Construction Project Estimation - Techniques and Best Practices

Project estimation, designing and chase go hand in hand. If you're incompetent to understand one facet with success then acting on the opposite 2 does not facilitate.

Effective project management needs reliable and repeatable processes and methodologies to supervise the constraints of scope, time, price and excellence to make sure project success.

This session would provide references for project managers and team members, leaders for understanding the project estimation techniques and affecting it befittingly within comes.

a) Estimating techniques b) Project estimating approach c) Characteristics of excellent estimates d) Managing/Revising estimates e) Improve estimation method f) Agile estimation and comparison with ancient estimation ways g) Estimation challenges and best practices h) trade variations.

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Published By

Rajib Dey

www.quantity-takeoff.com

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ProContractorProMX version 2.9 released in 2013

This newly launched software provides complete solution towards equipment management to take off and estimating, payroll for reporting and analysis, project management, procurement management, job cost accounting and much more. This application cannot be applied to Apple’s OSX operating system.
Maxwell Systems has also introduced an iPad app for ProContractorMX which facilitates you to communicate with the jobsite, the hardware store, vendors etc. for easy reference efficiently.
ProContractorMX provides a proposal in its own interface. It results in preserving your data under one centralized place to get the most precise, current and updated information for your proposal. The users don't have to export the data into a third party application like Microsoft’s Word or Excel.
ProContractorMX contains an intermutual 3D visual assemblies with which the user will be able to showcase their world in the real world and evaluate their work in making correct bids and proposals. A 3D rendering of your work also minimizes valuable mistakes in the planning phase of a job.

Civil 3D Quantity Takeoff

Quantity takeoff is an activity performed by General Contractors, Subcontractors, Cost Consultants, and Quantity Surveyors as part of the construction process. It involves counting the number of items associated with a particular construction project, determining the associated materials and labor costs, and formulating a bid as part of the bidding process. Quantity takeoff is also applied to the pricing process.

Civil 3D included new quantity takeoff capabilities. Quantity takeoffs within civil 3D allow the designer to easily create quantity takeoffs based on the design model. Design changes to the model are reflected when the quantity takeoff report is run at any point in the design. This provides the capability of conducting accurate quantity takeoffs throughout the design.

BIM solution for civil engineering helps project teams create, predict, and deliver transportation, land development, and environmental projects more efficiently. AutoCAD Civil 3D helps civil engineers explore more what-if scenarios and optimize project performance with visualization and analysis tools such as geospatial and storm water analysis, quantity-takeoff, and interactive 3D simulations.

The Civil 3D quantity takeoff capabilities make it possible to easily perform quantity takeoffs of the design without taking the design into another quantity takeoff program. By performing quantity takeoffs on the model errors may be reduced. By creating a custom application within Success Estimator it is possible to import data from an external source. This ability could reduce errors caused by manual entry of information.

Features of Project Estimating:

- Automatic and Manual Takeoff Methods

- Document Types Supported include DWG Sheet, 2D DWF, 3D DWF, Image Files and pdf

- Count, Area, Volume and Linear measuring options

- Data Validation

- Reporting

- Export, Print and Publish QTO data

Posted by Manoj Kumar Singh
Web Developer

Global Associates
A pioneer company in construction estimating
Join our estimating forum

Carlson Takeoff 2012 can speed up the design file conversion process

A new wing added to Carlson Takeoff software with the emergence of Carlson Takeoff 2012. Some robust improvements like increased 3D visualization, capability for working with PDF files, and the ability to provide customized, more professional reports. 

The contractors now get the ability to speed up converting design files. The estimators can now transform images to CAD linework acclerating the process of making this image data useful. 

This CAD-based project-estimating and modeling software is compatible with  AutoCAD® 2012 and IntelliCAD® 7.0 built-in. 

For road work project the contractor can break out cross section quantities by staging and also the reporting of inappropriate material for end areas with newly added report formatter.

The software is also very useful for creating machine control models that output to all leading machine control providers.

Carlson Software is also presenting a bunch of other softwares like 2012 versions of Carlson Survey, Carlson Civil, Carlson Hydrology, Carlson GIS, Carlson Point Cloud, Carlson Mining, and Carlson Natural Regrade, each featuring its own industry-specific improvements.


Posted by Rajib Dey
Business Development
Global Associates
A pioneer company in construction estimatingJoin our estimating forum 

Revit Architecture Extension now available

If you have not seen it yet, log into your Autodesk subscription site and there is a new extension available for Revit Architecture - "The Roombook Extension".

The Roombook Extension for Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011 software helps calculate the surface area of walls, floors and ceiling elements, room circumferences and the total number of furnishing elements within a project.

In addition to the automated detection of room areas and surfaces, this extension helps users configure these elements manually to local requirements, as well as achieve more accurate model take-offs. Quantified results can be exported to Microsoft® Excel® software and Autodesk® Quantity Takeoff (QTO) 2010 software.

Currently it is available in English and German, and includes the International Project Standard and the German VOB Standard measurement systems. There's a pretty good ReadMe PDF available - let us know if your subscription is up to date and you can't seem to find the extension.