When filling out bid forms make sure:
It may sound simple, but it does happen!
On some plans, I wonder why the architect and engineer even bothered drawing a set of plans based on the number of notes they have included. There can be more work located in the notes than what is shown on the drawings!
Estimator should notate on the plans which notes they have included or excluded in their estimate. I typically color code my lines through the notes. I select one color to cross off items that do not affect my estimate what so ever. When starting a new sheet, the first thing you should do is read all the notes and cross off the ones that don’t pertain to you. This will help eliminate an error of not including work associated with a note. It can also save you time required to estimate the project. There’s nothing worse than having to adjust your estimate because a note clarified that a portion of the work is actually an alternate.
Typically, there are two types of notes on blueprints. The first type of note is a general note. These usually will be stated on several if not all of the drawings. I think it’s more of a “CYA” for the architects and engineers. Especially when the note states something to the effect of all other associated work required for a complete and operational system. To me this says, hey we aren’t sure what we were doing, but it’s your responsibility to make sure everything is correct.
The second type of note is much more detailed. This usually correlates to something drawn on the plans but unfortunately doesn’t always match up to the plans. This is often used to help describe what is shown on the plans. These can be very dangerous if missed! A single note could represent thousands of dollars worth of work required.
Recently, I estimated a project that showed large bore stainless steel pipes going to a single existing tank. There was a note on the plans that stated this was typical for all five tanks! There was no other mention on the plans of these other four tanks so if I would have missed this note I would have missed almost 1,000 feet of stainless steel pipe.
Notes on a drawing are just as important as the drawing itself. Read the notes and save yourself headaches later!
Questions at bid time are an important component of the estimating and bidding process. The questions are usually posed in written form to the architect or owner unless there is a pre-bid meeting where questions are asked as a part of the overall presentation. These questions are asking for clarification on the scope for the project. The architect/engineer and owner should consider these questions important and beneficial for the project.
The questions need to be referenced to a specific scope. This may mean citing Specification 1234, paragraph 5.0, sub paragraph 5.0.1a and one particular sentence from the paragraph. The question must be kept simple. State the specific item and then ask one specific question. The last thing needed is a compound question looking for two answers. If two answers are needed, ask two separate questions. This will result in less confusion for the reader and likely result in a complete answer.
When asking about conflicting specification provisions whether within the specification or between the specifications and drawings, again be specific with what is stated on each document. Communications regarding the problem need to be clear. It does not meet the needs of anyone just to say there is a conflict.
All of the questions should be numbered. This will eliminate confusion as the questions are discussed and if they are referred to in subsequent conversations or writings.
All questions and answers developed during a pre-bid meeting should be put in writing as a part of the meeting minutes. If they are not a part of the issued minutes, do not rely upon verbal answers. Get the questions and answers in writing! This holds true for any meeting or conversation with the owner or architect/engineer where they are answering questions on the project.
Oh, By the Way… Asking questions of the architect/engineer and the owner is another way to make your competitors aware of problems with the bidding documents. This is a good strategy to have competitors price out the true scope of the work on the project. Now they can consider costs they may have otherwise missed and you are competing against better bidders!
I am seeing more projects that go out to bid with at least one addendum. Addendums are becoming the norm instead of an occasional thing. Sometimes the changes are clouded on the drawings, other times the changes are issued on new drawings. Sometimes there are simple changes to the specifications, other times entire spec sections are either added or removed. It does not matter how they are identified – addendums add room for errors in your estimate. You could miss an item that has been deleted or changed. There is always a possibility that you may miss an addendum altogether because it was not passed on to you.
Where estimators really have to worry is when not all of the changes are identified on the drawings. The best way that I have found to eliminate any missed changes is to overlay each drawing to confirm each change. Doing the review will take time but it will help eliminate costly mistakes. Also qualifying your bid as to what addendum(s) are included can help you. In the market today any mistake is a costly mistake!
One way that you can really mess up an estimate is by assuming that the floor to ceiling height is all the same. Checking the sections of the building really comes into play when you are working off of the mechanical, plumbing and electrical drawings. When you are routing the pipe or conduit you really need to know how high the ceilings are. You can run into a multi story atrium or gymnasium and that will make your runs of pipe or conduit longer. Also if you are running underground or under the slab and there happens to be a partial basement you will either need to change materials or route the pipe or conduit around the area.
When I start to takeoff I will review the plans and highlight the areas that have different heights so when I am doing the takeoff I can either rout the items around the area or account for the changes in the quantities. Highlighting different areas also works for work on buildings that have different space requirements like jails, classified work and medical facilities.
Taking just a few minutes in the beginning to review and understand your plans can save you a lot of headaches and hassle later!
When taking-off a set of drawings, it’s important to verify the completeness of the plans. Countless times I have seen drawings that look 100% complete, until I started looking at the layout of the each system. It’s very important to follow the systems to ensure that you are taking-off a complete system and nothing more or less. You can’t rely on the Architect or Engineer to supply accurate 100% complete drawings.
