Construction Cost Estimating

OUR CRAFT

Precision Estimating Services is a professional consultancy specializing in providing detailed construction cost estimates. We provide our clients, both public and private institutions throughout the continental United States, with expert, data-driven advice on their construction projects. Henceforth, our approach is built upon the rigorous guidelines set forth by the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) to create objective, reliable, and defensible assessments of probable construction costs.

Our estimating process is forward-thinking and predictive in nature. There are many factors that influence construction cost estimate reports such as including current labor rates, material prices, and site constraints. Additionally, there are external factors such as macroeconomic trends and current political landscape that can influence the construction cost estimate report. We also consider market volatility, commodity prices, and the current availability of labor for a given project location.

With the majority of our client base coming from the architectural / engineering community, we have significant experience providing comprehensive cost estimating services at each level of design development. Our Cost Managers are experts at developing detailed construction cost estimates from the early conceptual programming levels – where there is minimal detail on plans – through the schematic design, design development, and fully detailed construction document levels of design.

We assess our Client’s needs on a project-by-project basis. As a result, each deliverable we submit varies in level of granularity. To meet the specific needs of our Clients, our construction cost estimate reports are specifically tailored to create a clear understanding of probable construction costs.

Karl Vaillancourt Cost Estimating Walk Through Video

The Precision Way

OUR PROCESS

STEP 1

FORMAL KICKOFF MEETING

Our estimating process begins with a meeting of the Cost Management team members. In this meeting, they take a deep into the project’s engagement resources and addenda. Overall, the goal of this meeting is for the project team to develop a detailed schedule for timely delivery. In order to do so, the team must break down the cost estimate into sub-tasks and assign specific deliverables, responsibilities, and deadlines to each team member. This meeting also allows the assigned Project Lead to review unique and or challenging project elements with the team.

STEP 2

DETAILED QUANTITY SURVEY

The Precision team performs a digital quantity takeoff using leading takeoff software in order to streamline the material quantification and quality management processes. Simply stated, this is the process of translating current design drawings into resource quantities suitable for costing.

STEP 3

MATERIAL, EQUIPMENT, & LABOR PRICING

Our material pricing process includes procurement of supplier pricing, in addition to, utilization of pricing catalogs and published reference books. Equipment and Labor pricing considers crew size, wage agreements, equipment costs, and information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lastly, we also include location-specific research to ensure the accuracy and relevancy of the information we provide.

STEP 4

ADDITIONAL COST CONSIDERATIONS

Additional considerations include cost adjustments for specific project conditions such as inclement weather, material logistics, site constraints, and more. Another additional consideration are job site overheads which include bonds, permits, mobilization, temporary facilities, travel, lodging, demobilization, and more. Our final cost estimate reports also include design contingency, contractor overhead & profit, sales tax, and escalation into our final Cost Estimate deliverable.

STEP 5

QC & COLD EYES REVIEW

For quality assurance purposes, our process incorporates a review by a Senior Cost Manager (without prior project knowledge). This ensures that proper estimating methods, procedures, techniques, data and guidelines have been employed during compilation of the Cost Estimate. This process includes asking specific questions to Cost Managers, who must provide defensible logic and reasoning for their approach. Prior to delivering the Cost Estimate report to the Client, the Senior Cost Manager will also review key project cost metrics and statistics (such as cost per square foot) against Precision’s database of previous projects.

STEP 6

PROJECT CLOSE-OUT

An integral part of our firm’s commitment to continuous improvement are our project close-out meetings. In these meetings, we thoroughly dissect all associated projects costs in a collaborative all-hands meeting. Ultimately, these sessions result in valuable insights and ensures that our team members are aware of current cost trends and the driving forces behind them.

Estimation Walk-Through

Cost Methodology by Design

ROM (Rough-Order of Magnitude)

Cost Estimating