I downloaded the software and installed it with no problem at all, read through the user manual and try to use the software.
Maybe i'm stupid but I can not make out how the modules are working together.
It would be helpful if someone that understand how the software works can create some tutorial as to how to use it and explain how the modules link together
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
A. Assemblies: use this module to manage your Schedule of Rates. Schedule of Rates is the description of various Jobs/Works. e.g. different kinds of excavation works, piling works etc.
B. Resources: Each Job/Work requires a number of resources (Man/Material/Machine). Use this Module to manage and categorize the resources you will be using.
C. CostBook: Each work/Job costs certain "amount" on the basis of Resource-Usage+Overheads+Profit-taking. Use Costbooks to prepare the Analysis of Rates. The Costbook stores the cost of each work/job and also the resources needed to finish that work.
D. Definitive Estimate: Before the construction starts, somebody have to prepare accurate "Budget" and "Bill of Quantity" of the project. This module is used to do just that. The keyword is "Accurate".
E. Control Estimate: Once the construction starts, this module allows you to keep close watch over your expenses, time-line and resource usage. This module can be used to create projections (e.g. how much cement do I need on-site this week? How many men do I need on site?) and for reconciliation (what is the divergence from the actual plan in terms of money spent, resources used and deadlines).
Rest can be easily figured out. Unfortunately, the User Manual is not very "user" friendly at the moment.
AK
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Anonymous
Anonymous
-
2014-11-21
Thanks a lot for the prompt answer. I would also like to understand why you structured the program in the way that an assembly is created in one part of the program and then you need to construct it in a cost book. It also ask for a price when you first create it and then when you create the Analysis of Rates the price is derived from the Resources and overheads. Why not do it all in one? When you create a "Assembly" assemble it out of the resources and overheads.
What i mean is this, You give the assembly its name, description the units used ext. then you tel it what resources and quantities and overheads and you are done you have a price for the assembly.
Now if one of the prices of a resource change it will auto update your assembly's price.
This mean I will not "Under Quote" that will result in our company loosing money.
If you created a Definitive Estimate it can get the price from the system as it is at that time and save it in the database. If you start the project and the price is different in the system it will still use the tender price for invoicing
Just an idea, I find that the current way of creating and recreating is confusing but if there is a good reason for it I would learn to live with it.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Many users of ESTIMATE prefer to use ESTIMATE for just that "Cost Estimation". They don't wish to go through the lengthy process of preparation of "Analysis of Rates". They maintain a list of "Assemblies" with standard Price. For them the only useful data is base unit price of the Assemblies. They can use the Premium field at the time of preparation of the Definitive Estimate to increase or decrease the price as %ge of the Base Price.
The advanced Users including corporates go through the following standard process:
Maintenance of a Master Database of Schedule of Rates (Assemblies), for advanced users the unit price field is of no use, but is included as a basis.
Maintenance of a Master Database of Bill of Material (Resources), for advanced users the price field is of no use but is included as a basis.
Use the Assemblies and Resources stored in the Master Databases to prepare Project-specific "Analysis of Rates" named "Cost Books" in the Application. Multiple CostBooks can be associated with a single project since the cost might differ from one site to another. Many large organization use just one standardized "Analysis of Rate" through several years, and the only variation is in the cost of the material.You can take care of the variations in Material Prices by preparing as many different CostBooks as you need or by duplicating the old CostBooks and just tweaking the prices of the "used" resources in the new CostBook.
Preparation of Cost-Sheets also called Definitive Estimates. Each Definitive Estimate carries reference to a single CostBook. Each Project can be divided into several sub-Projects and each sub-project can contain several estimates.
In the generated reports the cost and the BOQ is derived from the CostBook referenced by the Cost-Sheets/Definitive-Estimates. At Project level several estimates are collated and merged together to generate the overall report.
Everything is used by reference, nothing is used by copy, hence any change is reflected down the chain. This reduces Data Duplication and Redundancy which is a huge problem in case several people are working together on a project (usually the case). You never recreate any Assembly/Resource, if you need new assembly/resource you must first add it through Assemblies/Resources modules and then you can use the newly added item elsewhere.
Organizations (usually Government Organizations) which float tenders can generate DNIT easily by merging the Definitive Estimates associated with a Project. This is a standard process. DNIT can be generated in few seconds which might otherwise need several days/weeks of data collation if done manually (for large projects). Bid Analysis (commercial) has been automated as well.
