construction man-hour standards

What application? I worked with boat builders, avg time was 5500 man hours for boat, not including my time for all electrical which varied upon customer specifications. Need more specifics for solid answer.

Try RE MEANS. Yo can google the name and come up with vendors.

GHOG,

I think you meant to say "Try RS MEANS"...

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Just my $0.02...

I give another vote for RS Means since it is what I used in college for my B.S. in Engineering Administration Management. Also, you can go to a library and use it, instead of buying it.

different district has different evaluation.

where a you from

I just trashed an edition of Residential and Light Construction Estimating and Engineering Standards yesterday. Reason?- l figured that with a 1969 publish date, the information was a little ripe for current use (although the hours/function would presumably still be valid). This was published by Richardson Engineering Services, Downey, CA. I do not know if they still engage in this but you can search it out if you wish.

http://www.estimating.org/publications.php You might see something here- Be prepared for sticker shock!

Richardsons also has similar material and labor break-down estimating data to Means.

Without a doubt, the best (my never to be humble opinion, of course!) text available is the Walker's Building Estimator's Reference Book. ISBN: 0-911592-22-9 is the one I still use, dog-eared and covered with post-its.

It has saved 'my bacon' many times beacause as an M.E., I am NOT familiar with all of the trades and best practices, let alone the methodology for calculating indirect costs and overheads.

I'm sure by now there are software packages from the Frank R. Walker Company that complement the hard copy.

Give 'er a go and git 'er done!!

Hello Guest, have you got a name YET!

For residential and light commercial construction, I found Walkers Building Estimator to be appropriate. However as with all work, the production will be determined by the level of experience of the employees assigned to do the work, and the lower level supervision must be up to the job at keeping the materials and tooling handy for said employees, as one cannot expect to perform without these items. I have seen project costs turned topsy turvy just because some badly needed tool was not available when needed, or materials were not ordered and delivered in a timely manner. This sort of responsibility is ultimately on the desk of upper level supervision. In my experience. I have found that mid level supervision that began at the bottom, "digging the footings" and worked their way up through the many levels of experience only received by having personally "dun it" are usually the best at making sure that the many different trades are scheduled to work at the properly scheduled time.

The sub trades can perform best when they have designated areas made available to them where by they can work with the least interference from other crafts. Unfortunately. I have never encountered any estimating program that takes into consideration the losses in performance that occur as the result of several trades all having to work around the interference created by the other crafts having all to share the same restricted work space. Contractors who recognize this and when ever possible separate the crafts from having to utilize the same work space get to be well known and will likely be getting the better sub contractor bids. These are critical when estimating the price that the contractor must include in his/her bid to the owners when attempting to get the contract in the first place.

Knowing about the methods of applying for and being granted "extras to the work" often means the difference in profits or losses. Most every successful contractor has at one time or another under bid the Engineers estimate for a certain contract just because said contractor knew just how to maximize the possibility of better than the "Professional Estimators Predictions" regarding various phases of the work. Knowledge that can only be gained from experience regarding the separate pricing, that is "unit pricing"/ per ft. pricing, etc. And realizing that the contract will include "extras" expanding the contract if the unit pricing is kept to a working minimum for such things a "enlarging a parking lot." A knowledgeable contractor would keep the asphalt and surface prep at a minimum, and pick up substantial profit increases with things like additional lighting, striping, curbing, land scapeing, and drainage.

Traditionally, Owners/Engineers/Architects will prefer to extend the contract for the benefit of the already on site Contractor providing he is performing competently. Preparing the drawings, specifications and engineering estimates is an expensive overhead. The bidding process only adds to these costs. When a contract can be expanded with just extending the work at known pricing per unit, the owners save money and time. This all helps to increase every one's bottom line. Money is saved by not having to transport equipment back to a job site to do additional work and profits are often increased by expanding the materials quantities purchased under an expanded contract. Ex: adding a couple of thousand ft. of drainage pipe and a dozen catch basins could return an overall price reduction of maybe 10% and that is all profit to the contractor. Estimating a little high on the few original catch basins while keeping the asphalt to a minimum now results in more profit per sq ft. unit for the contractor. These are just a few examples. most contracts offer many opportunities to turn extras into substantial profits, However; this knowledge only comes through experience. Even the best colleges don't provide experience, only examples, but only experience will keep you abreast of the ever changing world of construction contracting.

" IT TAKES A FAIRLY SMART FISH TO SURVIVE IN A SEA FILLED WITH PREDATORS "!

There is no program or publication that can teach one all of this. It unfortunately only comes through experience. That is what every contractor must accept and consider when he/she retains an estimator and employs supervision. You will only get what you pay for!

TooMuchFun

Kudos to TMF; If one were to actually account for all of the project variables, one would either go quite 'screwy' or,, "tah-dah' become an accountant.

Your 'treatise' was totally on the mark in terms of site variables. Now, I must return to the original question, from a "GUEST'. Does not sound as though this person has the years of experience that we intimate.

I've been an M.E. for over 35 years. I was a 'young-un' at Ft. Detrick, MD, when pissing of the 'Hard Hats' could cause them to toss a 50 lb. car battery at you from six stories up. Query: Is this also included in the calculations??

Sometimes you just have to leave them with a book to read and let Mark Twain's "University of Experience" take it's own path.

Comments??

r/s GLB

You might want to have a look at www.costeng.com. They have estimating software which provides automatic access to manhours for piping systems. Might be worthwhile asking them if they have systems for other categories besides piping