Mechanical insulation is used to limit heat gain or loss on piping, equipment, and structures. It is typically installed around ductwork and piping, as well as industrial processes.
A number of mechanical insulation estimating tools are available. These tools make it easy to calculate material quantities and project costs.
GEM Software
Gem is an intuitive product that offers a number of benefits for recruiting teams. For example, it can track the progress of talent pipelines, identify high-quality candidates, and create targeted outreach emails to connect with them. Additionally, it can provide data on recruitment touchpoints and report on diversity metrics.
GEM is a desktop operating environment created by Digital Research in 1985. It was designed to be a native graphical user interface for the Atari ST series of computers, as well as IBM PC compatibles running MS-DOS or DR DOS. It was also ported to other computers with limited graphical capabilities, including the Amstrad Turbo Pascal series of personal computer.
It included a database of manufacturer and fabricator pricing for all standard mechanical insulation products, productivity factors for different construction environments, and labor rates by union or non-union jobsites. It could even predict how long a job would take, based on previous projects of the same type.
In addition, GEM was able to display multiple windows on the “desktop” and supported a variety of user-defined UI styles. GEM was later re-purposed as the core of software such as Ventura Publisher, and GEM/M (GEM 3.2) was released in 1990 for use on a variety of applications. GEM was finally discontinued in 1993, with DRI’s acquisition by Novell in June 1991 marking the end of all further development.
FastWRAP
MIKE is a mechanical insulation estimating system that minimizes takeoff time, increases accuracy of bids, and speeds development of bill of materials and labor cost reports. It also frees up valuable time for sales calls and job supervision, increasing profits for your company.
It is easy to use and backed by an excellent customer support team. It also features a global database of specs and takeoff screens that can be copied into any new project, eliminating the need to build them from scratch. It also includes a layering feature that allows you to define multiple layers, such as metal jacketing on top of fiberglass board insulation. This ensures that you have a complete and accurate estimate.
FastEST offers a variety of programs for your cost estimating and on-screen plan takeoff needs, including FastPIPE (plumbing and mechanical piping), FastDUCT (HVAC ductwork), and FastWRAP (mechanical pipe insulation). These powerful systems include online training and customer support, as well as a 60-day money back guarantee.
These systems are based on an award-winning estimating platform and are ideal for commercial and industrial mechanical insulation contractors. They are fully equipped with a database of items and customizable specifications for digital plan takeoff, as well as a complete list of productivity factors to help you calculate base bids and alternates. They can also be used to prepare bids by section or job and produce a comprehensive bill of materials for each project.
Key Estimator
The ability to prepare accurate mechanical insulation estimates requires a strong technical background, as well as good communication and customer service skills. This position also requires knowledge of estimating software and construction contracts. An associate degree in engineering, physics or construction management is preferred by many employers.
Insulation workers install and replace the materials used to insulate buildings or mechanical systems. They typically work indoors and may need to enter confined spaces. They usually learn their trade on the job or through an apprenticeship program. Their duties include measuring the area to be insulated, marking plans and preparing an estimate.
Xactimate is an estimating software that allows users to sketch architectural plans of rooms and provide close estimations for project costs. It can also calculate material quantities and create base bids and alternates for each room in a building. It is also designed to double-check estimates. Its accuracy is a crucial part of the estimating process, and it can save time and money by cutting out errors. A recent study of cross-annotator disagreement shows that a substantial part of the key estimation system’s error correlates with annotator disagreement, and an even larger part is related to musically explainable relationships among different keys. These findings suggest that more attention should be given to the quality of key estimation methods.
Pipe Calculator
An insulation calculator is a great tool to have for mechanical piping projects. It can help you calculate the volume of a pipe based on its diameter and length. It also calculates the weight of water (or any other liquid) inside a pipe based on its density. It is simple to use and can be used with both imperial and metric systems.
A good estimating program can reduce your quoting time significantly. It can also help you make better estimates and avoid costly extension errors. It can also save you a lot of money on material costs. The program should be easy to use and allow you to customize it to suit your needs. For example, it should be able to handle different construction environments and work in union or non-union settings. It should also be able to estimate labor hours and provide detailed reports with material and labor pricing.
The program should be able to perform digital takeoff using project blueprints and digitized items. This process is much faster and more accurate than manual methods. It can also double-check your calculations, making sure that you are not missing any items. The program should also be able to import existing drawings and spreadsheets.
MIKE(tm) is a comprehensive mechanical insulation take-off and estimating system developed by a team of mechanical insulation contractors and computer experts. This state-of-the-art system uses a personal desktop or notebook computer and a custom software with optional digitizers.