Steps 1-3 are controlled by a Civil Engineer while Steps 4-7 are under the control of the Estimators and the Management.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Anonymous
Anonymous
-
2015-04-02
How can I load the sample-data-dump-for-testing.sql to estimate?
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Hello my name is Binyam Hailu and i am from ethiopia. i work in the construction industry, and i've been looking for similar software and i am pleased to have found your product, ESTIMATE, i have testing it for a while now. So the way things work around here is that we have a few governmental bodys that are concerened with different sectors of the construction industry and they publish documents, usually copied and modified from international publications to suit the local trends.
One of these documents is called the BaTCODA Specifications that details 16 catagories of specs, such as General Requirements, Excavation & Earthworks, Concrete Works, Masonry Works, etc. These Spec catagories list down sub tasks, for example the first catagory, General Requirements, describes how the contractor provides offices, transportation, etc. for the consulting engineers and clients site staff, the second catagory, Excavation & Earthworks, sub task items include Site Clearing works, Bulk excavations at different depth catagories, Rock excavations and etc. The specs describe the measuring units of the task items and many other descriptions.
Now contract documents contain Names of the client, Engineer, Contractor, Description of Project, Duration of Project in cal. days, the BoQ, etc. The BoQ catagorizes tasks in the way of the above spec catagories & each task's measuring unit, volume of work(quantity), the unit rate - filled out by contractor, and the total amount for each task and summed up per spec catagory is calculated which is put in tabular format, on another page as summary, and summed up with totals of the rest of the spec catagories to reach at the total of that BoQ. VAT, Contingency & Rebate is added to reach at the Project or that BoQ's amount.
Further more there is the cost break downs we use for each task to reach at the unit rate of the BoQ item. The Cost break down contains Material+Labor+Equipment=Direct cost x (overhead & Profit margine) = Unit rate. The direct cost is later used, during project execution, for reporting purpose, as reference if cost is exceeded or not by comparing it with daily collected data actual unit costs, in weekly and monthly reports preparation.
Returning to ESTIMATE, i couldnt record price for a resource showning the difference of price with location, manufacturer, time/date or if the price is with owened force or hired, like specialized subcontractor and etc. And that would have been great.
The next is i couldnt create a record of the BoQ, the way i described above, i tried creating separate estimates under a project for General Requirements, Excavation & Earthworks, Concrete Works, Masonry Works, etc. but in the report it went and mixed items from one into another catagory and all in one. I couldnt add taxation & rebates.
Could you please help?
About the software - it is great and is desperately needed in growing industries like ours. Thank you.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Please carefully go through the posts #2 and #4 on this thread. You will find most of the answers to your queries in there.
Please go through the User Guide and get yourself familiarized with the application, give it some time. The Application is generic and flexible in nature and no named fields like "Taxation", "Rebate", "Location", "Manufacturer" etc exist by default. Those fields need to be explicitly created by the users.
In short, you will need to create your own data and categories for use.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Apologies for the late response. ESTIMATE doesn't require MySQL workbench to set up it's database tables. Installation instructions have been shared multiple times on this forum. Please refer to the User Manual as well.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Hello, finally installed and running with sample data. The terminology used is a bit misleading. I agree with the concept of assemblies posted by anonymouse above. An assembly is just than, an assembly of other items. While storing a base cost for an assembly is okay for estimating, the estimating process goes a bit deeper than that. We do large industrial controls design and build. To quote, we need multiple assemlies for common things like a HMI interface box, single robot interface, standard electrical enclosure for handling specifically sized systems. In these assemblies, we'd have everything listed almost like a BOM. When added to an estimate, it would bring these in and vaules/information in the imported assembly and then each item in the assembly could be modified, removed or add additional material or labor to this assembly based on it's complexity. We could have a 1 robot cell with a simple or complex fixture, or multiple fixtures, etc. Tailoring the information for highly competative quoting is a must.
Know of anything that works this way? Do you feel estimate could be a potential candidate for us?
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
ESTIMATE provides CostBooks for preparation of "Analysis of Rates", Costbooks allow the estimators to assign material and volumes to the Assemblies, however a single costbook can contain only a single "Analysis of Rate" for an Assembly. Please refer to section 3.3 of the user guide. However, from the looks of it you might need to customize ESTIMATE further to fit into your needs.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
I downloaded the software and installed it with no problem at all, read through the user manual and try to use the software.
Maybe i'm stupid but I can not make out how the modules are working together.
It would be helpful if someone that understand how the software works can create some tutorial as to how to use it and explain how the modules link together
Here is a short introduction:
A. Assemblies: use this module to manage your Schedule of Rates. Schedule of Rates is the description of various Jobs/Works. e.g. different kinds of excavation works, piling works etc.
