VERTICAL CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATE

ENGINEERING ESTIMATE

 A general calculation of size, quantity, value requirements, etc.

 Approximate computation of the probable cost of a piece of work made or to be done by a person.
 To determine or calculate approximately but carefully the quantities and cost requirements of a piece of work based on generally
accepted or standard method and theory.
 Covers both vertical and horizontal structures

VERTICAL STRUCTURES

 Buildings, towers, bridges, and other structures that rise above the ground.

HORIZONTAL STRUCTURES

 Stoneworks, earthworks, drainage, landscaping, sprinkler irrigation.

APPLICATION/PURPOSE OF ENGINEERING ESTIMATE

1. For new project construction

2. For rehabilitation and repair works
3. For appraisal of existing structures
4. For numerical bid evaluation
5. For audit review (examining or checking estimate prepared by others).

COST ENGINEERING – a part of detailed engineering activities which comprises the following:

1. Construction materials assessment

o Necessary field investigations regarding construction materials should be carried out to determine local prices and
availability.
o All material field surveys shall be undertaken in a manner to ensure preparation of reliable cost estimate.
2. Calculation of bill of quantities, BOQ
o BOQ shall be computed to a reasonable accuracy with ±3 to 5% deviation from actual construction quantities .
3. Cost analysis computation
o Cost analysis shall be prepared for each item of work using current prices, labor rates and equipment rental rates.
4. Preparation of construction schedule and cash flow
o Construction schedule shall be prepared based on the estimated quantities and labor productivity.
 o Cash flow must be projected in relation to purchases and payments and progress of construction indicated in the
construction schedule.

TYPES OF ESTIMATES

1. Conceptual Estimate
2. Preliminary Estimate
3. Designer’s Estimate
4. Bid Estimate
5. Construction Estimate
6. Appraisal Estimate

CONCEPTUAL ESTIMATE

 It can be prepared by area method or assembly method.

Area Method

 It is done by multiplying the area of the facility by a price per unit area to obtain a gross estimate.
 The calculated total estimate by the area method varies from ± 20 to 30% of the actual or final estimate

Assembly Estimate

 The different components of the facility are estimated by assembly units like roofing, walls and partitions, slabs, columns,
footings, etc.
 It is more accurate that area method.
 Useful during schematic or budgetary phase when design details are not available, or for preliminary cost projections based on
minimal design data.

PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE

 It is the first step in the production of plans and specifications which comprises about 40% of the complete detailed design.
 It is prepared by the engineer to derive a cost based on more refined data than in conceptual estimate to be approved by the
owner.

DESIGNER’S ESTIMATE

 After the approval of the preliminary design by the owner, detailed design and specification are completed.
 The designer prepared estimate based on the final design
  This estimate should be made to achieve a deviation of ± 3 to 5% from actual cost since the total design details and
specifications are already available.
 BOQ for designer’s estimate is normally expressed in terms of areas, volumes, lengths, weights, board feet, etc. for unit cost
analysis.
 Two (2) purpose:
1. To ensure that the completed design is within the owner’s financial budget to construct.
2. To establish a reference cost (or bench mark) in evaluating contractors’ bids to check if the bids contain fair and
effective costs for the work. Without designer’s estimate, the owner has no basis for the actual cost of his project;
hence, he searches by guesses and agrees for the contract price uncertainly.

BID ESTIMATE

 Prepared by the contractor for bidding competition

 Must be accurate, competitive, and profitable
 Requires considerable estimator days to finish
 For simple jobs (as a rough rule of thumb) the preparation of bid estimate will cost about one-fourth (1/4) of 1% of the total bid
cost.
Example: For a 10,000,000 total bid cost, estimator’s fee will be 25,000
(This minimum professional fee is a cost that should be included in the bid estimate.)
 For complicated estimates, the fee may be increased defending on the complexity of the estimate and on the competence of the
estimator
 BOQ for bid estimate is also expressed in terms of areas, volumes, lengths, weights, board feet, etc. for unit cost analysis

