Computer software for estimating masonry
Contents
1. grammed style e Are what what if analyses easy and quick to do Can you PUBLICATION M 910320 Readily available and free tech Copyright 1991 change one variable and see the impact on the bid without having to re enter all data For simpler job scheduling does the program calculate project duration Can you input the production level for each takeoff item This may make bids more ac curate than giving a produc tion average for the entire job and it lets you fine tune the bid more Can you store old estimates in the computer and use them as templates for future esti mates Does the program have material and equipment data bases you can draw on when creating a new estimate Can you draw on both old esti mates and databases Can you enter each takeoff line directly from the blueprints or must you calculate material summaries on paper first For quick reference can you see other takeoff entries while entering new ones Can you take off materials us ing any unit of measure square foot cubic foot lineal foot or per item or must you follow the programmer s pref erence Can the software estimate your type of masonry work Can it estimate brick block and stonework Reinforced masonry Labor and material costs Be sure it does what you need it to do but don t pay extra for bells and whis tles you don t need Does the program let you move forward and backward in it as you like or m2. crews You define the average ma son laborer ratio required to per form each takeoff line regardless of crew size Following this ratio the program adds the cost of the laborer to the cost of the mason when figuring the unit labor cost for each material To print an estimate you press F7 and select from four report op tions on a pop up menu The most complete report lists the grand to tals for the job plus each line item its takeoff quantity conversion factor material quantity per unit and total material costs per unit and total labor costs production rate and mason laborer ratio The program has several other features too Passwords protect access to data Two separate databases store names address es and phone numbers of gener al contractors and architects To judge which jobs you are bidding most effectively you can print all accepted past estimates by the general contractor or by the esti mate s total dollar amount Based on labor rates you enter you can print a table of labor costs per 1 000 units that helps estimators get a feel for how la bor and production rates influ ence labor costs For any mortar mix you can print a table that lists the mortar cost per 1 000 masonry units for as many ma sonry unit types as you like All you need to enter is costs of mor tar ingredients the mortar mix design and the amount of mortar required to lay 1 000 units of each masonry unit type Introduced for sal
3. Part 2 of a 2 part story Computer software for estimating masonry Use these programs to cut your estimating time and make your bids more accurate estimate masonry work masonry contractors are switching from hand calcula tors and paper and pencil to com puter estimating programs These programs cut estimating time and create more accurate bids Four programs developed specifically for masonry estimating are de scribed here Three other pro grams were described in Part 1 of this article Masonry Construction November 1990 Cross checks help verify the estimate is reasonable Turn this program on and you first name the job or retrieve data from previous jobs Through a se ries of questions you can retrieve data on materials quantities crews equipment production and the final estimate from sever al previous jobs Then from the main menu of the program you select from nine functions Choose Option 1 to en ter the materials and quantities for the job you want to estimate For each takeoff line item you en ter a four character wall number the length and height of the wall and one of four codes that indi cate if the quantity is in square feet linear feet number of units or is an opening for which the computer automatically sub tracts You also enter the num ber of times you want this mea surement counted and up to 9 two character material codes Enter L under the Length col By Mark A Wal
4. ample it cal culates the unit cost and average production rate for the entire job This masonry estimating pro gram is sold with or without the takeoff portion Option 2 on the main menu described here Avail able for about 6 years more than 100 copies of the program have now been sold It also is compati ble with the software company s job costing and job scheduling software Cost 995 including takeoff 395 without takeoff Hardware requirements IBM compatible microcomputers with at least 256 KB and two floppy disk drives Contact Interactive Management Systems Corp 555 E Pikes Peak Ave Ste 205 Colorado Springs CO 80903 719 634 7755 Estimating module is part of accounting package Estimating is only one module in this six module computer manage ment system designed specifically for masonry contractors Other modules are payroll job costing accounts payable accounts receiv able and general ledger The man ufacturer says the estimating mod ule is intended only for the contractor who requires both ac counting and estimating software Though about eight large masonry contractors are now using the oth er modules only one is using the estimating module In this estimating program you develop a library of wall types For each wall type you can list up to 15 materials their specifica tions and costs Though four to five wall types usually cover any one job the program can store as many as y
