User Guide for Accela + Bluebeam Studio

Introduction

This is a functional specification document for the Accela-Bluebeam Revu integration using Velosimo Connect. This a conceptual document that explains the process of plan review using Accela with Bluebeam Revu. Each Accela-Bluebeam Revu is unique to each agency. This document explains how Velosimo connects Accela-Bluebeam Revu.

Business Case

Accela is a permitting software that has over 500 government customers. Many of these customers want to use Bluebeam Revu as its 3rd-party plan review tool in conjunction with Accela permitting.

Planners, developers, builders and homeowners all submit applications in Accela that have a set of electronic plans attached. Velosimo can seamlessly route the plans to Bluebeam Revu so plans can be reviewed and marked-up, sent back for corrections if needed, and finally stamped and approved.

Documents are passed back-and-forth between Accela and Bluebeam Revu via the Velosimo Connect platform. Documents can be passed back and forth multiple times in a plan review process.

Routing Documents

The integration between Accela and Bluebeam Revu follows the prototypical electronic plan review process. A typical plan review process includes the following high level tasks:

Application Intake - Project Creation
Assign reviews - Create Session
Perform reviews
Deliverables
Revisions Required
Plans are approved

At each step in the review lifecycle Velosimo provides a seamless integration between Accela and Bluebeam Revu.

Solution

Submit Application Intake - Project Creation

The process begins with the customers (applicants) submitting new applications using Accela. Applicants or agency staff will attach electronic plans to the applications.

When the plan review documents are going to be routed to Bluebeam Revu they have a document status of Ready to Route after submission.

Velosimo Flows

Bluebeam | Create Project
Accela Storage | Get Document
Accela Storage | Update Documents

Accela Flow

Open Accela and complete with valid credentials:

Note: The Accela URL is https://av.dev.velosimo.com:4443

The following Accela UI will be displayed:

Select a Record from Accela, with status pending clicking on record number. The record will be opened is 'Summary' section:

Go to Addtl Info Tab and complete the information as it is displayed below. It will run a process.

Go to Document Tab and upload a Document to the record using one of the categories previously configured in the velosimo SPA in Route to Bluebeam Studio section, for example 'Site Plan'. The document is uploaded with the 'Allowed Status' configured in the same section: 'Uploaded'.

Workflow Tab

The Accela workflow task used in this document for the plan review the Plans Distribution task. When the applications Plans Distribution task is activated the plans are ready to be routed Bluebeam Revu.

Updating the task to the Route to Bluebeam status sends the Route Documents event to Velosimo triggering the creation of a new Bluebeam Revu Studio Project and Session for the Accela record. Each of the plan review documents on the record with the correct criteria are added to the Bluebeam Revu project and a session is created and the documents are flattened using the Bluebeam API.

Go to Workflow tab. The Application Intake will be displayed in Progress. Change the Status to 'Accepted- Plan Review Req' and the click on Submit button. It will run a process:

The Application task will be displayed in green color and the 'Plans Contribution' task will be set on 'In Progress' status:

Open 'Plans DIstribution' task. Select the status 'Route to Bluebeam Studio' status. Select the current user and Select the option 'Planning Review' as Yes. Then click on Submit button:

Document´s status is changed to 'Routed for Review'. You can verify it from the Document tab:

At this step Velosimo invites users to join the Bluebeam Project with an email. This is sent to all the users in Bluebeam that are reviewers in Accela.

Bluebeam Revu

Velosimo creates the Bluebeam Revu Project Session ID using the Accela record. In Bluebeam you will also see a nine digit number that is the unique Bluebeam Session ID that generates for each project. For example, the Project for the previous example will be named CON-NEW-21-000066.

Velosimo also creates a Session for the Project. The session ID will be the Accela record ID and the Document Category.

Assign Plans Reviews - Create Sessions

The second step in the plan review process is assigning the plan review tasks to plan reviewers. For the example below, when the Plans Distribution task is updated to Routed for Review the reviewers are added to the Bluebeam Project and Session.

Velosimo Flows

Bluebeam | Add User to Session - This runs for all the users that have access to review projects.
Bluebeam | Link Project File to Session - This runs for every document that gets passed to Bluebeam for the project.
Bluebeam | Create Session

Back to Accela Workflow. Open 'Plans DIstribution' task. Select the status 'Route for Review' status. Select the current user and Select the option 'Planning Review' as Yes. Then click on Submit button:
After updating the status to Routed for Review the Plans Distribution task is closed and the “Review” tasks become active.

At this step Velosimo send the reviewers an invitation to the Bluebeam Session for the project with an email. See an example of invitation below:

Reviewers assigned to the Review tasks in Accela are added as reviewers to the Bluebeam Revu Studio Session.

If your agency assigns the task at the individual level in Accela then all users in the department are added to the Bluebeam Revu project and studio session. (Bluebeam creates Sessions, with Sessions there is no way to assign individuals to the project.)
If the review task in Accela is assigned on a department level then in Accela all users in the department are added to the Bluebeam Revu project and studio session.

Review Plans

Next each plan reviewer will do their review in BlueBeam Revu. To open Bluebeam Revu users navigate to Accela the Document tab and click the Actions > Review link.