B. Resources: Each Job/Work requires a number of resources (Man/Material/Machine). Use this Module to manage and categorize the resources you will be using.
C. CostBook: Each work/Job costs certain "amount" on the basis of Resource-Usage+Overheads+Profit-taking. Use Costbooks to prepare the Analysis of Rates. The Costbook stores the cost of each work/job and also the resources needed to finish that work.
D. Definitive Estimate: Before the construction starts, somebody have to prepare accurate "Budget" and "Bill of Quantity" of the project. This module is used to do just that. The keyword is "Accurate".
E. Control Estimate: Once the construction starts, this module allows you to keep close watch over your expenses, time-line and resource usage. This module can be used to create projections (e.g. how much cement do I need on-site this week? How many men do I need on site?) and for reconciliation (what is the divergence from the actual plan in terms of money spent, resources used and deadlines).
Rest can be easily figured out. Unfortunately, the User Manual is not very "user" friendly at the moment.
AK
Thanks a lot for the prompt answer. I would also like to understand why you structured the program in the way that an assembly is created in one part of the program and then you need to construct it in a cost book. It also ask for a price when you first create it and then when you create the Analysis of Rates the price is derived from the Resources and overheads. Why not do it all in one? When you create a "Assembly" assemble it out of the resources and overheads.
What i mean is this, You give the assembly its name, description the units used ext. then you tel it what resources and quantities and overheads and you are done you have a price for the assembly.
Now if one of the prices of a resource change it will auto update your assembly's price.
This mean I will not "Under Quote" that will result in our company loosing money.
If you created a Definitive Estimate it can get the price from the system as it is at that time and save it in the database. If you start the project and the price is different in the system it will still use the tender price for invoicing
Just an idea, I find that the current way of creating and recreating is confusing but if there is a good reason for it I would learn to live with it.
Many users of ESTIMATE prefer to use ESTIMATE for just that "Cost Estimation". They don't wish to go through the lengthy process of preparation of "Analysis of Rates". They maintain a list of "Assemblies" with standard Price. For them the only useful data is base unit price of the Assemblies. They can use the Premium field at the time of preparation of the Definitive Estimate to increase or decrease the price as %ge of the Base Price.
The advanced Users including corporates go through the following standard process:
Maintenance of a Master Database of Schedule of Rates (Assemblies), for advanced users the unit price field is of no use, but is included as a basis.
Maintenance of a Master Database of Bill of Material (Resources), for advanced users the price field is of no use but is included as a basis.
Use the Assemblies and Resources stored in the Master Databases to prepare Project-specific "Analysis of Rates" named "Cost Books" in the Application. Multiple CostBooks can be associated with a single project since the cost might differ from one site to another. Many large organization use just one standardized "Analysis of Rate" through several years, and the only variation is in the cost of the material.You can take care of the variations in Material Prices by preparing as many different CostBooks as you need or by duplicating the old CostBooks and just tweaking the prices of the "used" resources in the new CostBook.
Preparation of Cost-Sheets also called Definitive Estimates. Each Definitive Estimate carries reference to a single CostBook. Each Project can be divided into several sub-Projects and each sub-project can contain several estimates.
In the generated reports the cost and the BOQ is derived from the CostBook referenced by the Cost-Sheets/Definitive-Estimates. At Project level several estimates are collated and merged together to generate the overall report.
Everything is used by reference, nothing is used by copy, hence any change is reflected down the chain. This reduces Data Duplication and Redundancy which is a huge problem in case several people are working together on a project (usually the case). You never recreate any Assembly/Resource, if you need new assembly/resource you must first add it through Assemblies/Resources modules and then you can use the newly added item elsewhere.
Organizations (usually Government Organizations) which float tenders can generate DNIT easily by merging the Definitive Estimates associated with a Project. This is a standard process. DNIT can be generated in few seconds which might otherwise need several days/weeks of data collation if done manually (for large projects). Bid Analysis (commercial) has been automated as well.
Steps 1-3 are controlled by a Civil Engineer while Steps 4-7 are under the control of the Estimators and the Management.
How can I load the sample-data-dump-for-testing.sql to estimate?
Start with a freshly initialized ESTIMATE database. It is recommended to re-initialize the database to it's initial state using Configure option.
Execute the sql script over your freshly initialized ESTIMATE Database.
