Help

Using the Bulletin

Accessing the bulletin - To begin click on "Bulletin." This will direct you to the online bulletin if you have already logged in, or to the login screen if you have not logged in (see Logging in to CIC).

Bulletin pages - This first page you come across on the bulletin page is the "Bidding Projects." This is a list of the projects currently available to bid on from the Construction Industry Center database. The list is comprised of the first 15 results sorted by date with the nearest bid date listed first. Additional pages are indicate by the numbers above the projects table.

On the right side of the bulletin page under the gray heading box, you'll find a drop down box (pictured here) from which you can choose to see "Bidding Projects," "Advanced Notices," or "Apparent Low Bids." You may also see all the projects at once by Selecting "All Projects." Selecting any of these will reload the page with your selection. The functionality of Bidding Projects, Advanced Notices, and Apparent Low Bids is very similar with the exception of viewing and ordering plans. Therefore, we will concentrate on Bidding Projects as the other selections function nearly identically.

"Bidding Projects" - On the default bulletin page you'll notice a red row along the top (pictured below) of the table listing the projects. Underlined column headings indicate that the bulletin results can be sorted by that column heading (Bid date, Project Title, Location, Date Posted). Clicking once on the column heading sorts a-z. Clicking again sorts the column z-a.

The results are limited to 15 results per page. The numbers located just above the red row indicate that in the current section (i.e. Bidding Projects, Advanced Notices, Apparent Low Bids) there are x number of pages remaining in the section (in this case 5). To view other projects click on the next page number. The page number you are on is indicated by a slightly larger sized number without an underline.

The last column "Addenda" indicates whether addenda have been received for this project. This can be useful for tracking changes of a project prior to its bid date.

Finally to view the project details, click on the blue underlined project title.

Project Details - this screen is broken down into the sub-navigation and four main sections - Job Info, Plan Info, Job Details, & Contracts. Take time to familiarize yourself with each of these sections. The four main sections are there to give you more information about each project before deciding whether you want to order or download the plans.

The sub-navigation allows you to determine what you would like to do with the current plan. The gray box with red lettering indicates the project title. Immediately below are four buttons - Bulletin, Job Summary, Plan Holders List, and Download and/or Order Plans.

"Bulletin" takes you back to the Bidding Projects page of the bulletin.

"Project Details " is the page you are currently on. Use this button to navigate back to this page while viewing the plan holders list.

"Plan Holders List (PHL)" takes you to the plan holders list. The list is broken into 2 sections: Issuing office Plan Holders List and Construction Industry Center Plan Holders List. The PHL for the issuing office is the plan holders that the owner, architect, engineer, government agency, etc. has issued plans to directly, outside of the Construction Industry Center method. The Construction Industry Center PHL is everyone that the Construction Industry Center has issued the plans to since receiving it from the Architect/Engineer. So, when a set of plans and specs arrives from the Architect/Engineer, the Construction Industry Center will ask them for a plan holders list, in order to list the parties who already have project plans on the Construction Industry Center site. Also, the Architect/Engineer may ask the Construction Industry Center to list someone they have sent plans to after placing the set with Construction Industry Center.

"Download and/or Order Plans" button takes you to the Plans, Specs, and Addenda page. Here you can download a file for your own inspection by clicking download file, or you can order a full size print of this document by the Construction Industry Center. When you click on download file the plan will open up in the pdf viewer within your browser. You may zoom into the document, pan around the document and save it to your computer. (For more information on using Adobe Acrobat Reader, refer to the Adobe help manual). Once you have finished previewing the plan, click on the back button in your browser to get to the Plans, Specs, and Addenda page.

To add a document to your order click on "Order this Document." The screen will reload with a note reflecting the current number of items in your order. Once added to your order you can continue looking at other plans or projects in the bulletin, adding to your order as you desire.

When finished, click on "My Order" to review and confirm your Construction Industry Center order.

"My Order" - this page allows you to see your order details and make adjustments. You may add more prints to your order by typing in a new quantity for the document you would like more prints for and pressing "Enter" on your keyboard. You may also remove a particular plan from your order by clicking remove.

Finally, select your shipping method or whether you would like to pick up your plans. Click "Place Order" to submit it to the system. Your order will be processed within 24 business hours.

This wraps up the use of the bulletin. Proceed to Help with your Profile.