It will display the following message while connecting with Bluebeam Revu:

Another browser tab opens allowing you the reviewer to launch Bluebeam Revu. Click on the click here to open button. That displays the dialog pop-up to allow Bluebeam Revu to open on your computer. Click the Allow button. Bluebeam Revu begins to open.

Bluebeam Studio Projects

A list of your project display in Bluebeam in the My Projects list.

NOTE: To see the a view like above the user needs to have the Keep me Signed in marked when they login to Bluebeam Revu on their computer the first time.

Reviewers use Bluebeam Revu to add comments and mark-up the plans. They can see other reviewers in the session and see the activity of each user in the session.

Reviewers mark-up and add comments to the document in the Bluebeam Session. After all the reviews are completed in Bluebeam the Accela Sub Tasks in the Accela Review tasks need to update the Review tasks to send deliverables back from Bluebeam to Accela.

Accela Workflow tab

When the reviewers have completed the reviews on all the documents in the session they then need to update the Accela workflow Sub Task Doc Review to prepare the marked-up or approved and corrections report to be delivered.

Go to Workflow tab in Accela. The flow will look like:

Open 'Building Review' subtask and change the status to 'Approved'. Complete the user and Submit. It will run a process.

Once you submit it, it will looks like:

Open 'Planning Review' subtask and change the status to 'Approved'. Complete the user and Submit. It will run a process.

When all the review tasks in Accela have been statused with either Approved, Approved with Comments, or Revisions Required(statuses are configurable) they are all completed and the Plans Coordination tasks becomes active.

Deliverables

Deliverables are the files that are sent from Bluebeam back to Accela. They are two types of deliverables: the Corrections Deliverable which is the marked-up plans with a Comments Report (PDF Summary) and the Approved Deliverable which is the stamped approved plans.

Corrections Deliverable - all the subtask need statused

The revisions required or corrections required deliverable sends back two or more files from Bluebeam to Accela.

Marked-up plans - all the plans that have been marked-up and need corrections.
Markup Summary PDF - Bluebeam generated report

After all the plan review tasks are completed in Bluebeam Revu the user then needs to update their corresponding review task status in Accela to the Revisions Required status to send back let the plans coordinator know the plans need revision.

When the Plans Coordination task is updated to the Revisions Required status Velosimo closes the current Bluebeam session and creates a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc review session in Bluebeam Revu with the new marked-up plans. Closing the session is what generates the Corrections Reports (PDF Summary).

Action: Updating the Plans Coordination task to the Revisions Required closed the Plans Coordination task and the open Bluebeam Revu Session. The Plans Coordination closes and the workflow loops back to the Plans Distribution and the marked-up plans and Summary PDF are attached to the Accela documents tab.

Accela Workflow tab

Go back to Accela Workflow tab. The following step is to update the Plans Coordination task to Revisions Required. Change the status, complete the user and then Submit. It will run a process.

Once it is upated it will looks like:

Document tab

One corrections report and the marked-up version of the plans are attached to the Documents tab in Accela.

The corrections report Document status = Uploaded
The marked up plan Document status = Returned for Revision
The plans should be approved

Resubmit Documents

The plan review process is assigning the plan review tasks to plan reviewers. For the example below, when the Plans Distribution task is updated to Routed for Review the groups and users are added to the Bluebeam Project and Session.

ACA Record Details

The users are redirected to the ACA record details page. The application status is Revisions Required.

Click the Add button. The user clicks the Record Info to go to the Attachments section of the application.

ACA Record Detail > Attachments
The document list displays. There is a Corrections Report and the marked up plans display Resubmit link and the Document Status is Returned For Revision. The user clicks on the Resubmit link.

Users need to add new plans from their computer.

The user clicks the Add button.

Uploads the new Plans from their computer and click onContinue Button:

Select the Type, 2nd Review, 3rd Review 4th Review etc... and click the Save button.

The document uploaded successfully message displays.

ACA Document Details

The plans that need resubmitted Document Status is Resubmitted.
The new plans Document Status is Uploaded.

AA Document Details

The new plans Document Status is updated to Uploaded.

Workflow Tab
When the file passes Scout validation the Project Review task status is updated to In Process with the Accela | Update Document Status Passed Scout After Validation flow.

When the file passes Scout validation the DSD-Electrical subtask status is updated to In Review. With the second version of the plans on the subtask.

ACA 2nd version resubmit

Plans Distribution task is activated.

Stay on the Plans Coordination until the 2nd version is add

Plan Coordination = Route to Bluebeam

Updates the Project file with the new version of doc and add any new docs to the project

User needs to add second version
Add the resubmit screenshots

Bluebeam Revu Sessions

A new session is created with the Accela record ID and the Document Category. For example this session is COM-NEW-21-000066 2nd Review - 955-378-552. All the documents from the previous session are added to the new session as well as the marked-up plans.

Approved

Once all of the review tasks are complete the workflow task Plans Coordination is updated to Ready to Issue and the task is closed, Velosimo sends back the approved.

Action: Updating the Plans Coordination task to the Ready to Issue closes the Plans Coordination task, sends an email to the user, and activates the Permit Issuance task to the In Review status.

Accela| Checkin Document Review
Accela| Checkin Approved Document

AA Workflow tab

Updating the Plans Coordination task to the Ready to Issue closes the Plans Coordination task.

Activates the Permit Issuance task to the In Review status.