On plans that have each floor separated into multiple areas, it’s important to verify that not only is the whole floor shown, but also that there is not overlap between the plans. Referencing the columns shown on each plan to ensure that there is no gap/overlap on the plans is a good estimating practice. Even if the plans show where the dividing line is between areas, still check to verify these lines are consistent for all the drawings.
Another problem I have seen many times is systems simply disappearing from one floor/area to the next. You should always reference the areas/floors around the section you are taking-off to ensure there is continuity in the plans. For plumbing, the roof/storm drainage piping seems to be a popular system to “disappear”. The plans will show the storm drainage piping going to the floor below but the plans for the level below doesn’t reference the piping.
Once the incorrect items on the drawing are identified, it’s important to notify the Architect so the issues can be corrected on an addendum. This will help level the playing field at bid time.
An estimator is a true jack of all trades. Not only do we have to know how the job is going to be built we also have to know what the contract has to say. Contracts are not written in conversational English instead it is written in legal speak. Before signing a contract you have to know how it will affect your company and subcontractors. A good way to learn lawyer speak is to talk to other estimators about it or you can even talk to a lawyer. It is better to ask questions before you sign the contract than call a lawyer once you are in trouble!
Is This Really Possible In Construction?
The economists call the recession that is underway a “cleansing” recession. This is a polite way of saying “thinning the herd” of the weaker firms or putting the poor business operators out of business. But is a cleansing recession really possible in our industry? I would like to think it is. A recent conversation with another estimator is giving me some second thoughts.
We were discussing the difficulties in bidding for the past two to three years. Work is being bid at or under cost. The cleansing effect was brought up due to these practices. My counterpart stated that it was impossible to get rid of the poor business operator. Thinking I was the bright one I said, “Oh Yeah?”
Well his point was each poorly run firm would continue until they had to get out of their market or out of business. There would be a multitude of reasons – unprofitable projects to unsuccessful in bidding. A swift analogy would be for a home builder to liquidate their holdings in bad times and start building decks where only the tools of the trade and a pickup truck were required. Once the times started getting better it would be back into the former market they served – likely under a new name but following the same old practices that got them out of the market in the first place.
Another point was the employees that are laid off from companies oftentimes start up their own companies. These start out with a pickup truck and the tools. While many of them may be excellent craftsmen, they can be the worst businessmen. Too many do not have the education or knowledge to determine what a billing rate should be for their time and equipment. If they make enough for a living, they are content. Never mind making enough for a business to succeed or that profit is not a dirty word. These then put pressure on the low end of the market, forcing companies to move up or get out.
The companies that move up may bring the same poor business practices in to the next larger market. A break even approach to bidding will not keep a company in business. These business operators and firms must learn that it takes profit to stay in business.
Oh, By the Way… The late Peter Kiewit always liked point out his company’s projects and say they were paid to build it. He was not in the business to pay the client to build his project. His company has succeeded since 1884 by following this practice!
The estimator is the life blood of business, especially in construction. We have our counterparts in other industries. These are economists and actuaries to name two other occupations. All three deal in reliably forecasting (estimating) costs before they are actually incurred. There are many basic and advanced skill sets involved in estimating.
The basic skill sets for an estimator are in reading, writing and arithmetic. These skills can be picked up in grade school through high school. They are improved upon by on the job training, like blue print reading, contract interpretation and constructability issues. Sometimes the skills are gained through specialized courses of study in vocational schools or colleges. This involves a wealth of subjects too.
The nuances to these three areas are what distinguish a competent estimating professional or career estimator from the pretenders. The nuances are what an experienced estimator knows and what the beginning estimator must learn. This is what other professions need to understand about the estimating profession.
Take the basic skill of reading. An estimator must read blueprints and specifications. These must be translated from their existing media to another form for identification and pricing purposes.
This leads to writing. The estimator must take the information from reading and identify all of the potential cost items on an estimate sheet. This lists items that are shown on the plans and called out in the specifications. It also includes related cost items that are necessary but not shown on the plans. This could be as straight-forward as adding a crane for lifting.
The reading and writing lead to arithmetic. At its simplest level it is just sixth grade mathematics. A quantity multiplied by a unit hour will give the total hours. The total hours times a labor rate will give the total labor dollars. Continue this process with materials, equipment and/or subcontract prices and you will have a line totals. Add all of the labor, material, equipment and subcontracts together and pretty soon you have an estimate total. Add indirect costs and profit and pretty soon you have a bid amount.
These are the basic skills to begin a career as an estimator (or even to be a pretender.) In upcoming blogs the nuances of the reading, writing and arithmetic will be covered. The estimating professionals may nod and say “Yep.” Others may say “I didn’t know that.” Some may say “Baloney” or another equivalent.
The other day I was talking with a long time estimator. We were discussing why, after all these years, he is still doing estimating. He said it was all in the thrill of the hunt. The estimate was the preparation for the hunt and bid day was the hunting trip. And when the final numbers were read – well, that was when he would find out how well the hunt went! That sums up why a lot of estimators are estimators, the thrill of the hunt.
