Fundamental Electrical Estimating Class
These courses were originally designed to help new contractors learn and develop their estimating skills. When our classes started, experienced estimators enrolled to increase both their skills and confidence in their estimating style. Since we started, the class has acted in both modes - for new estimators and as a refresher course for seasoned estimators. We teach the basics, the fundamental of electrical estimating this is not a class on how to use estimating software.
The objectives of these classes are to allow you to obtain a grasp on how contractors can complete some of the following items, calculate labor burden costs, review the moving target known as overhead costs (as a percentages), and most importantly, gain confidence in preparing a structured estimate. In addition to classroom training, our instruction continues upon the completion of your class prior to, during and after your class is complete, our students are encouraged to ask question regarding the class, homework or generic questions regarding estimating for up to three months to help clarify the concepts of the class.
With little, to no effort a project manager should be able to use estimates, estimated in the manner that we use to efficiently start managing awarded projects without having to re-do or second guess the estimate. The time involved in this class is short and may well provide rich dividends to your company.
Instructor :
James Duff is a diverse project management professional with thirty plus years in the electrical industry. His career ranges from a four year apprentice to a licensed electrical contractor. He is a proven problem solver with expertise in reducing costs through estimating, project management, teaching, installation and supervision of projects.
Course :
Have confidence attending this course, it has been attended in class rooms or as a home based/internet course since 2003 by students in; Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Washington. We have testimonials posted on this site additional references are available upon request.
Students supply their own calculator (basic), magnifying glass, and writing pad, all other course materials are supplied, including;
- Our text
- Practice drawings - we use an actual set of drawings that will challenge you, completing this estimate will give you confidence on practically any other project you may estimate.
- Specifications
- Tally counter
- Scaled tape measure (in lieu of a plan wheel)
- 3 High liters
- CD with Microsoft Word and Excel files (these will assist you in the class and can be used in your day to day estimating work)
- 12” ruler
Our classes are 100% manual estimating - which can assist in either manual or computer electrical estimating. We believe that an estimator should understand how to structure an electrical estimate. We are attempting to teach you how to estimate manually however setting you up to utilize a computer estimating software system now or in the near future. We do not endorse any estimating software systems in this class. What we stress is to structure an estimate in a manner that assists our students in understanding the content of their estimate. We supply an excel spreadsheet, a band-aid estimating system that can help calculate the math, if wanted for a really basic excel format to help estimate manually. If a software system is in your firm's future, we encourage investigating various estimating software systems. Demo them until one is found that makes the most sense for your firm. Most major estimating systems are extremely accurate; the differences are typically in the subtle manner in which they are set up, the learning curve for each system, which features will you need and which will you use. What is the technical support like for each estimating system you are considering purchasing? The last item in the consideration should be price, these fluctuate radically. Inexpensive software may turn out to be very expensive in the long run; however expensive software is not always the best either, we know of some good estimating software systems that are priced significantly lower then other software that do a great job.
WE ENCOURAGE QUESTIONS, WE ADVISE OUR STUDENTS TO ASK AS MANY QUESTIONS AS POSSIBLE. DO NOT BE SHY. THE QUESTIONS YOU ASK WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY HELP YOU.
The text that is included will be referenced in class but will not be read in class or even have all the sections in the text completely reviewed. The text has the primary purpose of being a reference guide for our students after class is complete.
We will cover a vast amount of material; the homework for most students is a must to get all that can be achieved from this class. Should a student in a class room or webinar setting elect not to complete this homework we will have substitute homework for them to use during the second session. Home study students must complete the homework assigned.
WE ALWAYS ASK THIS QUESTION, WITH ALL THE TUTITION, TIME AND LOST PRODUCTIVITY FROM WORK BEING SPENT ON STUDENTS TO ATTEND THIS CLASS WHY WOULD THOSE STUDENTS NOT INVEST THE ADDED TIME TO GET ALL THE VALUE THIS TRAINING HAS TO OFFER FROM THE CLASS BY COMPLETING THE HOMEWORK? IN OUR OPINION IT IS A SMALL INVESTMENT INTO THE STUDENTS FUTURE.
Questions regarding homework or class materials are always accepted and answered, generally within twenty-four hours or less. Once the class is completed all students have an additional three months to continue asking generic questions regarding estimating to help cement the concepts learned in class.
Home Study format
Eight week class
This class is paced as an eight week course - it is a one-on-one course, between the student and instructor, where we talk once a week at a pre-selected time that works with both our schedules. Homework is a huge element in all of our estimating classes, in this format however the homework is critical. After every conversation except our final conversation homework will be assigned. This homework needs to be completed, scanned into your computer and emailed to us five days after every scheduled conversation. It will be reviewed, marked up and returned to you via email before our next scheduled conversation.
This is a good way for new contractors / estimators to learn a method behind estimating an electrical project. It allows one on one time at a slower pace than either the class room or webinar class and has the ability for some schedule adjustment. It is not however for everyone. We do not baby sit our students, we will email you once or twice when a homework assignment is late. You will also miss the interaction of the students normally associated with a classroom environment. No refunds are given once class materials are mailed.
- First conversation week #1
- Review of week #2 homework
- Branch takeoff for the practice estimate will be started, then completed as homework
- Review of week #3 homework
- Device takeoff for the practice estimate will be started, then completed as homework
- We will discuss the importance of special systems as they relate to your estimate
- Review of week #4 homework
- The explosion of all the assemblies that have made up our previous assignments. We will discuss how to explode and your homework will be to finish them all.
- Review of week #5 homework
- Now that your explosions are complete it is now time to insert commodity material prices and labor units, we will discuss how to do this. Material prices and labor units are supplied for this practice estimate only.
