Measuring plans the way you need to: thoughts from Idox customers and others

Why Objective Trapeze measures up for planning and building… independent of Document Management System



Several local authorities in the UK are contacting me following their latest Document Management System (DMS) upgrade, sharing just some of the things they miss about Trapeze! I’ll explain.

Known by different names, such as ‘Onstream Trapeze’ or ‘Idox Viewer’ (depending on the DMS being used), the measurement and assessment tools that planning and building officers have relied on for decades are the backbone of what’s now Objective Trapeze.

As different systems introduce their own proprietary tools, these older versions of Trapeze are sometimes taken away, leaving big gaps in functionality.

The good news is that the latest version, Trapeze Professional, is a standalone application that can be used regardless of your Document Management System. I’ve seen it adopted by local authorities who use Idox DMS, Northgate Information@Work and DEF, to name a few.

Frequent Trapeze users can simply make it the default application for PDFs, resolving even the most serious cases of ‘Trapeze withdrawals’.

Others may prefer to export documents when needed, as demonstrated by Renfrewshire Council in this Customer Showcase. The benefits of issuing building warrants in minutes (rather than days) far outweigh the few clicks needed to open plans from Idox DMS in Trapeze Professional.

Not far away, North Lanarkshire Council is also using Trapeze Professional alongside Idox DMS.

We first considered Trapeze Professional because of the multiple stamping options, but quickly noticed that the additional assessment tools are a tremendous added bonus.

Graeme Dorricott

Building Standards Manager (Compliance), North Lanarkshire Council

From validation to enforcement, having the right tools for the job makes all the difference in the level of service you can deliver to your customers… whether you need to annotate, check measurements, redact, or compare PDF drawings.

That’s why we continue to develop Objective Trapeze specifically for use cases common in Development Management and Building Control / Standards.

Working through a revision and trying to spot changes? Our plan comparison tool highlights all differences in seconds. Want to save measurement data and calculations (including volumes) for future reference? We’ve got you covered.

Trapeze Professional was released in June 2019, designed in consultation with hundreds of planning and building officers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Busy professionals, who simply can’t afford to use anything but the best.

For more information on how you can regain your lost functionality (plus more) with Objective Trapeze Professional, download our solution overview.