Commercial Steel Estimating. Kerri OlsenЧитать онлайн книгу.
It is a good idea to compile and send this information to the galvanizer as early as possible prior to bid date, allowing them enough time to price it accurately.
The line item for galvanizing provides an alert to the budget. It points out scheduling and financial concerns that other departments will have regarding the items to be galvanized. Remember to consider the handling and shipping costs involved as well so they may be added at the proper line item.
Handling
Some shops use this line item as a way to identify the “extra” labor hours it takes to work through a job; others do not. For example, some especially large fabrications may need special staging or moving around during fabrication. The time required for these activities may not be actual fabrication labor; this category is where those hours would go.
Shipping
Some shops ship their own steel, and some shops hire trucks. Depending on the size of your project, even if you ship your own steel, the project may warrant outsourcing. If so, call your selected trucking outfit or two and get a price.
To give you a reliable price that matches your needs, trucking contractors will need to know the weight, the destination, and approximate ship date. Advice about any oversize or overweight items will need to be provided. See Chapter 12 for more information on shipping.
After estimators calculate the individual category totals, these prices are entered into their respective line items. The result will produce a total cost for the fabrication project. From here, the extensions for pricing markups will be added. The items in this presentation may be manipulated to accommodate the client’s format, but the basics outlined in this chapter will remain a constant. Table 2.2 shows a completed sample.
Table 2.2 Completed Bid Summary
This pricing breakdown will keep you from any omissions while preparing the final number. This list of basic components identifies the typical bid categories. Further explanation regarding their use and significance has been provided. As steel estimators work to compile all the costs associated with most projects, line items may be added for special purchases that don’t fall into these categories.
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Steel estimators must produce bid letters that properly convey the work proposed and the conditions by which the intended work is to be performed. The bid letter (or scope letter) to the customer should identify:
1.A complete list of items that are to be included and excluded as the condition of the pricing
2.A list of qualifications that indicates compliance with the project documents
3.The specific payment terms and conditions
Inclusions, Exclusions, and Qualifications
During the initial review of the bid documents and contract drawings for the project being estimated, steel estimators should list all the bid items to be included, excluded, and qualified within the project scope of work.
In the project specifications, the section for steel subcontractors is called Division 5, which is explained in Chapter 4, The Bid Documents. For commercial construction, customers expect all items indicated in the Division 5 section of the specifications—which is everything that is metal—to be included in the scope of work to be provided. The steel fabricator may or may not provide everything indicated at Division 5; there may be items listed in the specifications that will not apply to the project scope of work indicated at the contract drawings.
Specialty metals such as stainless steel or aluminum are most often provided by a specialty fabricator. You must make your customer aware of your intent to provide (or not to provide) such items by listing them specifically in the inclusions or exclusions part of your bid letter.
Structural steel, miscellaneous metals, steel joist, steel deck, ornamental metals, and cold formed metal framing are all items that are listed at their specific sections within Division 5 of the Contract Specifications. Read through the specifications carefully for items that you would provide; include these in your inclusions. All items that your company will not provide should be listed in your list of exclusions.
Composing and Sending the Bid Letter
Once you have satisfied yourself that you have listed everything on your project in your inclusions, exclusions. and qualifications, send your bid letter to your selected detailer for pricing. Your letter will be the guide for this job for all who are involved in the process, for example, detailing the items to be delivered and billed by the company shipping and accounting departments. It will also be the key for negotiations with the potential customer.
The take off should be listed in the same order as the inclusion/exclusion numbers on the drawings from which you are working. Items can then be easily located in some logical order. The ability to cross reference between the bid letter and the take off listing will save much in time and leaves little to question.
Furthermore, the bid letter should be sent to the potential customer a few days ahead of bid day, without the pricing. This advance notice will make the customer aware of what you have and don’t have in your scope of work. Some readers tend only to lightly review these letters. Prior to the bid date, make a bid item review phone call to the potential customer referencing this letter. This communication would be helpful for everyone.
Bid documents often leave out specifics with regard to the steel fabrication. A conversation with your potential customer prior to bid day to discuss any items that are unclear or ambiguous in the drawings will go far to support a competitive price.
This Bid Letter is fundamental and comprehensive to any quote. One cannot afford to be complacent when preparing a bid document for pricing contract work.
Using this bid letter template will help you cover all the inclusions, exclusions, and qualifications that may be applicable to many different types of projects. You can then add or delete items as appropriate. A letter of this style, used to define your proposed scope of work, will clarify that which you are providing, which you are not providing, and the contractual conditions by which you plan to complete your work.
Figure 3.1 shows a sample of a typical bid letter.
Each one of the inclusions, exclusions, and qualifications has a specific purpose. The bid letter supports and protects both the fabricator and the customer from ambiguities and assumptions. The bid documents use some information that is general and other that is specific