Chapter 4 Cost Estimation
Chapter 4 Cost Estimation
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Content
Chapter 4- Project cost estimation
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Types of Costing or Estimation
4.3 Cost Components of a construction project
4.4. Unit Rate Analysis
4.5. Project Valuation
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Introduction
Estimation is the scientific way of working out the approximate cost of an engineering
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Introduction Cont.
An estimate serves a number of different functions, depending on the stage of the
Major elements are defined. Use a preliminary method to estimate cost. Cost of each
element is established (cost plan).
Design Development: Progressively the scope of the project is defined A
series of preliminary estimates are done during this phase to assure adherence to
cost plan.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Introduction Cont.
Construction Phase: Estimates are prepared for cost Control and for change
order evaluations.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Introduction Cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Introduction Cont.
Preliminary Estimates and Cost Planning
The Conceptual Estimate found during feasibility becomes the initial project
budget
Subsequent design development should remain within the limit of this budget
For that purpose, several preliminary estimates are performed as more details
For a good estimate the, actual cost of the proposed work after completion
should not differ by more than 5 to 10 % from its approximate cost estimate,
provided there are no unusual, unforeseen circumstances.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Information required for cost estimation
The following information is required to define cost per unit of work
Correct information of the market price of the materials at the time of need to be used as a
basic price
Correct information of the rates of various categories of skilled and unskilled laborers as wage
rates to be used for daily work rate
Output of laborers per day for various types of items (productivity)
Correct information of the rates of various categories of equipments and tools as rental rates to
be used for major items of rates
Up-to-date knowledge of the construction methods.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Knowledge and managerial skills for cost estimation
The following knowledge, managerial talents, and degree of construction
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Knowledge and managerial skills for cost
estimation
The following knowledge, managerial talents, and degree of construction
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Types of Costing or Estimation
Estimation can be broadly classified as preliminary (approximate) and detailed.
per seat, residential buildings = cost per area, road works = cost per kilometer
length, culverts or bridges = cost per meter span.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Types of Costing or Estimation
Preliminary /approximate costing
locality.
Extra for water supply and sanitary installations = 6 % of the building cost.
The quantities of items are carefully prepared from the drawings and the total
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation
Efficient construction cost estimates shall address properly the required
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
Once decision is made to participate in the intended tender, the contractor shall give
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost
Estimation cont.
B. Technical Specification
Technical specifications specify the following crucial information to the
contractor and it is the sole basis both for the construction methods to be
adapted and the construction cost of the project.
Quality of materials
Quality of machineries and plants
Quality of workmanship
Erection and installation methods
Test and inspection requirements and methods
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
B. Technical Specification
Technical specifications basically have restricted applications, which usually
define specific work items. Therefore, for a better understanding and cost
estimation of the project, the contractor must check the given specifications
for:
Technical accuracy and adequacy
Define and clear requirements
Fair and equitable requirements
Formats which can be easily used during bidding and construction
Legal enforceability
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation
C. Drawings
The contractor mainly understands from the drawings what type of construction
quantity of works can be executed during the completion time of the project.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
F. Site Visit
It also helps to determine the transportation cost of materials from main material
suppliers.
Availability and expected wages of daily labors can be fairly estimated based on the
contractor to determine salaries and benefits of staffs, skilled manpower and daily
laborers.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation
cont.
F. Site Visit
quarry area for gravel production, sand, selected material, water as well as sub base and base
course materials in the case of road projects.
Moreover, the contractor shall have the general understanding of the site layout for different
identified which incurs additional construction and maintenance costs. These costs are
extremely high, incase of heavy construction sites such as road works, hydropower projects
and so on.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
F. Site Visit
v. Communication facilities
F. Method of measurement
Contractors shall thoroughly understand the method of measurement
incorporated within the bidding documents before starting any cost breakdown
calculations.
