So what exactly do Estimators do?

A lot of people think that estimation is related to the QS role, or it only covers preparing budgets at the very early stages of a project for a client or PQS, or completing “guesstimates” for a myriad of different reasons. Estimating incorporates all of the above but also a lot more besides.

The Estimating Department receive, prepare & submit tenders, for projects within Jones Engineering. The figures below show approximate number of tenders completed in the last year and total value for these.

Like anything else within JEG, we have to follow procedures to have a successful and repeatable system of operation. QSP-06 covers this area (Estimation). Below we give a very basic overview of this.

• Upon receipt of a tender, all the main details are recorded on a register
• Tender is allocated to an estimator, with the return date highlighted. Typical tender periods are 2-3 weeks, but we have also completed tenders from just a couple of hours up to a number of months. In fact one recent high profile project was tendered over a 4 month period.
• In some cases the estimator may need to apply for an extension when the return date does not allow sufficient time to complete the tender
• Take-offs for all services are completed from the drawings.
• Quotes are obtained for all Plant/Equipment & sub-contractor packages and the most suitable are chosen to populate the tender.
• A review of each tender is completed a number of days prior to the tender return to verify everything is satisfactory.
• The tender is completed, filled out and issued by mail, courier or hand delivered, depending on how tight the dead line is!!!
• When the contract is awarded to Jones Engineering,  a formal handover happens internally between the estimating team and the Construction Team. This is to ensure that nothing gets lost in translation and helps the construction folks to hit the ground running.