COSTRUCTION ESTIMATE

 Permits the contractor to make projections about profit or loss (that is, to maximize profit, or minimize losses) on a job during
actual implementation of the project.
 Requires a more accurate calculation than designer’s or bid estimate in which the BOQ is described by number of pieces, bags,
boxes, gallons, etc. like 123 pcs steel bars, 12mm x 6m, Grade 275 or 100 bags Portland cement for pricing and purchase
purposes.
 Must be made precise to suit primary considerations such as actual dimensions and field conditions.
  If the estimator can predict and include all construction costs during the preparation of designer’s or bi estimate, the resulting
estimate shall provide an efficient means for cost control processes during construction. It is then that the designer’s or bid
estimate is complete and effective. In this case of bid estimate, it has a better chance to be declared the winning bid.
 Note: A guesstimate is unfit for construction work and unreliable for contract negotiation. It is a way of defrauding government
and conspiracy.

APPRAISAL ESTIMATE

 An art of estimating the fair value or worth of a property at specified date.

 The appraised value of properties requires the determination of its present value, the estimated “Most Probable Cost”, which can
be reduced by deducting the accrued depreciation.

3 Methods for estimating appraised value (fair market value) of a subject property:

1. Quantity survey method

2. Assembly method
3. Cost-per-area method

QUANTITY SURVEY METHOD

 Tedious and time consuming

 Most accurate method in calculating direct and indirect costs which are necessary in appraisal work.
 It takes a lot of time and effort to do a good and honest work which is measured by completeness, accuracy, and truthfulness.

ASSEMBLE METHOD

 Existing structures are priced by parts like: roofing, ceilings, masonry wall, concrete structural elements, etc.

COST-PER-AREA METHOD

 Simplest method, highly approximate

 The value of property is determined by multiplying the total area by unit costs like 16,000 pesos per square meter (for low cost
construction) or 25,000 (for high cost housing)

THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGINEERING ESTIMATE

 Essential requirement in infrastructure development such as buildings, transportation, communication, water and power supply
and other hydraulic structures.
 Key element in feasibility studies and engineering construction
  Construction contract documents include PSE: Plans, specifications, estimate
 Faulty and/ or incomplete plans and drawings do not convey to the estimator the total requirements regarding the engineering
or architectural design features that can lead to a poorly estimate estimated project
 There is a great need of estimate in order to provide the construction personnel useful information regarding materials,
manpower, equipment, completion time, and cost to do a project.
 The success of a project greatly depends on the completeness and reliability of the prepared estimate.
 Without effective estimate, the project will suffer losses no matter what construction project management skill will be employed
during implementation

MANUAL LABOR & CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS

MANUAL LABOR

 Either physical or mental effort that provides the goods or services in an economy
 Physical work or a work that involves the use of hands

LABORER/ CONSTRUCTION HELPER

 A person who does a manual labor which usually involves hard physical work that is not skilled
SKILLED LABOR

 A person who does a manual labor that requires skill

SPECIALTY LABORER

 One that requires special skill

OTHER LABORERS OR WORKERS THAT INVOLVES IN CONTRUCTION WORKS:

1. FOREMAN – a person in charge of a group of workers regarding the whole operation in relation to job perfomances
2. LEADMAN – a skilled laborer with necessary skill and experience to lead or in control of a particular work such as mason
leadman, carpenter leadman, etc.

DIVISION OF LABOR

CLASSIFICATION OF MANUAL LABOR

1. LABORERS – for hard woks (assisting the skilled laborers) like in earthwork, concrete proportioning and mixing, transporting
and curing, demolition, clearing and grubbing and similar works.
2. SEMI-SKILLED LABORERS – for rough woks requiring moderate skill like CHB laying, leveling and finishing concrete surface,
light welding, simple formworks fabrication, installation and stripping, paint surface preparation and similar works.
3. SKILLED WORKERS – for fine works requiring high level skill like cement plastering, tile setting, painting, complex formworks,
heavy welding of steel trusses, columns, beams, finish carpentry, ceiling, roofing, insulation and other same works.
4. SPECIALTY LABORERS – for specialty works that need technical and special skill like plumbing, electrical, mechanical (pumps
and fire protection, elevator, escalator), communication installation, sophisticated concrete and steel moldings, water proofing,
landscaping, sprinkler irrigation. Must be under the direct supervision of an experienced and competent professional

