In construction, cost estimating is a practice essential to developers in making sound investment and business decisions (for example, as inputs to the cost-benefit analysis), to project owners in preparing reasonable budgets and forecasts, and to contractors in ensuring profitability from bidding on and building the projects.
And, the very first step in estimating, quantity take-off (measurement), serves as the basis but yet critical for development of reasonable estimates. Leaving aside the importance of the unit prices and markups being appropriately applied, an accurate count of quantities is the foundation for establishing a realistic and defendable estimate.
Once the quantities become available, the material, labor and equipment costs can then be estimated. The construction means and methods, logistics, site conditions and geographical locations should be taken into consideration in estimating, as they could pose significant cost impacts. Thus, a thorough understanding of construction practices and their effects on the labor productivity are mandatory in the world of estimating.
Based on the aforementioned costs, other cost items should be determined for completion of the estimate. The remaining items to be established includes general conditions (general and temporary supportive activities, which typically are responsible for by general contractor), overhead (administrative expenses), profit, insurance, bonding fees, permit fees (if applicable), contingencies (to account for unexpected addition of expenses incurred) and any other special considerations (for example, project-specific insurance, commissioning, etc.).
The amount of efforts involved in estimating seems to be, and in fact, could be overwhelming. This blog is established to foster a better understanding of cost estimating by audience of all different backgrounds in terms of professions and degree of knowledge about the construction practice. Enjoy reading!
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Executive Vice President of Lozier Inc.
Dr. Nina Anker specializes in sustainable architecture and design. She holds a PhD from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, and an M.Arch. from Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her work has been widely published and exhibited. She won the Good Design Award Chicago Atheneum Museum of Architecture and Design for furniture, the A’Design Award for solar lighting, The Architect’s Newspaper Best Product Award, Domus Best Houses award, and the Home & Garden Award for Best New Eco Residence.
Nina is Design Director at Terreform One and a founding member of New Lab in Brooklyn. Also, she founded and is the principal at nea studio, which focuses on works in architecture, interiors, furniture and product design, and landscape planning. The award-winning practice operates in an environment in which project management and implementation takes place in parallel with model-making, prototyping and experimentation with ideas, materials, and manufacturing processes. Her goal is to guide and support each client throughout a creative design process to produce sustainable solutions that support wellbeing.
With a focus on sustainable design, nea studio maintains a cross-disciplinary nature where research and sharing ideas is an essential part of work philosophy. nea studio continues to design, develop and exhibit solar lights and furniture while practicing architecture and interior design at New Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In 2019, the office completed a LEED certified residence in Long Island and a collaborative public solar lighting installation for the Bronx River Park.
RD Chin is a Feng Shui practitioner, author, teacher and licensed NYS architect who worked with the late master architect Paul Rudolph from 1981 to 1996 on his many large-scale projects in Southeast Asia. He has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Tufts University as well as his Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Beginning in 1991 RD studied with many Feng Shui teachers from China, Europe, and the USA; he then founded his Feng Shui architectural and interior design practice. For over 30 years he helps people redesign their life through their spaces. He combines contemporary Western design principles with the ancient art of Feng Shui to align any space with dimensions of spirit, character, and a feeling of balance. He also does custom-designed presentations for companies and organizations. He personally co-creates with each client their own masterplan of their home or workspaces. At the end of each consultation, the client will get a summary of recommendations on colorful floor plan sketches with a clear list of priorities that can easily be implemented within their budget. R.D. is blessed with lots of consultations by referral. He is the author of Feng Shui Revealed.
Mr. Gyamera brings a wide range of expertise as an Industrial & Systems Engineer with experience providing project management and project controls support to numerous clients, to help them develop improved end-to-end project delivery processes. Experienced in Lean methods and an excellent stakeholder manager, Nana has implemented project process improvements and supporting tools to drive capital efficiency, as well as lead business change programs to bring about organizational change.
In previous projects, Nana has taken on a diversified role as a Project Management & Transformation Specialist to provide strategic direction on high-impact transformation initiatives for matrixed environment organizations. Driven by an imperative to collaboratively and creatively grow capability and success, he facilitated ongoing process improvement efforts and manage/implement projects that support the financial and operational goals of the organization. Worked directly with executive and departmental leadership and took responsibility for project management of transformation workstreams and expected deliverables across the organization.
