Sterling Greni, Managing Director of LabBuild, knows a thing or two about managing complexity. At his specialty subcontracting firm, his work focuses on equipment for professional chemistry labs. Sterling manages estimates, technical reviews, and on-the-fly problem solving - often across multiple active projects.
His secret weapon? PDF Expert.
We recently caught up with Sterling to learn how he uses PDF Expert throughout the pre-construction phase and how it helps him stay productive without sacrificing his sanity.
Discovering PDF Expert
Thanks to a nudge from his sister, Sterling had recently switched to a MacBook and discovered that Bluebeam, the go-to PDF tool for many in construction, no longer supported macOS. He tried a few alternatives and came across PDF Expert.
It didn’t initially have everything he needed, but after submitting a feature request, he received a thoughtful reply from one of the developers.
“That level of responsiveness really stuck with me.”
Since then, PDF Expert has added more
architectural tools that suit Sterling’s needs.
“To this day, as far as I can tell, PDF Expert is the only fully-featured PDF editor with architectural tools supported on Mac.”
Streamlining multiple projects with PDF Expert
Managing multiple small-to-mid-size projects simultaneously can be a challenge. Unlike large construction jobs with one client and a singular focus, Sterling often juggles many jobs simultaneously with different scopes and timelines.
“That’s why tools like PDF Expert are essential.”They let Sterling quickly mark up documents and share feedback without switching between platforms. While he thinks PDF Expert could benefit from more integrated project-sharing features - like a built-in collaboration hub - for what it does now, it’s already one of his daily go-to apps.
Sterling spends a good portion of his time reviewing architectural drawings. PDF Expert comes in handy here to leave comments, sketch potential solutions, and even do quantity takeoffs using the checkmark or measure tools. “It’s much quicker than opening up AutoCAD every time.”
During pre-construction, he also coordinated with other subcontractors and trades. Recently, he used PDF Expert to sketch a solution directly onto an existing drawing and sent it along to the general contractor. “It’s a fast, clear way to communicate changes or ideas without bogging down the process.”
‘Here’s an example of me using PDF Expert to create a quick sketch to communicate an idea for a project I’m working on.’
Sterling’s go-to tools
Within PDF Expert, Sterling relies heavily on the annotative toolbar- drawing shapes, adding text, and highlighting key areas - to help communicate quickly and effectively with clients. The measure tool is essential when calculating areas for things like countertops or custom fixtures. He uses fill & sign, too, to expedite the review of contracts or forms.
Beyond PDF Expert, Sterling's tools vary. AutoCAD is his main drafting tool. He mostly uses the Microsoft Office suite for general communication and presentation tasks. For phone communications, he uses Vonage Business. He uses QuickBooks Online for accounting and inventory. He also sometimes uses Apple Preview or a basic paint tool for quick markups.
Sterling occasionally uses ChatGPT to help with writing job descriptions, marketing content, or even just turning bullet points into more polished text. PDF Expert’s Copilot can also perform this function - by giving suggestions and answering questions regarding an uploaded document - in this case, it can summarize and list main points for job descriptions and churn out polished text.
A balanced approach to productivity
Sterling has experienced burnout before, so now he tries
to approach productivity with more balance. He feels that it's easy to overwork in his industry, especially when handling service calls and short-term projects with fast turnarounds.
His key takeaway is not constantly switching tools. He has found a few solid ones that do the job and sticks with them. Sterling relies on tools like PDF Expert and Outlook calendar to stay on track. But he still uses good old legal pads for handwritten task lists - he marks them up and shreds them when they’re done. It's old-school, but it works for him.
Do you have a story of how PDF Expert helps with your productivity?
Share it with us at stories@readdle.com, and we can feature you on our blog and social media.
Iryna Oleinikova 