BaTCoDA Technical specification and method of measurement
ERA standard specifications
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
works, safety standards, as well as time for completion are the sole basis in
determining the construction method statements of a project.
project
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Fundamental approach to construction cost Estimation cont.
construction issues:
Skill and number of manpower required
Type and specification of equipments required
Quantity and quality of materials required
Proposed working crews
Estimated crew productivity
Estimated duration for completion
Expected defects and remedial measures 33
PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
Basically the cost of any construction project comprises
Direct costs, which include the direct cost of materials, labor as well
as equipments and
Indirect costs, which include but not limited to head office and site
overhead costs.
activity in a project.
Direct costs can be budgeted, monitored and controlled far more effectively
below.
Direct material costs – These costs referring to the cost of materials, consumables and
components used for executing an activity including the allowances for wastages.
Direct labor costs – All costs related to the workers working on a specific activity such as
carpenters, masons, erectors, painters, plumbers and so on.
Direct equipment costs – These costs referring to the costs of machineries and plants used in
executing a specific activity.
Subcontract costs – In case some specific activities are subcontracted, the subcontract price
will be considered as the direct cost of the activities to be executed by the subcontractor.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
specific activity in a construction project but required to keep the whole project
operational.
These costs are also called overhead costs, which mainly include the head office and
clarifications.
Senior management costs – These refer to costs related with salaries and benefit
head office such as the technical, administrative, marketing, finance and supply staffs.
Head office building costs – In both cases, costs are incurred in such a way either
rental costs will be paid, if the building is rented and building depreciation will be
considered, if the building is owned.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
expenses, bid bonds and so on. These costs are sometimes called sunk costs.
Expertise service costs – These costs will be incurred when professional services are required
such as the services of external auditors, lawyers, management consultants and external
trainings.
Office furniture and equipments – Different office furniture and equipments are required
such as telephones, fax, internet services, stationery, mail services and so many others.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
B. Indirect Construction Cost
Therefore, the interest to be paid on the borrowed capital shall be considered under the
head office costs.
Insurance charges – Employees medical insurance, office building and small vehicles
insurance.
Transportation and travel expenses –costs related to transportation, per diem.
proportionally by all activities within the project. Some of the site overhead costs are listed
below with further clarifications.
Site management costs – These costs refer to costs related with salaries and benefit packages
working at the project site such as site engineers, office engineers, administrative and finance
staffs, data collectors and so on.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
Tender Expenses – These costs are related with the costs of the contract performance
iron sheets, prefabricated materials, material packing steel containers, steel structure
and normal hollow concrete blocks.
Expertise service costs – These costs will be incurred when professional services are
required at the project site such as lawyers, claim experts and so on.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
B. Indirect Construction Cost
equipments are required depending on the size and location of the project.
Office running expenses - The site office operation requires different
vast, hand held and stationed radio communications may be used within the
site and with the head office.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
restaurants, recreational centers and playgrounds are also included under the camp
facilities.
Access roads – Depending on the topography and location of the project site,
different access roads may be required to construct such as detour roads, access roads
to quarry and disposal areas, etc.
Water and power supply – All the site offices, camp facilities, the construction itself
requires water and power supply for operating the whole project properly.
Workshops garages and warehouses, Transportation and travel expenses, Insurance
charges, etc…
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
C. Risk Allowance
Usually contractors incorporate risk allowances in their tender prices to compensate
the negative impacts of different risks such as contractual, technical, political and
economic risks.
Contractual risks are usually stemming from the contract agreements with the project
economic policies, inflation and price escalation on the execution of the intended
construction project.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Basic Cost Components of a construction project
commit to invest their capital to get maximum possible profit from the contracts to be
performed.
A profit margin entirely depends on the market competitiveness and company strategies.
Any construction company operating a profitable business in Ethiopia shall pay 30% of
its gross profit as an income tax as per the income tax proclamation No. 286/2002.
If the contractor is registered for VAT, which is usually the case, the contractor’s
construction cost estimate shall also include Value Added Tax which is 15% of the
tender amount in accordance with the Value Added Tax proclamation No. 285/2002 .
