HD Estimating
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Estimating Overview
HD Estimating is used by owners, EPCMs, and contractors to build cost model estimates from resource libraries, design quantities, quotes, historical estimates, and other estimate sources. HD estimating establishes standard processes and core estimating methodologies with role-based templates, common views, central resource rates, industry specific libraries, and the reduction of spreadsheets.
Leverage Multiple Cost Model Sources
Build cost model estimates from multiple data sources including historical estimates, detailed resources, plug values, takeoff systems, vendor quotes, scheduling, and outside estimating systems.
Maintain Current Vendor Pricing and Resource Rates
Take advantage of vendor resource rates updated regularly from ERP, finance, and external vendor systems to maintain current pricing and accurate projected estimated costs. Rates can be updated to the library on a scheduled daily/weekly/monthly basis from external systems to maintain consistently and address dynamic external cost influences.
Compare Estimates to Industry Data Libraries
Leverage third party data libraries by vertical and craft, including built-in support for Richardson CostData, RS Means, InfoMine CostMine, and other industry data sources. Utilize benchmark cost and productivity data libraries for infrastructure, shutdown-turnaround maintenance, environmental, oil & gas, utilities, industrial, and mining
Reference Historic Costs
Reference historic estimates by activity, resource type, location, geography, discipline, work package, or other components. Historical cost libraries centralize estimate and as-built data to create accurate templates reducing the time to create new estimates. Accuracy is increased, and cost knowledge is shared across the organization including finance, sales, and procurement.
Drive Costs from Design System Quantities
The HD design integrator utilizes the power of outside takeoff systems including OnCenter, PlanSwift, Autodesk Revit, and other third-party design systems to bring assemblies, quantities, and design components directly into the estimate. The design integrator creates a seamless connection from takeoff to estimate recognizing changes and new additions to the design, along with the ability to track and associate design items with labor, material, and equipment assemblies. The change log provides an audit trail by design category.
Link Excel Workbook Calculations
While Hard Dollar strives to stamp out spreadsheets, we recognize the need to utilize Excel workbooks on occasion to drive complex calculations and takeoff quantities, and to receive data from outside vendors. When values are updated in an Excel workbook, HD picks up the changes and updates the cost model with new quantities and costs. Workbooks are stored in the database for single data and version control. Change logs identify all modifications to the estimate.
Request and Manage Quotes
Analyze multiple quotes simultaneously to select and award vendors at the activity or project level. HD quote management sends quote requests to vendors by email or by fax. Quote comparison reviews activities by vendor, and work types can be split or combined for each vendor. Minority goal attainment analysis and minority participation are tracked through awarded quotes.
Create Estimates from Schedules
Create estimates directly from a Primavera schedule. A P6 schedule can provide a starting point for activities within the HD estimate including start and finish dates. Resources, roles, assemblies, costs, productivity, phases, and other cost model items can be built in the estimate, and then passed back to the schedule with dynamic scheduling integration to create a library of centralized roles, resources, and other data.
Maintain Live Updates between Schedule and Scope
Keep estimates updated with scheduling changes while keeping the schedule updated with scope changes from the current budget. Live interaction with Primavera P6 and MS Project simplify cost and resource loading the schedule, enabling accurate updates to scope and schedule in seconds.
Build Estimated Productivity with What if Arrangements
HD estimating calculates productivity from multiple resources including days, shifts, hours, man-hours, equipment hours, cubic yards per day, man count, equipment count, and countless other production resources. Data-driven "what if" factors define production of cost items to automatically generate an item's unit and total costs. With production factors in place, quantities are applied to costs against unit of measures to build total costs.
Create Activities in Multiple Currencies
Assign multiple currencies at the activity and resource level to include exchange rates, local currency symbols, and "last changed" modification dates. View currencies as entered in the local currency or in alternate country currency to understand the true cost of projects at current exchange rates. Track the impact of currency fluctuations over long duration projects and the effect on profits and cash flow.
Standardize Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and Work Packages
Create standard template projects with similar work types to establish a common work breakdown structure (WBS). Apply cost and productivity factors including geography, labor rates, rental rates, wage zones, tax zones, resource production factors, equipment rates, craft types, and other factors on top of established work types to create unique cost estimates while maintaining a core work structure.
Maintain Centralized Resource Libraries
Create standard resource libraries. Enable direct access to multiple resources and rates with centralized codes, descriptions, units of measure, quantities, unit cost scales, and periods to better organize and manage resources. Create predefined crews and assemblies. Connect equipment related resources to establish direct relationships between fuel cost and consumption rates that impact the overall project cost.
Automate Master Resource Rate Updates
Receive automated rates from vendor feeds to ensure current estimated rates match updated vendor prices including material, equipment, and labor rates. Receive updates with or without affecting existing projects. Update the master resource rate library from a single project, applying new rates to new or existing projects.
Apply Cost Factors to Resource Rates
With a work structure and standard rate in place, HD simplifies the process of applying factors to resources that include geographic areas, wage zones, account codes, cost drivers, currency, default quantities, and cost curve data. Notes, flex fields, and change tracking are attached to each resource item within the project.
Access Estimate History
Leverage estimate history to build cost and productivity reference libraries. Increase estimate accuracy historical references by activity, location, period, and other variables. Centralizing estimate history increases in depth cost history while expanding the breadth of users to include sales, procurement, finance, and other departments to utilize estimate history in self-service mode.
HD Estimating Highlights by Role
HD for Owners
Create Quote Requirements
Create quote requests from estimated items in a project. Scan resources and quote groups within the project to assemble quote requests, allowing subs and vendors to bid on specific or grouped project items.
Award Quotes with Detailed Criteria
Show and award quotes by groups, resources, and activities. Group quote items by phase, area, discipline, and location to expedite and organize awarded quote items. See quote details while reducing costs and improving communications with contractors.
Create Pay Item Requirements
Develop pay item structures to match how work should be reported, managed, and performed by EPCMs, contractors, and subs. Allow the contractor, sub, or vendor to identify pay items committed to in the quote. View pay items by quantity, unit price, total price, currency, area, discipline, geography, and a variety of variables.
Receive Estimates from Contractor Systems
Utilize the HD estimate loader to connect to multiple estimating systems including HCSS, Bid2Win, US Cost, Timberline, InfoMine, MC2, and WinEst. Simplify activity tracking with contractors and subs by receiving detailed estimates to centrally manage and sort.
HD for Contractors
Develop Internal and External Work Packages from Pay Items
Contractors have the ability to receive pay items from the owner, maintaining the integrity of owner’s structure while defining an internal contractors’ work breakdown structure related to how the project will actually be built.
Work packages and cost breakdown structures are separated from an owner’s pay item list, allowing the oiwner to receive reports and pricing exactly as requested, while maintaining a separate structure for the contractor.
Create Markups by Cost or Percent
Develop billing rates from quote resources, applying markups across one or more items to expedite the markup of cost items by rates or percentage of cost.
Calculate Profit and Overhead Distribution
Gain flexibility in spreading markup and overhead. Spread profit and overhead proportionately over all estimate items with a single step. Select lower risk, higher profit areas to assign additional profit spread. Manage overrun and under-run items with auto-pricing to spread profit on unit rate quantities.
