Better resource management: By accurately estimating the tasks and resources needed to complete projects, you can more efficiently produce a work breakdown structure, assign staff, and adhere to projected project timelines. This helps to build strong client relationships, create repeat business, and boost your company’s reputation.
Save Time: Eliminate headaches and wasted time chasing material prices. Cost estimation services can handle this for you, giving you more time to focus on growing your business.
Identifying the Scope of Work
When a company outsources work to an estimation service, it’s important to have a detailed plan for what the scope of work is. This will help ensure that everyone involved has a clear understanding of the project and what needs to be done to complete it. It will also help a business choose the right estimating partner.
A thorough scope of work includes an outline of the tasks, timeline, and resources required to forecast a project’s total cost to deliver. The closer this estimate is to the actual costs, the more successful the project will be. It’s a process that requires precise planning and progress monitoring to be completed successfully.
In the past, creating estimates for commercial construction projects involved lengthy relationships with dozens of sub-contractors and sourcing bids for each individual trade. These days, general contractors and other clients can rely on the services of professional estimating firms like ESNY. These experts use on-screen takeoff technology to collect quantity data and then enter that information into an Excel template to create an accurate estimate for the entire job.
A comprehensive scope of work can help a construction company stay on budget, minimize project risk, and manage resources effectively. A good scope of work should clearly explain the overall goals and responsibilities of the project and should include all technical requirements and specific tasks that need to be performed.
Identifying the Material Requirements
Cost estimation is the process of approximating the costs associated with a project. This is done by calculating the amount of labor, materials, and equipment that will be needed to complete a project. It is an important part of project management, as it helps to determine budget planning and resource allocation. It also helps in winning new projects and managing existing ones.
Estimators use a process called construction takeoff to identify the quantity of each material needed for a project. The takeoff is performed by analyzing the blueprints and determining the quantities of each item required to complete the work. This data is then used to create the estimate and project bid.
Construction estimating requires an extreme attention to detail and the ability to accurately count all of the materials that will be used on a project. The estimator must also be familiar with the local market for each type of building materials to ensure that they are getting the best prices. For example, wood is cheaper in regions close to lumber mills.
Using a professional estimation service can save builders time and money by eliminating the need to review blueprints, contacting sub-contractors for pricing, and sourcing multiple bids. This can help contractors improve their margins and make better decisions about investing in new projects. It can also help them gain more work by allowing them to respond quickly to bid requests.
Identifying the Labor Requirements
Estimators need to be able to estimate how many and what types of resources are required for a particular project. This involves a great deal of professional judgment and may require the input of other professionals, such as cost engineers or quantity surveyors.
These experts also need to understand how to use the latest estimation software, which allows them to perform digital takeoffs and unit pricing on the fly. This makes estimating much faster and more accurate than using the traditional pen-and-paper method. The software can also serve as a checklist for the estimator to ensure that all items have been included in the estimate.
Outsourcing estimation services eliminates the need for the contractor to appoint additional staff, purchase and install estimation software, or pay for an office to accommodate the estimators. This saves money and gives the company more profit to invest in growth and development.
An estimation service is especially useful when working from architectural plans that are not complete or have inaccurate scales. It can help the contractor estimate the labor requirement at the work package level before detailed activity schedules are generated. This helps the contractors to prioritize resources and improve their efficiency on projects. It also reduces the cost of the overall project as it reduces the amount of labor that is needed.
Identifying the Equipment Requirements
Cost estimation gives project stakeholders the accurate information they need to make lasting decisions. It can also help them minimize expenses. Cost estimation is a critical part of cost management and it can be used in all phases of the construction process: planning, design, building, operation, and maintenance.
A good estimation service can provide the right type of data for contractors and their subcontractors to bid on projects. Creating estimates that are accurate and based on local market unit prices is essential in the bidding process. This is especially true for complex projects, which can involve a lot of materials that are not easily available in the area. For example, estimating lumber costs requires knowing the type of wood that is commonly used and understanding the price variations based on the region where the job is being built.
Contractors and builders can use the resulting bids to select a construction team for the project. The final construction estimate can be compared with the budget for the project to verify that all of the costs are correct. Using an estimation service to create estimates can save contractors and builders time and money, as well as ensure that they are getting the best value for their work.
Cost estimating is a complicated task that requires expertise and experience to perform. Construction estimating services are a great way to save time and money on estimations by providing expert support. These services can offer a wide range of services, including quantity takeoffs, full-cost estimates, and budget preparation. They can also manage updates to pricing and estimating software so that you don’t have to. Outsourcing estimations to construction estimating services can improve efficiency and allow you to focus on your business’s growth.