He is a dynamic leader who designs and executes strategies and projects that optimize organizational performance, reengineer and simplify processes, and effectively manage large-scale change and transformation in complex environments. He is an excellent systems thinker whose analytical and business acumen and ability to synthesize complex, divergent data, and objectives result in the design of effective key performance indicators benchmark best practices to assess progress and operational improvements. Nana is a poised speaker and facilitator with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills that engender rapport and trust among diverse leaders, clients, teams, and peers at every level of cross-functional organizations.
Martin is a member of the Casualty Department where he handles construction accident cases involving New York Labor Law and Industrial Code. Martin has over twenty-five years of experience in handling Labor Law litigation, having represented owners, contractors, architects and engineers in defense of these types of claims.
An experienced litigator who has handled cases from inception through trial, Martin has counseled and defended architects, engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors and construction firms in claims and lawsuits brought against them for professional malpractice, breach of contract, construction delays, construction defects, personal injury and property damage. He has also defended design professionals in disciplinary actions brought by governmental authorities.
In addition to his significant experience in the defense of design and building professionals, Martin has also represented and defended other entities such as municipalities and property owners in premises liability matters. Martin shares his broad knowledge of risk and liability in numerous lectures and presentations he has made to various groups of design and construction professionals.
Martin attended the State University of New York at Binghamton and received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1986. He then went on to earn his juris doctor from Hofstra University School of Law in 1989. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut, and before the United States District Courts for both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
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Laszlo Kiss is an internationally recognized architectural and interior designer with decades of experience that spans the design field from the creation of furniture and objects to distinguished residences to restaurants and retail environments to large scale buildings.
STUDIO KISS is a professional practice that provides highly personalized service on architectural projects from single rooms to urban scale design. The firm’s work is cited for innovative use of materials, progressive design concepts, and exquisite yet simple detailing. It has extensive experience with low-energy use buildings, passive solar design and green architecture, and is recognized for 3D Branding of retail and commercial environments. Previous clients include Samsung, Museum of Art and Design, MTV, BRGR Restaurants, Chopard Watch Company.
ASAP•house is a Manufacturer and Distributor of energy efficient modern modular houses in the Eastern US, and a leader in the field of integrating green elements, energy efficient systems and distinguished design into an affordable house package.
Maureen is a leading research and consulting firm specializing in energy efficient and sustainable buildings. Maureen has spent the past dozen years at SWA encouraging developers, designers, and builders to think holistically and build meticulously. She has certified over 30,000 green dwelling units in 10 states under LEED for Homes and other programs. Maureen works to tie human health to energy efficiency and green building, and her projects have been early adopters of Active Design Guidelines, Fitwel, and the WELL Building Standard. Under her leadership, SWA is an eight-time recipient of EPA’s Indoor airPlus Leader Award for rating healthy homes.
Vincent has led multi-disciplinary engineering teams in the design of numerous high-performance, LEED-certified and award-winning buildings, communities and city-scale projects across the globe. Moreover, he has leveraged digital tools, modeling and innovative solutions with data and automation to deliver his clients’ projects.
Vincent shares his experience by lecturing at conferences, community organizations, sustainable design training workshops and universities. He has lectured on sustainable infrastructure for architecture, engineering and real estate courses at several universities including: Columbia University, Cooper Union, University of Pennsylvania, NYIT, NYU Polytechnic, Yale University, University of Virginia and Tufts University.
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He is a licensed professional engineer (P.E.) in the State of New York with over 30 years of technical
consulting experience in the areas of energy, climate change, sustainability, and air and environmental compliance. He is also a Certified Energy Manager and an Existing Building Commissioning Professional with a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University.
Marc has extensive experience performing ASHRAE Level I, II, and III energy audits for diverse building types (such as office buildings, schools, warehouses, and multi-families) in the New York City Metropolitan area and nationally. Marc also performs building retro-commissioning evaluations, to assure building owners that their systems are operating optimally (they are getting their money’s worth). Marc has combined both his energy auditing and retro-commissioning experience to help dozens of buildings comply with New York City’s Local Law 87, mandatory energy auditing and retro-commissioning for large buildings, discovering many opportunities for savings in buildings. Marc uses this knowledge to perform project management projects for clients to ensure that energy savings are fully realized in the actual implementation of upgrades.
Marc also performs greenhouse gas emission inventories (carbon footprints), green building assessments, and has led training to ensure that operators understand how to maintain their energy upgrade strategies so that they continue to benefit the building in the future.
