estimating software is booming, and most of it is genuinely good. Almost none of it is built for structural steel. Here is what the general tools do well, where they fall short o11L
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Jun 23 · 14 min readThe best AI structural steel estimating software in 2026 (an honest comparison)tldr: Most "AI estimating" tools either do beams well and columns poorly, or aren't built for steel at all. This is a straight comparison of the real options in 2026: SketchDeck, Steel Genie, Beam AI,42JD