LABOR ESTIMATE

It involves the following:

a) Determination of man-hours
b) Application of labor wage

LABOR MAN-HOUR

 Can be estimated by labor productivity

LABOR WAGE
  Must conform to minimum wage law prescribed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

LABOR PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS

 Determination of the total man-hours required to do a price of work which is the main concern of the estimator in labor cost
computation

LABOR ESTIAMTE CAN BE EXPRESSED IN TERMS OF:

a) Work quantity output, 𝑊𝑞𝑜 - expresses the capacity of workmen to complete a unit quantity of work per unit time. Ex. 2.3 cu.m
per hour or 2.3 cu.m/hr/
b) Work man-hour rate, 𝑊𝑚ℎ - measure of manpower-time required to accomplish a certain work. Ex. 1.5 man-hour per cu.m can
be abbreviated as 1/5 mh/cu.m
- Inversely proportional to work quantity output
1
𝑊𝑚ℎ =
𝑊𝑞𝑜

FOR SIMPLICITY

LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, LP

𝐿𝑃 = 𝑊𝑚ℎ

 Formula may differ from the situation in the real construction site
 To enable the estimator to develop a clear idea o the theoretical level of the labor estimate.

LABOR OUTPUT

𝐿𝑂 = 𝑊𝑞𝑜

1
𝐿𝑃 =
𝐿𝑂

IN STRICTNESS

1. Total number of manpower required to do a job

2. Total working time in terms of man-hours or man-days to complete the job
3. Corresponding labor rate per hour or day prevailing in the jobsite, which includes salaries, wages and fringe benefits prescribed
by the DOLE
 4. Total cost of labor derived from the required manpower, prevailing labor rates and work duration ot complete the work

WAGE RATES

 Must conform to the regular wage rates determined by DOLE

 DOLE stipulates daily minimum wage rates for ordinary labors in every region
 Shall be the basis for labor cost estimate.

𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑐 𝑃𝑎𝑦 = 𝑅𝑤 × 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑊𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒

Where: 𝑅𝑤 = construction wage rate factor with suggested values

Manual Labor Rural Areas (Country Side) Urban Areas

Un-skilled 1.0 1.0
Semi-skilled 1.15 1.2
Skilled 1.25 1.3
Specialty 1.5 1.6
Foreman 1.4 1.5
Leadman:
For laborers 1.10 1.15
For semi-skilled 1.25 1.3
For skilled 1.35 1.4
For skilled 1.60 1.7

A wage rate below the stipulated minimum wage rates is illegal; it is a way to labor slavery. On the other hand, a wage rate which is too high
from the legal minimum wage rates or accepted standard wage rates will result to excessive estimate.

PERFORMANCES OF WORKERS

Factors affecting the performance of the workers:

1. Type of work
2. Availability and capability of skilled labor
3. Weather condition
4. Construction supervision and management
5. Construction scheduling
A construction schedule done by guesswork is irresponsible, or a display of incompetence which is ineffective.

WORK TIME ANALYSIS/ LABOR PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS

 Procedure in determining the required probable work time or man-hours in accomplishing a job.

4 BASIC STAGES

1. Breaking the job into its sequence of steps

2. Determining the required reasonable time to complete the job step
3. Summing up all the individual work time
4. Adjusting the nominal work time taking into consideration the workmen efficiency job effectiveness and actual job conditions to
estimate the probable work time, which is referred to as estimate work time that will be applied in labor productivity.

