Is It Possible To Do Estimating Correctly?

Cost estimating is one of the most difficult as well as important aspect in any construction project management. This necessary part of any project is generally handled by professional estimators. As the whole estimating process is so much complex that maximum time the main concern is whether the estimation is correct or not? The answer depends on how much experience, efficiency and foresee capability the estimator possesses. All successful estimating involves a confidence interval and an error band. For example you can say that some project will be completed on or before 5th May 2012 with a 6 percent error band or there is an 85 percent probability of the program costing $320M or less with 5 percent error band.
The probabilistic forecasting of cost and schedule is the core process applied to most of the programs the estimating companies are working on. Along with it Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) is an integrated schedule containing the networked, detailed tasks necessary to ensure successful program execution. The IMS is used to verify the attainability of contract objectives, to evaluate progress toward meeting them and to integrate scheduled activities with all related components.

The estimators need to realize that all project activities consist of random variables and that estimates using those variables based on simple statistics. The common mistakes in estimating services takes place when the estimators ignore the underlying statistical basis of projects and fail to acknowledge the variables. Similar problem can be happen if a project is scheduled in hours and the work extends for more than a few days. The estimator should have a clear understanding about the size, limitation and other things about the project. All these things along with profound experience can help an estimation to lessen the error ration and make it successful. That’s the secret of the art of good estimating.

The Cornerstone of Cost Estimate

The cost estimation is the rapidly growing trend in AEC industry. It helps both the contractors and the owners as a proper budget is really very assistive to them. On the basis of the estimated cost a proper bid will be prepared. A good estimate must start with a complete understanding of scope of work followed by an accurate quantity takeoff. In the process of an accurate estimation, the estimator has to do a vast and depth research. It’s very easy to miss out identifying items of work in the project. This may be for some ordinary reasons like missing drawings, details and specifications. Misinterpretation of the scope is another reason for miss out. That’s why besides updated technology, experience in conceptualizing is also very important in this field of cost estimation.

First of all he has to study the floor plan of the construction. After getting the idea clearly it’s the turn to on site field engineering. The estimator has to visit the spot and consult the geotechnical consultant to perform surface investigation to evaluate the land’s ability to provide the foundation of the structure. The estimator then has to make a proper report about all these factors.

Now the estimator has to get a clear idea about the resource of the construction and more importantly its cost which includes material suppliers, labor force, subcontractors, construction equipment, indirect cost, management and many other nitty gritty of the project. The estimator has to team up with comptroller, accountant, field superintend, project manager, purchasing manager to get all the updated data about the project.

After all the field works and reporting it’s the turn to take help of the estimating software. It will help the estimator to get all the relevant output of cost estimating like the cost, schedule and quantity of resources. In this way the estimator has to determine the cost of the project.

Architectural Project Estimating

We provide model based Project Estimating service from schematic narratives through final construction documents including Construction Estimating & Scheduling for Architects at the concept stage to measure, count, and price best materials & building objects such as walls, doors, and windows, automatically or manually.

We also offer other estimating services like cost modeling, cash flow projection, life cycle costing, change order management, job order costing, best value analysis and hard bid estimates.

Supporting BIM technology we use powerful and efficient object Project Estimating tool like Estimating to assist architect with pre-construction efforts. The quantities are extracted based on object types and their dimensions. Quantity extraction methods are easily customized and are reusable for multiple projects. All quantities and scheduled tasks were represented in production and nothing was overlooked.

With our takeoff services architects can increase the efficiency of the project estimating process, improves communication and coordination between designers, builders and clients. Architects can check, refine & determining the associated materials and labor costs, formulate a bid (or estimate) as part of the bidding process, reduce expensive and time-consuming efforts to redesign projects to meet budget demands.

We also provide standard and customized Project Estimating Reports filled out in MS Excel spreadsheet for construction projects. Each managed quantity group can be assigned a distinctive color code for its 3D objects pasted into MS Excel for easy tracking and identifying objects associated with the quantities. These color codes help architects to identify, visually and clearly, what objects are used to generate the quantities. Architects can also get an estimation of cost to construct a residential building or a commercial building. The final estimation for constructing a property can be reached on the basis of this report.

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