Objectives

After this presentation, you should be able to:

assure that the estimate portion of a bid is properly
submitted for a project
consider the use of subcontract and purchase order
documentation for project buyout
transition estimation data to begin the scheduling tasks on
a project
practice estimation in an ethical manner

Submission

After the estimate is complete, we need to package it with other items

to create the bid submission
Some of these items, which we considered earlier, include:

the bid form

the schedule of values
the bid bond
certifications

An incomplete submission is often considered nonresponsive, and thus discarded

A checklist like this can help us to make
that all items are complete on a
hectic bid day
Blank bid items and prices are key to pay
attention to in the estimate

sure
particularly

Submission

We may be writing a proposal for a project instead of submitting

standard bid forms
In this case, we should make sure
all of the items that would be similar
to those of a standard bid are
submitted properly
The proposal letter is key, containing:

price and payment terms

scope of work
time frame
alternatives
special clauses
contact information

Submission

The proposal letter may take a block (fully justified), modified block (left
justified), or semi-block (paragraph indented) format, and should follow
all rules for business letter writing (see p. 285-286)
E-mails are sent for a wide variety of communications, but proposals
should still have a standard letter attached
Whatever the purpose, e-mails should
still
follow professional protocols and
convey a sense of
courtesy and
professionalism
to their recipients (see p.
288)

Buyout

Buyout is the process of hiring subcontractors and procuring materials

and equipment for a construction project
Subcontractors complete basic subcontract documents, available from
AIA or AGC (condensed versions of the full GC contract documents)
They should include:

Scope of work and schedule of values

Schedule, submittal, and quality requirements
Payment and change order terms
Insurance, license, and bonds
Warranty and protection of work terms
Safety, cleanup, and termination terms

Materials are normally documented

through purchase orders, which are
tracked for a project in a log

Scheduling and Estimates

Although final scheduling of the project may not be carried out until the
project is awarded, the estimate goes a long way towards determining it
That is because we will have already considered
this information, which can be transferred
to a task planning form:

Task relationships
Method of construction
Materials, labor, and equipment required
Subcontractor considerations
Material vendor considerations

The transition to scheduling

starts with considering the duration:

This is seen in Example 30-1

Ethics and Estimating

Ethics in terms of estimation comes down to three major considerations:

Estimates should be as complete and
accurate as the estimator can make
them for a project
Constraints to being able to complete
accurate and complete bids should be
dealt with in an honest and transparent manner
All dealings and work of the estimator
should reflect positively on their employer and the estimating profession

To this final point, the American Society

of Professional Estimators (ASPE) has
put forth a Code of Ethics that is a good
guide to practicing ethical estimation