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Unit Rate Analysis
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Unit Rate Analysis
Rate Analysis is the process of fixing cost per unit of measurement for the
Direct Cost (DC) includes cost due to material (MC), cost due to labor (LC),
Different formats, Excel sheets and software (like CONMIS) are used for rate
analysis.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
It is advisable that contractors shall adapt suitable construction cost estimation
formats which enables to see all the detailed cost breakdowns of the required:
Direct materials,
Labor and equipment
Head office and site overhead costs,
Risk allowances,
Profit,
Income tax and
Value Added Tax (VAT) or Turnover tax (TOT).
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Bisrat A. 50
PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
I. Direct Material Unit Cost (E)
In order to have a better material cost estimation, contractors shall develop their
own material price database and the database should contain, but not limited to,
the following information:
Material price at place of delivery
Country of origin
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
II. Direct Labor Unit Cost (F)
Labor index is a multiplying factor of the basic salary which
represents the additional benefits whereby a worker gets from the
contractor such as:
Severance pay
Annual leave
Occupational accident expenses
Occupational disease expenses
Overtime pay
Occupational safety, health and working environment
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
25.71 days/ mth
Labor Index
1. Regular Salary Calculation25.71 days/ mth
= = 1.00
5 days/ mth
6. Rainy Season Salary = = 0.1945
25.71 days/ mth
Sub Total 1.486
Contingency ( for work injury, dispute & labor union)
5 % of the total indexed cost = .05*1.5 0.08
Grand Total Indexed Factor assumed six working days in a week 56
1.56
PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
the direct equipment hourly cost which is the total hourly cost of equipment
crew required to execute a specific activity in a project.
In estimating the direct equipment hourly cost, the contractor shall obtain
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
WORK ITEM: 1.4) Reinforced Concrete (C-25) LABOUR HOURLY OUTPUT: 0.625 m3 / hr
TOTAL QTY.: 1 m3 EQUIPMENT: 0.625 m3 / hr
(A) Material Cost (1:01) (B) Labour (1:02) (C) Equipment Cost (1:03)
Type of Cost per Labour ** Indexed Hourly Type of Hourly Hourly
Material Unit Qty. * Rate Unit by Trade Unit UF Hour. Cost Cost Equipment No UF Rental Cost
Cement Qt 3.60 1500.00 5400.00 Forman 1 0.25 43.30 10.83 Tools 4 1 0.25 1.00
Sand m3 0.510 720.00 367.20 G.Leader 1 0.50 2.50 1.25 Mixer 1 1 50.00 50.00
Aggregate m3 0.760 900.00 684.00 DL 12 1.00 43.75 525.00 Vibrator 2 1 25.00 50.00
Water m3 0.21 20.50 4.37 Mason 1 1.00 81.25 81.25
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
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PROJECT COST ESTIMATION AND VALUATION
Unit Rate Analysis Cont.
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Example for costing
Calculate the Unit price for C -25 concrete (1:2:3) per m3 of work
of cement
Sands …………….= 2/6* 1.55 = 0.517m3
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Ex.2
Calculate the total cost of C25 concrete(ratio:- 1:2:3, w/c
0.62) needed to cast 12 footing columns of dimension
0.3m*0.3m*4m & its pads 1.5m*1.5m*0.3m.
Assume:- 1.55m3 dry volume for 1m3 compacted fresh
concrete. Mixer rent 450birr/day, vibrator 250/day.
Crew participating for the work
labor quant salary Hourl UF prod
ity y cost uctivi
ty
Forman 1 15,000/ 0.5
mth
DL 12 400/day 1
mason 1 700/day 1
Mixer 1 450/day 1
op.
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Cost of cement 1500birr/quintal, Sand 25,000birr &
course aggregate 22,000birr with Sino truck(16m3)
Productivity of the crew 10m3/day
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Questions?