For reference: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17666249/how-to-import-an-sql-file-using-the-command-line-in-mysql
View and moderate all "Community Support" comments posted by this user
Mark all as spam, and block user from posting to "Discussion"
Hello my name is Binyam Hailu and i am from ethiopia. i work in the construction industry, and i've been looking for similar software and i am pleased to have found your product, ESTIMATE, i have testing it for a while now. So the way things work around here is that we have a few governmental bodys that are concerened with different sectors of the construction industry and they publish documents, usually copied and modified from international publications to suit the local trends.
One of these documents is called the BaTCODA Specifications that details 16 catagories of specs, such as General Requirements, Excavation & Earthworks, Concrete Works, Masonry Works, etc. These Spec catagories list down sub tasks, for example the first catagory, General Requirements, describes how the contractor provides offices, transportation, etc. for the consulting engineers and clients site staff, the second catagory, Excavation & Earthworks, sub task items include Site Clearing works, Bulk excavations at different depth catagories, Rock excavations and etc. The specs describe the measuring units of the task items and many other descriptions.
Now contract documents contain Names of the client, Engineer, Contractor, Description of Project, Duration of Project in cal. days, the BoQ, etc. The BoQ catagorizes tasks in the way of the above spec catagories & each task's measuring unit, volume of work(quantity), the unit rate - filled out by contractor, and the total amount for each task and summed up per spec catagory is calculated which is put in tabular format, on another page as summary, and summed up with totals of the rest of the spec catagories to reach at the total of that BoQ. VAT, Contingency & Rebate is added to reach at the Project or that BoQ's amount.
Further more there is the cost break downs we use for each task to reach at the unit rate of the BoQ item. The Cost break down contains Material+Labor+Equipment=Direct cost x (overhead & Profit margine) = Unit rate. The direct cost is later used, during project execution, for reporting purpose, as reference if cost is exceeded or not by comparing it with daily collected data actual unit costs, in weekly and monthly reports preparation.
Returning to ESTIMATE, i couldnt record price for a resource showning the difference of price with location, manufacturer, time/date or if the price is with owened force or hired, like specialized subcontractor and etc. And that would have been great.
The next is i couldnt create a record of the BoQ, the way i described above, i tried creating separate estimates under a project for General Requirements, Excavation & Earthworks, Concrete Works, Masonry Works, etc. but in the report it went and mixed items from one into another catagory and all in one. I couldnt add taxation & rebates.
Could you please help?
About the software - it is great and is desperately needed in growing industries like ours. Thank you.
@Binyam Hailu
Please carefully go through the posts #2 and #4 on this thread. You will find most of the answers to your queries in there.
Please go through the User Guide and get yourself familiarized with the application, give it some time. The Application is generic and flexible in nature and no named fields like "Taxation", "Rebate", "Location", "Manufacturer" etc exist by default. Those fields need to be explicitly created by the users.
In short, you will need to create your own data and categories for use.
View and moderate all "Community Support" comments posted by this user
Mark all as spam, and block user from posting to "Discussion"
I don't know how to run sample data sql in MySQL workbench then get ESTIMATE to initialize the database, can you give a much clearer instructions?
Apologies for the late response. ESTIMATE doesn't require MySQL workbench to set up it's database tables. Installation instructions have been shared multiple times on this forum. Please refer to the User Manual as well.
View and moderate all "Community Support" comments posted by this user
Mark all as spam, and block user from posting to "Discussion"
Hello, finally installed and running with sample data. The terminology used is a bit misleading. I agree with the concept of assemblies posted by anonymouse above. An assembly is just than, an assembly of other items. While storing a base cost for an assembly is okay for estimating, the estimating process goes a bit deeper than that. We do large industrial controls design and build. To quote, we need multiple assemlies for common things like a HMI interface box, single robot interface, standard electrical enclosure for handling specifically sized systems. In these assemblies, we'd have everything listed almost like a BOM. When added to an estimate, it would bring these in and vaules/information in the imported assembly and then each item in the assembly could be modified, removed or add additional material or labor to this assembly based on it's complexity. We could have a 1 robot cell with a simple or complex fixture, or multiple fixtures, etc. Tailoring the information for highly competative quoting is a must.
Know of anything that works this way? Do you feel estimate could be a potential candidate for us?
ESTIMATE provides CostBooks for preparation of "Analysis of Rates", Costbooks allow the estimators to assign material and volumes to the Assemblies, however a single costbook can contain only a single "Analysis of Rate" for an Assembly. Please refer to section 3.3 of the user guide. However, from the looks of it you might need to customize ESTIMATE further to fit into your needs.