5. choose the option to add or modify an esti mate To move through the re maining steps you use function keys which are always defined across the top of the screen By choosing the option to add or modify an estimate you auto matically enter the program s di rectory of past estimates Using the special function keys you can search for a given estimate or copy add edit delete or print one of these prior estimates Highlight the name of an old esti mate and press function key F3 A pop up menu appears giving you the choice of copying this old es timate completely copying it while setting all its quantities to zero or copying only its basic job information but no line items To create a completely new estimate recall the Standard estimate by pressing key F4 Store data that tends to remain the same in this standard estimate and use it as a template to create new estimates Once you ve selected an old es timate or the standard estimate press key F5 to move to the reca pitulation screen Here you enter job information the number of the estimate date of estimate ad dress of job name of general con tractor and architect plan num ber and plan date estimators initials material tax supervision cost percentage any wage in crease that s due percent markup and any lump sum markup to adjust the estimate for special cases like a difficult general contractor After updating the recap screen yo
6. e in 1990 this program is now used by about a dozen masonry contractors around the country Cost 1 200 Hardware re quirements IBM compatible equipment Contact Benchmark Software 296 East Van Buren Elmhurst IL 60126 800 545 2012 Package lets you define reinforcing foreach Drop down menus guide you through the estimating process in this program From a bar at the top of the screen you select from seven menus To create an esti mate you select Initialize and en ter the job name location date estimator s initials crew costs and job type Then you select Takeoff and for each line item you enter an identifying alphanumeric code the width height and length of the masonry unit a description of the masonry unit type and the length and height of the wall If appropriate for each line item you also can enter a code for the reinforcing condition the number of identical walls expansion joints and wall ends and the number of corner 22 miter 45 miter vertical and horizontal cuts You can enter an alphanu meric code so the computer cal culates extra labor or material charges up to 1 369 variations are possible for that line item if for example the wall is in a haz ardous location You also can en ter a symbol to separate that line item for compiling for example to separate all soldier courses And you can enter the length and height of any wall openings If you want you can import line i
7. imate concrete mason ry brick veneer structural brick stone masonry thin brick and unit paving Cost 3 995 Hardware re quirements Most IBM compati ble computers monochrome or color display minimum 512 KB RAM 4MB of free hard disk stor age space and a dot matrix or laser printer Contact Profession al Masonry Estimating Systems 1150 Industrial PI Dixon CA 95620 916 678 3182 Look for These Features Then select the program that best fits your estimating style and computer experience A top notch user s manual Even an easy program won t do you any good if you can t learn how to use it Look for sample tutorials explanations of program functions sample reports a detailed contents or index that helps locate infor mation quickly and videotape guides e On screen help At a key stroke some programs give explanations of function keys or program operations Some programs identify function keys on screen at all times nical support Can you makea phone call and get answers during your working hours Will you be able to talk with someone who knows the pro gram and masonry estimating An evaluation copy that lets you review the program at a fraction of its full cost Continued product develop ment When was the software last updated and when will it be updated next Can it be customized to your needs Can you still estimate using your own estimating style or must you conform to a prepro
8. lace umn and a prompt Wall Length Total appears This lets you enter the length of each wall segment one at atime The computer then totals these entries and inserts their sum in the Length column A line at the bottom of the quantity takeoff screen explains what the 10 function keys do for this part of the program Press key F5 and a second data entry line appears at the bottom of the screen for entering material infor mation For each material you en ter the two character material code along description of the material the appropriate units for it CY for sand for example the price per unit a conversion fac tor and whether the material quantity is multiplied or divided by this conversion factor After finishing the takeoff select Option 2 on the main menu to print the complete takeoff or are port by material types Here you also ready the file for the final esti mate by entering the square footage of scaffold material and erection costs per square footage of scaffold and percentage of scaf fold cost that the hoist represents Under Option 3 you define the crew and its costs You enter the number of workers laying brick description of the workers ma son or tender only masons are counted toward production time hours worked per person per day number of workers hours each worker is to be paid hourly pay rate and any comment about the crew The program calculates dai ly hours total dai
