Kevin R. Miller BYU Construction Management

Estimating today When was the last time you estimate a set of plans that were 100% How long did it take you to do the takeoffs?

Risk Who bears the risk today if the plans aren’t complete? How do you cope with plans that aren’t complete? Hard Bid Negotiated, Design-Build

Benefits of Takeoff Process (Traditional Plans) Become familiar with the project Find problem areas and identify risk and constructability issues Value engineering

Down side of Takeoff (Traditional Plans) Time consuming (Detailed Estimates) May miss something Transferring quantities from takeoff sheets to Estimating software tedious and non productive

What do we want from the Model? Accurate quantities Less takeoff time Better visualization of project Subs to understand the project and their scopes. Competitive edge Clash detection Visual means to communicate to clients

General Sales Pitch Push the button. Costs are generated. The 4/5 D model is generated. All the work is done. Looks good, sales software. Not necessarily doable without a lot of extra work.

Model World Today Not the magical pushing a button and the estimate is done. No such thing as a 100% Model Costs come from your estimating database not Means or some other source The liability that exists with 2D drawings exist with 3D models With BIM – Risk shouldn’t change or shift

Models cont Takeoffs consume less time More time verifying what is modeled is constructable Better understanding of design intent

Estimating from the Model or Not? Do I really want to work from the Model? No, I want static drawings that don’t change so there is an accurate history of the costs for the project No, I don’t want the potential to change the drawings because I’m and estimator, not a modeler No, the file size of the model would really slow me and my computer down. DWF file (a read-only copy of the model) addresses the above concerns

What can we really get from the Model? Counts Lengths Areas I have concerns about the wall areas and volumes Use Length * Height for areas Use Length * Height * Width for volumes Do these concerns mean don’t use the model? NO, just understand how the quantities are being calculated. When in doubt, check the quantity calculation.

Timberline/MC2 Opportunities QTO integrates seamlessly into Timberline. QTO integrates with MC2. Use Timberline/MC2 for complete estimates instead of jumping to Excel (Conceptual/Budget not Bid day) Cleanup and optimize the estimating DB Too much legacy junk in estimating DB’s Every item in the DB should have a formula in order to link QTO integrates better with Timberline than Timberline does

What is needed to Estimate From the Model 3D model 2D modeled sheets Allows you to perform takeoff for the things not modeled. DWF file format May use PDF, jpg etc files but they will not link to the 3D model.

Model Estimating in the Classroom Takeoffs taking less time Test scores are going up and takeoffs more accurate.

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