One Click LCA Reviews

Pros

The software is an excellent tool for identifying the carbon-intensive areas of the design and material choice, wherein one can perform assessments (LCA, LCC) of their buildings in substantially less amount of time. This includes calculation of embodied carbon, GWP breakdown, acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion potential, non-hazardous waste disposal etc. It is easy to comprehend which materials and products contribute towards the most CO2 emissions, and therefore can be reconsidered or even replaced, thanks to the 'show sustainable alternatives' option available.
The results can also be reviewed graphically over the entire life cycle stages (A1-A3 Materials, B4-B5 Material Replacement, B6 Energy, B7 Water and C1-C4 Deconstruction), easy to integrate with sustainability tracking and evidence reports.
The software is uncomplicated to use, with simple navigation and does not require much training, the input required is building area, material data, material transportation distances, energy and water consumption data to get started and get results.
Additionally, the software support provided is exemplary, you can even sign up for online training where an expert will guide you through the software step by step so that you can get started with your assessments.

Cons

The only issue I think would be that online training is free only for the initial time period. One will have to pay for more detailed training sessions, which I think should be included in the price of the license.
I have honestly not encountered any other major disadvantages of using One Click LCA, it truly offers what it promises. Everything from the data input to calculations is exactly what is required of such software.

Pros

The website is easy to understand. The info tag for each material is very good, and you can find out which EPD is based. Fine that the results are displayed in several ways, both in scientific and exponential terms. Nice to be able to export the result to excel. Fine that you have updated the results page with which materials have the highest / lowest emissions. Support is good and you respond quickly. We need more practice so we understand everything better and the process will go faster.

Cons

It's hard to find the right material, at least if you do not have the manufacturer. The list of materials comes far down the page and there are 2 windows to scroll in, so it's hard to see the totality of the material list.IFC import is difficult because the IFC file is usually not good enough, and it is difficult for to make sure all the materials are included and know where in the building they are located. When you make ifc import, you get to a page where you can manually place the materials / items in the correct category. There you have to do the whole job right away or you will not return to the same window. This is difficult, because sometimes it would be good to check the results along the way. You also do not get exchanged material on an item after you leave this page, and it may be the one you want.

Pros

The most important thing about the program is that it is easy to use. No difficulty in getting used to it.

Cons

Database should be enhanced. I have difficulty in finding related products that the actual building has.

Pros

Largest data set I have seen, which allows for flexibility for us on many different projects and material scopes
Flexible data entry: BIM, excel, direct entry to browser tool
The customer service is very responsive and helpful

Cons

The graphics have been improving but I'm still unable to use them for presentations
The data export could be improved for more flexible data export

Pros

The software is easy to use as the import tool is straight forward and the user interfacing is friendly. Results given by the software are well displayed and ideal for reports in which readers may not been aware of LCA related terms and meaning. The workflow feature is very handy and provides a tickbox list to keep your project on track. User guidance is very clear and comprehensive. The speed of OCL vs traditional LCA is great and their database is very large. Customer support is attentive. Benchmark rating is a nice touch.

Cons

Importing models can be tricky at times if the software has misaligned items. References within the import wizard may be unclear to some users when matching back to items within the model software (i.e. IES/Revit). Sometimes the software does not clearly tailor the interface for the scope of BREEAM RFO 2014. Some items under this scope are not applicable and were confusing at the start. Compliance checker although good, does not filter out certain materials when undertaking RFO 2014 which requires user override. Generic ratings would really benefit from being clarified to what they include and where the data is from. Product vs product comparison within the Expert package would be great as a standard feature.

Pros

One Click to LCA is very user friendly and fast software that can help with very complex analysis which is the assessing of envorimental impact of the building. With that software even people with limited understanding of construction and material knowledge can prepare powerfull building enviromental impact asessment. Software

Cons

It is expencieve and the payment structure is uncomfortable. We need to pay upfront for whole year projects.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to One Click LCA

Pros

I like the ease of use and the good provider's support

Cons

the LCC is not adapted to the national costs

Pros

I really liked that One Click LCA is easy to use from day 1. No one wants a slow leaning curve. Moreover the vast database of materials help to get a LCA as accurate as possible to the built building. Last but not least I appreciated the multiple languages.

Cons

When we first used it, One Click LCA was not integrated with Archicad (nor Autocad) but it looks like that the latest version bridged that gap. I don't see other negative points, at least my perspective.

Pros

Software capabilities allowing to achieve high score under BREEAM International certification are amongst the most valued features. Data import from *.IFC file when the file is of appropriate LOD reduce the amount of man-hours needed to complete the project.
As the administrator I have full access to projects that my colleagues are working on and can easily see the progress.

Pros

The integration with Revit is a big component. This is our main modeling software so it makes it much easier to grab our information. I like the online webtool that allows multiple people to access the information and the easily comparable data for different design iterations.

Cons

The customizable extra inputs is nice but I think some information such as the family type and instance should automatically be included in the Revit upload. I found it confusing being able to distinguish between elements until I found the extra info page and then took a while to go through all the elements in there to find the best ones to help me do what I was trying to do.

Pros

Online, no software installation required
Revit Plug-in for easy export is very handy
Easy interface

Cons

Limited database of materials
When exported from Revit, it's hard to see what element is specified and which one isn't

Pros

The results includes visual graphs that clearly explain the percentages of emissions generated by each structure of the building, each material used. The database range is also wide enough for selecting generic or equivalent materials.

Cons

I have not had a chance to use all the features of the tool because of the limited range of my company's projects.

Pros

One Click is very user friendly and has made the LCA process for BREEAM 2018 easy to carry out. Bionova's customer service is excellent. They respond quickly and are always helpful.

Cons

The software does not always have every EPD we need. However, Bionova do regularly update the tool with new EPDs

Pros

The software is user-friendly, it allowes choose a material from a wide range od databases, insert quick change and compare designs. I appreciate the most fast calculation and re-calculation if I change anything, and also simple visulalization of results.

Cons

I wish full datasets of a material (including EPD) would be available under all licenses including 'Starter' (we all use them afterall).

Pros

#1 - The customer service is amazing! I have had people personally emailing me, setting up personal tutorials to make sure I got up and running. They reviewed my data to see why my results were not making sense to me.
#2 - This product could potentially take very little time for an evaluation, depending on the quality of data you start off with.
#3 - The results are easy to see, understand

Cons

My main complaint is that evaluating products is not as easy as I thought it would be.
1# You have to upload your data again if you find the value doesn't make sense and you picked a less environmentally friendly product.
2# It is hard to tell from the materials selection which product is better, how to spec it, and then go through the calculation process again.
It would be easier to be able to review results and go back to the selection screen.
Other than that, it looks like perhaps the US market needs to have more options included in the database.

Pros

Well made, ease of use, straight forward, fulfilling the need. It works in a cloud which is handy. It has nice visual interpretation of results. Quite substantial database. A lot of default options that can be used like average European transport impact. The input can be uploaded, and the results can be downloaded for further usage.

Cons

Searching in database is not always easy and precise. There is still some room for interpretation of results to implement.

Pros

It is easy to use the software. Every new user is able to learn fast how to work with this software.

Cons

Sometimes it is difficult to choose wich material is the most similar to the one in the project (if there are no material in the database). Nevertheless. with more and more expierience it is easier too pick the right one.

Pros

This software is one of the very few out there that thoroughly calculates a buildings LCA, and its focus on real-material and energy usage means its results are very accurate. Great integration into Revit.

Cons

More local (Australian) database entries would be helpful.