8/10/2019 Invitation to Steel Estimators

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STEEL ESTIMATORS: At last Micro-Soft Excelspreadsheets for estimating all types of steel construction.

I have worked in the steel industry, as an ironworker, for 36 yearsthe past 20 as an estimator. I have developed and currently use aseries of Ecel spreadsheets with built in formulasfor estimatingstructural steel erection, miscellaneous-steelwork activities, steeldecking and sidinginstallation, rebarplacement,pre-engineered

buildingerection!assem"ly and for pricing contract change orders. #ith these spreadsheets Ican do in a few hours what used to take a day or more. $hese spreadsheets are in a singleEcel %le that also functions, after a pro&ect is contracted, as a pro&ect management systemthat calculates 'values as earned(.

I have put these Ecel work"ooks online and invite you to download them, at no cost for a 3week FREE trial period.$ry this fully functional work"ook at no cost and see for yourselfhow much simpler and faster estimating steel construction can "e. )ompared to the old penciland paper method, with these spreadsheets I can do in a couple hours what used to take allday. $he more familiar you "ecome with the ecel functions the *uicker your cost estimateswill "e.

+ou will en&oy the way your takeo-s can "e edited or tweaked or massaged again and again,as needed to generate a lumpsumprice that you are completely satis%ed with. Also, see howthese same takeo- worksheets can "ecome a perfectly accurate 'Earned alues/anagement ystem( "y simply marking any portion of your takeo- as complete or a percentcomplete. +ou can visit the we"site at1 http1!!www."idstructuralsteelonline.com!download.html

$here are several versions, with varying functions, that can "e purchased and downloaded. $he free $rial ersioncontains A the spreadsheets with all the functions descri"ed "elow. peci%c instructions for using thesespreadsheets are included as a separate %le and can also "e found in Ecel 'help(.

$he estimators takeo- generates a "id proposal, a scope letter, a daily man hours log uni*ue to each pro&ect and

functions as an Earned alue /anagement ystemthat calculates the pro&ects values as earned. $he estimatorworksheets re4ect work speci%c unit prices, work activity durations, man hour and e*uipment cost totals andgenerate an accurate, easy to organi5e, 'schedule of values(.

Each version contains various work speci%c cost estimating spreadsheets that are all linked to a BID ROOSALthat calculates a lump sum dollar amount. It can also re4ect '"reakout( prices and separate costs for pro&ectAlternates.

$he STR!"T!RAL STEELspreadsheet is a series of takeo- worksheets that calculate steel erection costs forsingle or multiphase pro&ects. uilt in formulas calculate the cost of steel erection "y the num"er of pieces erectedper day. It shows the cost per ton of each work phase 7columns, "eams, &oists etc8 and can show, for comparisonpurposes only, costs per ton "ased on a simple "uilt in unit price chart.

$he MIS" STEELspreadsheet contains formulas that calculate installation costs. A guide num"er 7unit price offamiliar similar work8 can "e entered into each work activity worksheet. $his 'unit price( calculates, for comparison

only, the time allowed for the crew plus e*uipment to install at that designated cost per ton. $he estimator entersthe time he determines necessary for installation of each takeo- item and the worksheet calculates each unitprice according to his choice.

$he DE"#I$%and SIDI$%spreadsheets calculates installation costs. A per s*uare foot 'guide num"er( can "eentered into each worksheet. $his 'unit price( shows the time allowed for the crew plus e*uipment to install at thatdesignated cost per s*uare foot. $his guide num"er calculates the time allowed for installation at the speci%ed'unit price(, depending upon the si5e of the area. 9or instance, "y entering a guide num"er of .30 7per s* ft8, theworksheet will show that a crew of three men plus e*uipment can install :,000 s* ft of decking in ;00 s*. ft. in 3 hrs at .3 per s* ft. Again, these crew hrs show up as guide num"ers only, the estimator enters the amount of time he

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8/10/2019 Invitation to Steel Estimators

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determines necessary for installation of each takeo- area and the worksheet calculates each unit price accordingto his choice.

$he REBARand RE-E$%I$EERED BLD%spreadsheets have "uilt in formulas for calculating that speci%c type ofwork activity. $hese formulas work much like the calculations in the miscellaneous steel and decking spreadsheets,including the use of unit price guide num"ers.

A self generating FOREMA$&S "'E"#LISTshows the num"er of units 7"eams, s* ft, etc8 and the man hoursscheduled for each work activity as recorded in the various takeo- worksheets. An onsite foreman, with a hardcopy of this checklist can, weekly or monthly, mark the num"er of units completed or the percent complete. $his

&o"site count when entered into the estimators takeo- worksheets generates an accurate progress "illingstatement.

A self generating S"'ED!LE OF (AL!ESreads all the estimators takeo- worksheets and lists the costs and thescheduled man hours of each. $he pro&ect manager "uilds the schedule of values "y clicking and draggingparticular work activities into a speci%c "illing phase. $hese "illing phases re4ect groups of work activity values andman hours. $his schedule of values with the foremans checklist and daily log "ecomes the pro&ects Ear)ed (al*eMa)a+e,e)t Ste,, it calculates values as earned and the man hours earned as the takeo- units 7"eams,&oists, l"s, s* ft, etc8 are marked complete or the percent complete and automatically registers those amountsearned in the appropriate progress "illing phases.

A selfgenerating foremans daily LO% A%Eis included. It reads the completed 'schedule of values( and creates acolumn for each "illing phase. A work comp code can "e assigned to each of these columns. $he daily man!hrsworked are logged into one or more of the log page columns for payroll purposes. $hese logged hours can then "eentered into a corresponding weekly log in the 'schedule of values( spreadsheet. $his provides for an easy side"yside productivity comparison? allowing management to compare the man hours earned to the actual man hoursepended.

$he "'A$%E ORDERspreadsheets are linked to the estimators original takeo- and when priced automaticallyregister in the 'schedule of values(. $hen as contract change orders are issued the settled amount is entered in thechange order 'settled( column and the value with the scheduled man hours register as a new line item in theprogress "illing statement. )hange orders can "e priced per work activity "y crew plus e*uipment per hour rates orthey can "e estimated using a unit price takeo- worksheet that is linked to each change order spreadsheet. $heseworksheets have "uilt in unit price guide num"ers like the miscellaneous steel worksheets and the direct costs,tons and cost per ton are shown on the corresponding spreadsheet, providing "ack up for the proposed changeorder price.A self generating S"OE LETTERautomatically lists the proposed inclusions, eclusions, and conditions.

$here is also a S"'ED!LEspreadsheet that reads man hours and crew days and generates a simple "ar chartre4ecting the duration of each work activity recorded. It also shows the accumulated durations of all similar workactivities.

I have used and re%ned the Ecel estimating program to price structural steel, &oist and decking, steel siding, re"arand preengineered "uildings for the past fourteen years. I use the takeo- sheets for every &o" I price regardless ofsi5e or compleity. #hen a pro&ect is "id and successfully contracted the I@ takeo- "ecomes the pro/ect,a)a+e,e)t tool. It is used forpro+re 0illi)+, for productivity comparisons, to compare scheduled durationswith actual performance, and it is also used for impact claim documentation.

$hankyou,ordon . #oods

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