JOB STEP

 Defined as a segment of the entire job necessary to progress the work

 Must be in correct sequence
 Shall be recorded with corresponding work time

PRACTICAL PROBLEM

1. Determine total work time in hauling 200 pieces, 150mm CHB with the following estimate data:
a. Hauling distance, 200m
b. Hauling equipment, wheelbarrow, 8 piece capacity per trip
c. Walk travel speed, 35 meters per minute (or 2100 m/hr – assumed)
Ans. LPn=0.03 mh/CHB

JOB FACTORS FOR LABOR PRODUCTIVITY

1. Workmen capability or efficiency

 Skilled and experienced workers perform more effectively than non-skilled inexperienced laborers.
2. Job conditions
 Workers’ mobility slow down under adverse situation like in restricted area or where there is obstruction.
3. Job effectiveness
 100% can never be achieved in actual work
 45/60 (45 minute time or 0.75 hour is actually productive in one hour working time). For labor estimate puposes, job
effectiveness must not be less than 35/60 (0.58) (This is used for highly restricted work place or sever site condition)
  For rough and simple works with efficient scheduling and high workmen motivation such as in formworks and CHB
laying, etc. job effectiveness can be made excellent (50/60 min-hr)
 Actual working time is 7.5 hrs with 30minutes break time.

LABOR ADJUSTMENT FACTORS

Labor correction factor, Cw

𝑪𝒘 = 𝑬𝒘 × 𝑬𝒋 × 𝑪𝒋

Workmen Efficiency (Skill), 𝑬𝒘 Labor Adjustment Factor

Excellent 0.95-1.00 (0.97)
Above Average 0.90-0.94 (0.92)
Average 0.80-0.89 (0.84)
Poor 0.70-0.79 (0.74)
Job Effectiveness, 𝑬𝒋
Excellent, 50 minute/hour (50/60) 0.83
Above Ave., 45 minute/hour (45/60) 0.75
Average, 40 minute/hour (40/60) 0.67
Below Aver., 35 minute/hour (35/60) 0.58
Job Condition, 𝑪𝒋
Excellent 0.95-1.00 (0.97)
Above Average 0.90-0.94 (0.92)
 Average 0.80-0.89 (0.84)
Below Average 0.80-0.75 (0.77)
Sever/Poor 0.74-0.65 (0.69)

Estimating Labor Productivity Factor

Sample Problem

1. Determine the total labor adjustment factor for an average carpenter with 45/60 minute per hour job effectiveness assigned to a
work under above average job condition.
Ans. Cw=0.586

LABOR-MATERIAL PERCENTAGE METHOD

 Rangers from 20% to 60% or even higher of material cost.

o For simple jobs = 20% of material cost
o For average works = 35% of material cost
o For specialty works = 60% of material cost or higher

 Highly approximate and should not be accepted as a basis for final labor cost for particular item of work unless proven reliably
by pa records of actual work performances.
 May serve as vague information for contract agreement which can cause ill-will and disputes during construction (no work
detail)
 Risky undertaking if entering into construction computation without detailed labor cost computation.
 Does not consider manpower requirement and prevailing labor rates which makes the computed labor cost baseless.

EQUIPMENT EVALUATION & SELECTION

MACHINE

 Instrument with moving parts for transmitting force or motion designed to do a particular job

EQUIPMENT
  A machine that is needed for a particular activity or purpose like: office or kitchen equipment, or construction equipment/

EQUIPMENT EVALUATION REQUIRES THE FF:

1. Equipment production
2. Rental rates

PROPER CHOICE OF EQUIPMENTS DEPENDS ON:

1. Quantity of material or volume of soil to be worked. (quantity of earthwork)

2. The type of soil to be moved or material to be lifted (cycle time)
3. Job conditions
4. Mobility

COMPARISON BETWEEN TRACKS & WHEELS IN TERMS OF MOBILITY

TRACKS

1. Floatation
2. Traction
3. Maneuverability
4. Severe underfoot
5. Faster machine repositioning

WHEELS

1. Mobility
2. No pavement damage
3. Better stability with outriggers or dozers
4. Leveling machine with outriggers
5. Dozing capability

SAMPLE PROBLEM

1. Determine the appropriate excavating equipment for excavation with quantity of 1200 cu.m ordinary soil.