Masonry Magazine February 1999 Page. 11
Winning Estimate
"General Requirements" for pertinent information regarding the bid. In the opening pages, you will generally encounter a title page, table of contents, a bid invitation page (containing items such as the time/location of the bid letting, bidding instructions, where to obtain plans, and so forth).
Reading on, you'll encounter information on (what is referred to as) indirect or soft job costs. Indirect costs are those that are incurred by the contractor, but are not physically connected to the actual construction of the project. You may say that these items are the cost of doing business. Information on insurance requirements, bonding, warranty obligations, administration requirements, close out procedures, and much more is found here. The remaining CSI divisions, commonly 2 through 16, delve into to the individual work trades and disciplines, such as concrete, painting, or drywalling. They contain more detailed information regarding the actual construction of the project. The items in these divisions are generally known more as direct or hard job costs. All costs, regardless whether they be direct or indirect, must be accounted for by the estimator. After all, telephone bills require the exact same, green money as lumber and nails!
Next, having succumbed long ago to "cybergeek-dom", I create a summary spreadsheet on the computer. Spreadsheets save immeasurable time and effort over hand-written summaries and once mastered them, they make you more efficient, accurate, and - in the long run - more competitive. I set up my spreadsheets in CSI order similar to the table of contents of the specification manual. In the first three columns, I include the CSI division item number, description of the item being bid, the sub or supplier who's quote I've included. The next four columns hold the costs. I break them down into labor, material, sub-contractor/equipment, and a line-item total. Figure 1 shows a typical estimate summary sheet.
Remember, this is a summary sheet. The actual material and labor estimates are done elsewhere on separate - and more detailed-estimates or are taken from sub-contractor and supplier quotes. As information is gathered and assimilated, the summary spreadsheet is revised and updated.
Networking & Information Distribution
Now that your foundation is prepared, it's time to contact the players. Most construction companies (unless they're very large) do some in-house work and sub out the rest. In-house work is that work performed by the company's own workers while the balance of the project is out-sourced to sub-contracting companies, suppliers, and other interests. These out-sourced companies are the ones that need to be contacted and solicited for bid proposals.
Now, though it sound easy, the logistics of "getting the word out" can be quite challenging - and costly. I've tried many methods over the years, (telephone, postcards, advertising, etc.) but nothing seems to work better and faster than the fax'd requests that I do now. With the advent of fax software programs (the kind where you can fax right off the computer), it's relatively straight-forward to set up a database of prospective bidders, create a "bid request" memo, click onto whomever you wish to bid your project, and hit "send". The requests are fax'd automatically while you switch screens to another application.
But, you're not out of the woods yet. Once the participants are notified- they'll want plans - lots of plans! Now, anyone in this business knows what a pain in the neck plan distribution can be. Reproduction costs, clerical time, and the pure physical bulk of the packages can offer major encumbrances to getting the proper information into everyone's hands.
But, there are ways to get around some of these obstacles. First, there are plan rooms (with locations all over) that offer plans and specifications on local and regional projects for public inspection. Often, the bidder has to do the take-off right there in the