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EPR runs entirely in your Chrome or Edge browser (Mac users are recommend recommended to install either browser and will then have the same experience) and requires no EPR software to be installed on the user workstations. Reviewers who are part of a project team will have access to all project files, but their default view is filtered so they can focus on their assignments to manage their workload more efficiently. All assigned reviewers work on the same document at the same time, with the ability for reviewers to record how much time they have spent on review in addition to providing a status for their review.
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EPR offers an intuitive set of markup and measurement tools designed specifically for plan review. The Review page allows reviewers to add sketches in their group's pre-designated color through simple shapes as well as add polygons, clouds, lines with and without endpoints, and add highlights. They can add short text labels using a Text Box tool directly onto plans. Reviewers can also calculate distances and areas using EPR's measurement tools after calibrating one or more scales for the plans. In addition, existing sketches become measurements once the scale is set.
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Every markup (sketches, comments, measurements, and stamps) is securely created and recorded in EPR as database records. This provides added security, tying them directly to the database and ensures that any edits can only be performed by authorized users. Markups are carried forward from the previous submittal to the next, and EPR allows staff to either "close" or remove these markups to indicate they have been addressed by the applicant. If a markup is closed by accident, or if an applicant reintroduces a problem in a later resubmittal, staff have the ability to restore the markup without having to recreate it from scratch. "Open" markups, meaning comments or sketches that require attention, are solid and visually distinct from "closed" markups, which will display as see-through objects for staff in the review page. These same "closed" markups are not visible to applicants whenever they receive updated or approved plans, however.
e-PlanREVIEW EPR also includes a Standard Comment Library feature in which the Agency can upload their existing standard comments for reviewers to have easy access to consistent, pre-written comments (which they can still fully modify as needed) during the course of their review. The Because the standard comment library can be as large as the Agency would like, so EPR ensures that it is also searchable to so it's . This makes it quick and easy for a reviewer to find any comment they want to use. Once in the comment form it can be edited to add bold italics, underline, bulleted or numbered lists, and hyperlinks clickable from the comment or the pdf deliverables sent back to the applicant.
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At any point in a review, staff can also use EPR's incredibly flexible comparison tools to either overlay in one view or compare document pages in separate windows. EPR's Overlay comparison feature can put any version of any page of any document in any project on top of the existing page, making it extremely useful for any kind of comparison. The layers are rendered in different colors and where they line up exactly, they blend into a third color, allowing reviewers to visually identify any differences quickly. Sometimes documents coming in don’t line up perfectly, so EPR allows reviewers to "nudge" the overlay layer up, down, left or right, and also scale the page to be larger or smaller until it overlays exactly right. In addition to overlay, a side-by-side comparison mode enables users to open any two pages of any document in separate windows and have any movement or resizing mirrored across both windows to make review or similar areas easier for users. The mirroring can also be disengaged to allow a reviewer to move through each page separately and compare. Most importantly, reviewers still have the ability to markup plans while overlaying or comparing pages.
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Once a reviewer is ready, they can apply a stamp if appropriate, then status an assignment to indicate approval or if corrections are required. A comment corrections letter relaying feedback to the applicant can be generated by Agency staff for inclusion in the deliverable package returned to applicants along with the marked-up plans.
Subsequent submittals will be linked to the original document upon resubmittal without the need for files to have the same filename so long as applicants follow the recommended process. As noted, all prior sketches, comments, measurements, etc. are carried forward to the latest document version so that plan review can pick up where they left off in the previous submittal. Strong document versioning is key to the efficiency of electronic plan review, as it allows the system to do the tracking instead of complex file name devices, or manually printing, comparing, and storing versions on paper.
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