Marc also performs evaluations of air emissions from commercial and industrial processes, including emission inventories, design of air pollution control equipment, permitting, and evaluation of potential health effects of air toxics. Marc has performed successful projects for such major firms as ExxonMobil,
Alberto-Culver, IBM, Cytec, the United Nations, and the New York Archdiocese
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Vincent Lee, PE, LEED AP, ENV SP is an Associate Principal in Arup with over 20 years experience in sustainable site development, green infrastructure and integrated water management. He has collaborated with clients to deliver smart and resilient communities by implementing sustainable infrastructure systems.
Vincent has led multi-disciplinary engineering teams in the design of numerous high-performance, LEED-certified and award-winning buildings, communities and city-scale projects across the globe. Moreover, he has leveraged digital tools, modeling and innovative solutions with data and automation to deliver his clients’ projects.
Vincent shares his experience by lecturing at conferences, community organizations, sustainable design training workshops and universities. He has lectured on sustainable infrastructure for architecture, engineering and real estate courses at several universities including: Columbia University, Cooper Union, University of Pennsylvania, NYIT, NYU Polytechnic, Yale University, University of Virginia and Tufts University.
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Unlike others, Jörg Breuning is one of a few people on earth who actively shaped the beginning of the modern green roof industry in Europe/Germany more than 4 decades ago. In addition, he introduced green roofs to North America in 1999. Thus, he has over 40 years of experience in two fundamentally different markets for green roofs and green walls.
Today, Jörg Breuning’s skills in biophilic design and sustainable engineering goes beyond green roofs and include specialties with living plants like: Green Walls, Green Rail Road Tracks, natural swimming pools, advanced composting technology, PV / Solar combinations with vegetation, plastic-free green roofs, and solutions for circular economy through urban mining – the highest level of sustainability and resilience.
Jörg: ” There are an increasing number of masterminds for sustainable design, influencers for environmentally friendly solutions, and initiators for Cradle 2 Cradle principles. There are only a few that can convert these innovations into reality on a small or large scale. I leave the trendy, fancy buzz words to others and aid on realization.”
>>Well done is better than well said. Benjamin Franklin<<
Mr. Cinelli is a Principal with Liberty Environmental, Inc., a full-service environmental consulting firm with offices in Reading, Lancaster, Philadelphia, and New York. He has over 30 years of experience in the environmental consulting field, with emphasis in the areas of site assessment and remediation, wastewater treatment, storage tank management, and spill prevention planning. His experience spans many industry sectors, including petroleum distribution, food products, power generation, secondary metals, and mining. Mr. Cinelli is a licensed professional engineer in five states, and is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University, a Master of Engineering degree in Environmental Engineering from Penn State University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Joseph’s University.
Specialties: Soil and groundwater remediation, industrial wastewater treatment, and storage tank compliance.
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JP designs and installs solar electricity and geothermal HVAC systems in the lower Tri-State area to reduce the carbon footprint and operating costs of commercial and residential new construction and major renovation projects. JP enjoys working with building design professionals, developing zero energy or near-zero energy buildings for their clients. Jean-Pierre received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Applied Science degree from the California Institute of Technology, and is one of DPCCE’s original speakers.
Principal Estimator at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, possessing more than 20 years of experience in establishing and reviewing estimates for heavy civil construction projects of various types (aviation, passenger and freight rails, roadways and utilities, bridges and tunnels, etc.) and at all design stages (from order-of-magnitude through bid estimates), and proficient in both design-bid-build and design-build / fast-track projects. Currently assigned to be the lead estimator to the $13 billion JFK Redevelopment Program and responsible for conceptual estimate development and audit reviews. Previously worked for STV, Incorporated, Con Edison, MTA New York City Transit and MTA Bridges & Tunnels.
Professional licences and credentials include:
Professional Engineer (PE) in New York State
Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) in the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada
PMI Project Management Professional (PMP)
WELL AP
USGBC / GBCI LEED Green Associate
AVIXA Certified Technology Specialist
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Mr. Casper is a nationally known speaker, giving AIA, ASLA & USGBC accredited presentations in over 25 cities around the continental US, over the course of the last several years. He teaches classes in such areas as sustainable design, specifications, practice, building science and sustainable communities. He has organized and presented in dozens of full-day sustainability workshops throughout the Northeast.
Mr. Casper’s areas of expertise include continuing education and sustainability. He was President of AIA Long Island chapter and the director of programs and he served two years as President of the Metro New York Chapter of CSI. Doug received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University.
