A pre tender estimate is a critical tool for project management. This estimate helps the project team determine its budget and schedule.
The accuracy of a pre tender cost estimate can make or break a project. It is also important to hire a professional consultant who has extensive experience in the industry.
Cost-effectiveness
A pre tender estimate is an independent estimate of the cost of a construction project prepared by a quantity surveyor or cost engineer engaged by clients before bidding for a contract. It is a benchmark to judge bids from contractors.
The accuracy of a pre tender estimate is influenced by several factors, including the availability of accurate and up-to-date market prices, a detailed master checklist of items to be included in the estimating process and the expertise of the estimator. Clients and consultants should take the time to ensure that they understand the scope of the work before the estimating process begins, and obtain quotations from potential subcontractors and suppliers.
However, this is not enough to ensure the accuracy of a pre tender estimate. It is important to ensure that the estimating team has an understanding of the local construction industry.
In addition, clients and consultants should make sure that they have a clear understanding of their project requirements, such as labour availability, material availability, cost of equipment and the availability of imports from other countries. They should also ensure that they obtain historical cost data from reliable sources, hire a qualified technical staff and monitor the performance of their estimates.
Another factor that has an impact on the accuracy of a pre tender estimate is the location of the project. This is because cities and towns in the Gaza Strip have good access to transport infrastructure, which can be used for transportation of materials and equipment.
This study shows that the location of the project has a minor effect on the accuracy of a pre tender estimate, while procurement forms and contracts are major determinants of its accuracy. The results of this study provide a useful basis for clients and consultants to develop effective strategies to improve the accuracy of pre-tender estimates in the Gaza Strip.
The findings of this research are in line with the previous studies carried out by Akintoye (2000), Elhag, Boussabaine and Ballal (2005) and Odusami and Onukwube (2008). The results show that the RIIs of clients and consultants on these five factors are ranked 10th, 11th, 61st and 62nd respectively.
Accuracy
A pre tender estimate is an important tool for a construction project team to use in order to determine the cost and schedule of the project. If the estimate is accurate, it can help the project team avoid costly mistakes and save money. However, if the estimate is inaccurate, it can lead to costly overruns and delays in the construction process.
In order to ensure that the project is successful, a good estimate must be obtained from a qualified and skilled consultant. This is because the estimates can be affected by a number of factors, including the size of the project, the type of material used and the location of the project.
It is also important to consider whether the client has provided complete information about the project. This can affect the accuracy of the estimate because it is possible for the estimator to miss important details. It is also important to consider the amount of time that was allowed for the estimating process.
The study revealed that the top five factors affecting the accuracy of a pre tender estimate are detailed specifications, clear and detail drawings and specification, a consultant’s experience, the experience of the project team and the amount of money spent on materials. This is similar to the findings of Trost and Oberlender (2003) and Elhag, Boussabaine and Ballal (2005).
Although the clients and consultants ranked these factors highest, they are only a small sample of all the possible factors that can affect the accuracy of a pre tender estimate. It is important to note that all of these factors can have a significant impact on the accuracy of an estimate, so it is vital to hire a consultant who has extensive experience in the industry.
The research also discovered that the influence of government regulations requirement was ranked fourth by both clients and consultants. This is similar to the results of previous studies by Akintoye (2000), Elhag, Boussabaine, and Ballal (2005) and Odusami and Onukwube (2008). It is also important to note that clients and consultants ranked the influence of the location of the project as least influential on the accuracy of a pre tender estimate.
Low-visibility factors
The accuracy of a pre tender estimate is an essential component to the success of any construction project. Accurate estimates ensure that the resulting tender results align with the client’s budget, saving both time and money during construction. However, the estimating process is not without its challenges. For example, the use of complex models can cause problems with estimation accuracy. In addition, there are numerous other factors that must be considered before drafting a tender.
The most important of these is the materials (prices/availability/supply/quality/imports). Generally speaking, this factor has a large impact on pre-tender estimation. This is especially true for projects that involve complex building systems, such as the power generation sector. It is also important to understand that a successful pre-tender estimate involves the coordination of various parties. For example, the client must understand the importance of having a clear definition of project requirements before the start of the estimating process. It is also crucial to hire a qualified estimating team to produce accurate estimates. The other major point to remember is that a good estimate requires the proper understanding of the project scope and interdependencies between different stages in the construction process.
Contingency
The contingency of a pre tender estimate is the sum of identified uncertainties and risks that may affect the cost of the project. Using a risk-based estimating (RBE) technique, the estimater incorporates contingencies into planning, scoping, and design estimates. This can be achieved by a combination of deterministic percentage estimation of contingency line items and probabilistic estimate of specific risk events.
The most common deterministic method of contingency determination is the traditional percentage, which adds a fixed amount between 5% and 10% of the total project cost to cover all possible risks. This method has several problems, including overestimating the probability of an event occurring and underestimating the cost incurred if it does occur.
A more realistic and reliable method of determining contingency is the Expected Value method. In this method, individual risks to the project are identified and their impact value (in pounds) is determined together with their probability of occurrence. The sum of these risk values is then used to determine the CCR.
This approach was advocated by a study entitled Estimating using Risk Analysis (ERA). Another method is the Method of Moments. This method uses the probability tables for a normal distribution to determine contingency at a given level of confidence. This approach has several advantages over the traditional method of calculating contingency, such as its simplicity and ability to accommodate estimating uncertainties and risks.