ESTIMATION AND COSTING PRACTICAL NORM AND THUMB RULES – TYPES, BUILDING

1. A complete set of working drawings.
2. Specifications of the various items.
3. Consideration of other development activities like approach roads, compound wall, water tank, connection to the main drainage line, etc.
4. ‘Built-up area’ of the project.
5. Prevailing rates of the material and labour.

Grey cement, white cement, steel, sand, metal, rubble, murum, stone dust, grit, bricks, blocks, sanla, lime, door frames, door shutter, door fittings, windows, grills, tiles, stone materials, plumbing materials, and other miscellaneous materials.

LABOUR EXPENSES

R.C.C. work (including plinth work), Masonry and plasterwork, Waterproofing work, Plumbing work, Tile fixing work, Carpentry work, Electrical work, (including material), Painting work, (including material), Departmental labourers, etc.

(B) INDIRECT EXPENSES

Indirect cost may be defined as the correlated expenses incurred for the construction of the building, other than material, labour, and land cost. The following points should be considered for various heads of indirect expenses.

SANCTION EXPENSES

• Development Charges (D.C.) +7/12 extract expenses
• N.A. Expenses
• U.L.C. Expenses
• Municipal taxes
• Hardship charges

PLOT DEVELOPMENT

• Plot cleaning and leveling
• Excavation, rock cutting, etc.
• Murum and debris filling
• The approach road to the plot
• Hoarding boards, tree guards
• Nalla/other developments
• Tree cutting expenses

SITE DEVELOPMENT

• Initial site development
• Compound wall and fencing
• Internal road/Approach road
• U.G.W.T. pump house and bore well
• Swimming pool, health club, etc.
• Garden and playground equipment
• Water lines, drainage lines, and septic tanks
• Electrical cabling, transformer plinth, and L.T.room
• Street lights

CONSULTANCY EXPENSES

• Architect
• Structural consultant
• Plumbing and sanitation consultant
• Electrical consultant
• Road consultant
• Landscape designer
• Model/perspective maker
• Other consultants

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

• Advertising
• Printing and stationery
• Office expenses
• Office staff remuneration
• Brokerage, donations, etc.
• Site office expenses

SUPERVISION EXPENSES

• Expenses of the engineering department
• Site staff remuneration
• Security expenses
• Resident architect expenses etc.

SITE RUNNING EXPENSES

• Temporary sheds
• Scaffolding and other materials
• Machinery running/maintenance expenses
• Telephone and electricity expenses
• Water and temporary lights expenses
• Staff welfare, insurance, and medical expenses
• Other miscellaneous cash purchases
• Day-to-day site running expenses

MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES

• Anti-termite treatments
• Any other expenses which do not come under the other heads
• Additional costs due to changes in the specification

4. STANDARD MATERIAL CONSUMPTION CONSTANTS ON BUILT-UP AREA BASIS

1. The entire work should be divided into different classes of items. Similar items are grouped under sub-heads of work.
2. Norms for the calculation of quantities may vary from site to site and according to the rules and regulations of local authorities.
3. As far as possible, standard specified norms should be followed.
4. The mode of measurements and units may be as per the local practice.

1. It is a method of deriving the construction cost of any particular completed item per the unit, by considering the Pst of material, labour, machineries and another miscellaneous costs involved in the execution of the item.
2. Normally contractor’s profit, at 10% to 20%, is added to the actual rate of quoting, for the final rate of a particular item.
3. This rate analysis for the completed items is required for calculating the abstract of quantities.

2.BASIC INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR RATE ANALYSIS

1. The unit of that particular item i.e. number, square feet, cubic feet, square meter, cubic meter, etc.
2. Rates of materials required as delivered at the site, including transportation charges, sales tax, local tax, etc.
3. Actual labour required to execute that standard unit/work from available task work chart/available labour rates.
4. Running, hiring, and operational cost of machinery, charges of tools, and tackles.

3. HOW TO PREPARE RATE ANALYSIS

1. With the above points in mind, the following format should be prepared.
2. Along with the format, a description of the material, work procedure, conditions of the execution of work, etc. should be written.
3. Since the rates of materials and labourers vary from place to place the rates of different items of work also vary. Hence, preparing rate analysis is important for finding out the exact rate of the concerned item.
4. Rate analysis can be based on practical considerations as per the local method of measurement of work, the scope of labour work in an item, etc. Basic considerations may change from place to place, contractor’s profit, contingencies, etc., and may vary as per the condition of contracts, workplace, etc.

4.IMPORTANCE OF PREPARING RATE ANALYSIS

1. It helps in preparing estimates of new projects.
2. It helps in quoting for tenders, comparing with other tenders and similar projects.
3. It helps in comparing actual expenditure incurred against the estimated expenditure.
4. It helps in calculating completed item costs for extra amenities.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ESTIMATION AND COSTING ENGINEER

1. ESTIMATION

1. Work out the detailed quantities of the items. Collect and check all the updated drawings and thoroughly study the drawings.
2. Find out the cost per square meter of various items for various projects.
3. Work out labour expenses and other expenses which occur during construction, i.e., site development, plot development, sanction expenses, consultant expenses, etc.
4. By adding all these items, the total cost per square meter of the whole project should be found out.
5. The estimate thus made should be split per item wise and the cost incurred at various stages should be worked out separately. 1.e., plinth, slabs, masonry, plaster, flooring split into an accurate percentage to find out the expenses incurred at the various stages.
6. This record should be referred to while preparing the construction progress chart for each site.

2. RATE ANALYSIS

1. Before preparing the estimate, one should have a total rate (material rate + labour rate) of that particular item. For this rate, analysis is a must.
2. Estimate engineers should prepare various required rate analyses with the proper mode of measurement. This will be useful in estimation and costing and billing.

3. DAILY WORK PROGRESS AND MATERIAL CONSUMPTION

1. To calculate the consumption of various materials like cement, steel, blocks, bricks, etc, as per daily/weekly/monthly progress of work. To compare actual quantities with quantities worked out as per rate analysis.
2. To check and inform project heads, if consumption is more/less as per the standard consumption.
3. To work out rates for various labour work involved at the site, using standard labour task work and to give the percentage break-up either floor-wise or work-wise, to prepare the agreements of work for different contractors.
4. To prepare estimation and costing of miscellaneous works during the progress of work for approvals.
5. To calculate and compare the quotations collected from different contractors for a particular work, before appointing the contractor and to submit this comparative statement to the Chief Engineer for final approval.
6. To work out maintenance charges for different projects, which include supervision charges, electricity expenses, miscellaneous works, etc.
7. To work out area calculation of various buildings for different stages e.g. R.C.C. masonry, plaster, etc., and to give labour rate of these items on an area basis.