- Review of week #6 homework
- We will discuss the estimate total and how to complete a cap sheet to determine our best strategy. Your homework will be to complete this cap sheet
- Review of week #7 homework
- Proposals will take most of out time this week, we will discuss way to be as competitive as possible and still protect our firm
- We will finish our class with a discussion on Change Orders
We are not taking off the fire alarm on this project as it is a design and build. We will discuss methods behind fire alarm systems in class. If our students want to complete this we will assist them outside of class hours via email with this fire alarm takeoff.
Local class room format
Four - four hour classes
This class is paced as a four days course; depending on participation from our students, some of the classes may run long or short depending on how many questions are asked.
- Day One
- Introductions
- Your plan
- A talk about what jobs to bid and which to avoid
- Bid documents including specifications
- Tools and methods to use them
- Vendor relationships
- Labor burden calculation
- Company overhead calculation
- Quotable takeoff of the practice estimate will be started
- Day Two
- Feeder takeoff of the practice estimate
- Branch takeoff of the practice estimate
- Device takeoff of the practice estimate
- Discussion of special systems and the importance's these systems can have on your estimate
Homework is assigned between sessions. The homework is to complete the takeoffs started in class. These will include your quotable takeoffs (fixtures and switchgear), feeders, branch circuits, and devices. We are not taking off the fire alarm on this project as it is a design and build. We will discuss methods behind fire alarm systems in class. If our students want to complete this we will assist them outside of class hours via email with this fire alarm takeoff.
Complete the homework, scan it into your computer and email it to us by a set date for us to review and return prior to the start of the second session.
- Day Three
- We start exploding the homework from a description such as a duplex receptacle to each item that will be required to install that duplex receptacle
- Commodity material costs will be inserted (material costs are supplied for this estimate ONLY)
- Labor units will be added (labor units are supplied for this estimate ONLY)
- We then calculate the total commodity material cost and the total number of field labor hours to complete the project
- Begin the process of completing the bid with a cap sheet
- Quotes will be checked and inserted
- Tax rates will be discussed
- Composite labor crews rates and how to develop one for individual projects
- Composite crew
- Day Four
- Completion of the cap sheet
- Non productive labor
- Direct job expense
- Overhead
- Profit
- Proposal letters will be discussed
- Change order pricing will complete our class
- Completion of the cap sheet
We are not taking off the fire alarm on this project as it is a design and build. We will discuss methods behind fire alarm systems in class. If our students want to complete this we will assist them outside of class hours via email with this fire alarm takeoff.
This is a very intense informative class, a lot of information will be discussed in a short amount of time, therefore no cell phones or pagers are allowed in class. We take breaks every hour, messages and phone calls can be returned then, please be prompt in returning to class. Employers please make appropriate arrangement for this request.
The first day will be spent discussing which projects have the best chance of success and those that do not, which project to bid and those to avoid. Each student will complete a manual takeoff, both in class and at home for a small commercial restaurant. The breakout or sections of the bid will be discussed; these breakouts will assist the estimator in preparing a more accurate estimate, and also allows the Project Manager and Foreman to pick up where the Estimator left off. We will complete the first day working on the quotable takeoff, typically switchgear, fixtures and fire alarm. The second day of the first session will start the remaining takeoff, feeders, branch circuits and devices, we will also discuss the takeoff of specials systems and how they can be completed.
During the second session we take the assemblies that we completed as homework and breakout all the commodity material required for those assemblies. We then price and labor the material. Once this is completed we will have both the commodity material costs and labor hours for the project. Discussions then begin as we begin the cap sheet, labor burden percentage, composite labor rate, non productive labor, direct job expenses. We continue this discussion discussing a method to determine overhead percentage and why it is important to know an accurate rate for your firm. At the end of each bid is profit, we call this risk money until the project is complete, we discuss profit and what the risk is worth to take on a project. Profit is a subject that each company must decide, hopefully before the bid is even started. Moving on to a proposal letter, a sample is supplied in the text and on CD for your review and actual use. THE PROPOSAL THAT WE SUPPLY IS SUPPLIED IN WORD FORMAT AND ITS FORMAT CAN BE USED IN ACTUAL PROPOSALS. THIS IS A LEGAL DOCUMENT WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT CONTRACTORS HAVE A CONTRACT LAWYER REVIEW THIS PROPOSAL FORMAT PRIOR TO UTILIZING IT. At the end of the class change order pricing is discussed, change order pricing is an art in itself, but the basics of the actual change order estimate is very similar to the original takeoff, it is the interruptions that change orders create that must be included in the price.
If time permits we will have a short demonstration on computer estimating. WE DO NOT ENDORSE ANY ESTIMATING SYSTEM, during the class. Depending on your firms needs and your computer knowledge many systems are available that are outstanding. We encourage everyone to get demo disks from a variety of firms and find the system that makes the most sense to you. This demonstration is merely to show the speed difference between manual estimating and that of a computer generated estimate. This speed is a true value relating to computer software, if you know what is in the estimate, a very bad tool if you don't know what the system is including in your bids.
The duration to these courses are short; we have little chance to build relationships with each other. Help us build those relationships by asking questions. Considering the fact that we are often hundreds of miles away from each other, a system is in place that will allow you to ask questions and receive answers. E-mail your question to us; generally you will have a response within twenty four hours, often quicker. We also encourage questions and attempt to help for up to three months after a class is completed. Use this service, it is included in the class and can result in you understanding the concepts that you need to know. We will not answer bid specific questions, relating to a bid that you are working on. Ask these questions in a generic fashion, as we would not have the bid documents to give you a proper answer, a specific question would require. Our intent is for each student to leave the class with the best instruction that we can provide, and a basic understanding of the fundamentals of estimating.