9. ly wages total masons hours and total tenders hours After you enter the hourly fringe benefits for masons and tenders and the required percent age for payroll taxes the program calculates daily total fringe bene fits for masons and tenders total daily labor cost with burden total daily labor cost with tax and in surance and percentages of ten ders to masons nonproductive to productive masons and nonpro ductive to productive workers For the final cost estimate you select Option 5 on the main menu Here you enter the production rate or unit labor cost for each material item entered during the takeoff You update use and sales tax payroll tax fringe benefit rates and overhead and profit percentages You enter the total square footage of face brick to be cleaned the per square foot cleaning cost the quantity and per unit costs for up to six other items and lump sum costs for up to three estimate adjustments The program then displays the adjusted total bid Options 6 and 7 on the main menu calculate the expected du ration of the job in months the total cost for each piece of equip ment total scaffold cost total cost for equipment scaffolding and equipment maintenance monthly equipment cost and what percent of direct labor the equipment rental amounts to Under Option 8 the program performs a couple of cross checks so the estimator can judge whether or not the final estimate is reasonable For ex
10. ou like To create an estimate you re trieve the wall types you need from this library and modify what you want rebar size and spac ing for example There you move to the dimension screen and enter the length width quantity and description of each wall on the project plans You define the makeup of one crew by the number of masons and laborers and you also input productivity rates The program does the calculations and gener ates the final estimate total labor hours total labor cost total mate rial cost total job cost including material sales tax job duration and per day or per week equip ment charges When you get a job you can push a button and automatically transfer the estimate to job cost ing Accounts payable and payroll then can post costs directly to the job providing cost controls and other management tools Specifi cally weekly labor reports creat ed in job costing compare actual cost per unit unit per day dollar variance and projected profit to the estimate Cost 4 995 for six module package estimating module not sold separately Hardware re quirements Any IBM compatible 286 class or faster Contact J Meidl Systems Inc 8735 Dun woody PI 8 Atlanta GA 30350 800 875 6885 Laborcosts calculated using mason laborer ratios To create an estimate in this program you begin at the main menu and choose the estimating option From the estimating menu that appears you then
11. tems from other job estimates Next pull down the Compile menu to get a unit by unit break down of the project The program can sum the entire job or any range of line items you want Select the Bid menu to price materials and labor and prepare a fax ready bid proposal For exam ple to price units select Units in the Bid drop down menu A listing of all the various masonry unit types appears For each unit type you can define or update material cost per unit units laid per ma son per day crew size and labor cost per unit By selecting Rebar you can define the horizontal and vertical bars horizontal and verti cal bar spacings grout fill veneer ties joint ties and joint tie spac ing Other screens let you define the unit material and labor costs for grout mortar rebar expan sion joints various saw cuts ma sonry cleaning and job setup and cleanup Select Equipment and you can define equipment rental insurance maintenance and fuel costs Select Crew and define ten der mason ratios and daily costs for up to four crews Summary lets you enter a percentage for overhead profit and miscella neous expenses like those caused by bad weather This program was developed in 1983 by two computer engineers and amasonry contractor who has used it to estimate more than 8 000 masonry jobs ranging from 10 000 to more than 1 8 million The program was first offered for sale about 2 years ago It can be used to est
12. u press F3 to go to the takeoff screen which shows all line items stored in the old or standard estimate Scroll up or down this screen highlight a line then press a function key to edit or delete the line or to add anew line ahead of it You can add a new line item to the estimate directly from the program s database Simply press F8 scan the database material list highlight the material you need and press F2 to insert it di rectly into your current estimate Then all you need to enter is the takeoff quantity for that material If the material isn t in the data base you can add it using a sec ond screen that pops up at the side of the main screen In this small pop up screen you manual ly enter the description of the ma terial takeoff quantity takeoff unit material unit material take off unit conversion material cost per unit mason laborer ratio ma terial units laid per day per ma son mason cost per hour and la borer cost per hour This program allows you to take materials off the plans in one unit even if they re priced in an other unit For example brick usually are sold by the thousand brick but the quantity of brick needed is taken off the plans in square feet To convert from square feet to thousand brick re quired a conversion factor is needed A conversion factor is en tered for each line item and stored as part of that line item in the program s database The program doesn t build
13. ust you go through the entire program to go back and change one val ue Must you re enter an en tire line item to change just one value Are cost and productivity val ues preprogrammed or must the estimator enter them De fault values allow you to adjust a target value possibly provid ing more estimating consisten cy from job to job Without de fault values the estimator is forced to choose a value which some contractors may find leads to more accuracy How long does it take to enter a line item during takeoff Does the program build crews and ifso how many Or does it base the estimate on mason ten der ratios that you assign How many special function keys must you use Or can you move through most of the program using the return key and cursor control keys The Aberdeen Group All rights reserved
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