148:(QTO) tools. Owners, contractors, architects and engineers are moving to advanced cost estimating and management systems, and many oversight groups such are beginning to also require their use. The level of collaboration, transparency, and information re-use enabled by Cost Estimating and Efficient Project Delivery Software drives 15-25%+ reductions in procurement cycles, six to ten times faster estimating, reduce overall project times, as a significant reduction in change orders and the virtual elimination of contract related legal disputes.
107:. While spreadsheets are relatively easy to master and provide a means to create and report a construction cost estimate and or cost models, their benefit comes largely from their ability to partially relieve estimators of mundane calculations. Accuracy, however, is not necessarily improved and productivity is not maximized. For example, data entry remains tedious and prone to error, formula errors are common, and collaboration and information sharing are limited.
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estimators and project managers to collaboratively work with multiple projects, multiple estimates, and multiple contracts. A 'short list' of additional capabilities includes the ability to work with multiple cost books/guides/UPBs, track project status, automatically compare estimates, easily copy/paste, clone, and reuse estimates, and integrated sophisticated visual estimating and
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Item or
Activity List: All estimating software applications will include a main project window that outlines the various items or activities that will be required to complete the specified project. More advanced programs are capable of breaking an item up into sub-tasks, or sublevels. An outline
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Sophisticated, cost estimating and
Efficient Project Delivery Software systems are also available to integrate various construction delivery methods such as Integrated Project Delivery, Job Order Contracting, and others (IDIQ, JOC, SABER...) simultaneously and securely. These systems enable cost
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Cost estimators used columnar sheets of paper to organize the take-off and the estimate itself into rows of items and columns containing the description, quantity and the pricing components. Some of these were similar to accounting ledger paper. They became known as green sheets or spreadsheets.
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Resource Costs: Resources consist of labor, equipment, materials, subcontractors, trucking, and any other cost detail items. Labor and equipment costs are internal crew costs, whereas all other resource costs are received from vendors, such as material suppliers, subcontractors, and trucking
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As cost estimators came to rely heavily on spreadsheets, and the formulas within the spreadsheets became more complex, spreadsheet errors became more frequent. These were typically formula errors and cell-reference errors which would often lead to cost overruns. As a result, commercial cost
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for a project, which will ultimately become part of a resulting construction contract. Some architects, engineers, construction managers, and others may also use cost estimating software to prepare cost estimates for purposes other than bidding such as budgeting and insurance claims.
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As cost estimating programs became more and more popular over the years, more advanced features, such as saving data for reuse, mass project-wide changes, and trade-specific calculations, have become available. For example, programs that are designed for
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estimating software applications were originally created to overcome these errors by using hard-coded formulas and data structures. Other benefits include the use of reference to
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Calculations: Most estimating programs have built-in calculations ranging from simple length, area, and volume calculations to complex industry-specific calculations, such as
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is prepared to determine the costs and then establish the price(s). This involves reviewing the project's plans and specifications to produce a take-off or
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Item or
Activity Detail: The detail to each item includes all the resources required to complete each activity, as well as their associated costs.
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Many construction cost estimators continue to rely primarily upon manual methods, hard copy documents, and/or electronic spreadsheets such as
128:(aka "cost books") and other data, predictable and professional looking reports, speed, accuracy, and overall process standardization.
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Construction contractors usually prepare bids or tenders to compete for a contract award for a project. To prepare the bid, first a
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construction, include libraries and program features for traditional builders. In sharp contrast, programs that are designed for
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Markups: Every program allows for cost mark-ups ranging from flat overall mark-ups to resource-specific mark-ups, mark-ups for
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Estimating worksheets – these are the spreadsheets where the real work takes place, supported by calculations and other features
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Closeout Window: Many estimating programs include a screen for manually adjusting bid prices from their calculated values.
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view of all the top-level and sublevel items provides a quick and easy way to view and navigate through the project.
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195:. Equipment costs are calculated from purchase price, taxes, fuel consumption, and other operating expenses.
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Exporting: Most software programs can export project data to other applications, such as spreadsheets,
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History: Storing past projects is a standard feature in most estimating programs.
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Three functions prove to be the most critical when buying cost estimating software:
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designed for contractors to estimate construction costs for a specific project. A
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Takeoff software – this provides for measurement from paper or electronic plans.
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The SharpeSoft
Estimator, displaying an example of a trench calculation.
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With the advent of computers in business, estimators began using
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Frederick S. Merritt, M. Kent Loftin, Jonathan T. Ricketts,
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companies. Labor costs are usually calculated from wages,
388:"Construction Estimating Software Buyer's Guide: Benefits
329:," Lexington Technical Institute, University of Kentucky.
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will typically use estimating software to estimate their
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Standard
Handbook for Civil Engineers Fourth Edition
364:"Construction Cost Estimating Software Comparison"
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343:"Do Spreadsheet Errors Lead to Bad Decisions
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327:"Construction Estimating Using Excel
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119:Estimating Software Block Diagram
390:," Construction Software Review.
311:"Estimating with Microsoft Excel
174:Other typical features include:
76:A basic estimating spreadsheet.
352:," Carnegie Mellon University.
341:Caulkins, Jonathan P., et al.
111:Commercial estimating software
16:Type of cost analysis software
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313:," Brigham Young University.
232:general administrative costs
223:calculations, and earthwork
264:project management software
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68:A handwritten spreadsheet.
325:Nickols, Robert Duane.
416:Cost analysis software
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309:Christofferson, Jay.
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366:. softwareadvice.com
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241:Detailed Overhead:
260:accounting software
44:Traditional methods
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94:Lotus 1-2-3
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400:Categories
370:2014-01-05
274:References
217:electrical
253:proposals
163:Built-in
32:bid price
346:Archived
185:benefits
134:building
90:VisiCalc
236:bonding
39:Methods
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262:, and
238:costs.
234:, and
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189:burden
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