Page 15 - Estimator's Piping Man-Hour Manual 5E

The area where your project is to be constructed should be checked to see if the proper
experienced craftsmen are available locally or if you will have to rely on travelers to fill your
needs. Can and will your organization pay the prevailing wage rates?

Example: Let us say that for a project in a given area we have found our labor relations to
be fair but feel that they could be a little better. Since this is the case, we arrive at an effi­
ciency rating of 65% for this element.
4. JOB CONDITIONS

What is the scope of the work and just what is involved in the job? Is the schedule tight or do
you have ample time to complete the project? What is the condition of the site? Is it high and
dry and easy to drain or is it low and muddy and hard to drain? Will you be working around a
plant already in production? Will there be tie-ins making it necessary to shut down various
systems of the plant? What will be the relationship between production personnel and con­
struction personnel? Will most of your operations be manual or mechanized? What kind of
material procurement will you have? There are many items that could be considered here,
dependent on the project; however, we feel that the most important of these items that
should be analyzed under this element are as follows:

a. Scope of work
b. Site conditions
c. Material procurement
d. Manual and mechanized operations

By careful study and analysis of the plans and specifications coupled with a site visitation
you should be able to correctly estimate a productivity efficiency percentage for this item.

Example: Let us say that the project we are estimating is a completely new plant and that
we have ample time to complete the project but the site location is low and muddy. There­
fore, after evaluation we estimate a productivity rating of only 60%.
5. EQUIPMENT

Do you have ample equipment to do your job? What kind of shape is it in? Will you have
good maintenance and repair help? The main items to study under this element are;

a. Usability
b. Condition
c. Maintenance and repair

This should be the simplest of all elements to analyze. Every estimator should know what
type and kind of equipment his company has as well as what kind of mechanical shape it is in.

Example: Let us assume that our company equipment is in very good shape, that we have
an ample supply to draw from, and that we have average mechanics. Since this is the case
we estimate a productivity percentage of 70%.