A winning verdict: avoid demolition estimating mistakes to win cases in the court of profits and losses.Based on more than 40 years of experience and after the thousands of demolition Demolition is the opposite of construction: the tearing-down of buildings and other structures. It contrasts with deconstruction, which is the taking down of a building while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use. estimates I have prepared, ranging from $500 to $30 million. I can honestly say as a demolition estimator you will never forget your mistakes. Unfortunately, in most cases the most noticeable and unforgettable mistakes cost your employer money. They also cost you, as a demolition estimator, credibility. As a demolition estimator, the hardest hurdles to overcome, after making an estimating mistake, may be restoring your self-confidence and re-establishing the confidence level the owner has in your future estimates. First, admit your mistake; second take responsibility for your actions. GOING TO COURT Recognize your mistakes and review what actions taken by you may have led up to the mistakes. Mistakes are like accidents. Accidents don't just happen. Rather, they occur after a series of events. Circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or and failures lead to the accident. All accidents, including estimating mistakes, are preventable. As a demolition estimator, compare your estimating responsibilities with that of a defense attorney. Defend your client (your estimate) by presenting to the judge (decision makers at your company and the customer) a well prepared, compelling case including evidence (bid documents) to obtain an acquittal The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. for your client (again, your estimate). As a demolition estimator you must convince the judge (those approving the estimate) that you have presented a "bulletproof Refers to extremely stable hardware and/or software that cannot be brought down no matter what unusual conditions arise. See industrial strength. bulletproof - Used of an algorithm or implementation considered extremely robust; lossage-resistant; capable of correctly " defense for your estimate. You must be prepared to back-up your claims with evidence, i.e., landfill, salvage salvage, in maritime law, the compensation that the owner must pay for having his vessel or cargo saved from peril, such as shipwreck, fire, or capture by an enemy. Salvage is awarded only when the party making the rescue was under no legal obligation to do so. and subcontract sub·con·tract n. A contract that assigns some of the obligations of a prior contract to another party. intr. & tr.v. sub·con·tract·ed, sub·con·tract·ing, sub·con·tracts pricing, in writing. Include examples of completed projects your company has performed. The evidence you provide must be clear and verifiable. As in court, if your defense is flawed flaw 1 n. 1. An imperfection, often concealed, that impairs soundness: a flaw in the crystal that caused it to shatter. See Synonyms at blemish. 2. and weak, the judge (decision makers) will recognize the weakness in your case and be more likely to reject your evidence and find your client (the estimate) "guilty." If you lose at this trial stage, the judge may return your client (your estimate) to jail (the trash can In the Macintosh, a simulated garbage can used for deleting files and folders. The trash can keeps the files intact in case the user wants to restore them, but can be "emptied" from time to time to save disk space. ) due to lack of evidence. Or the judge (decision makers) may add additional time (dollars) to your client's (your estimate) sentence to ensure your client (your estimate) never stands a chance of ever winning freedom (going to bid). Like inexperienced in·ex·pe·ri·ence n. 1. Lack of experience. 2. Lack of the knowledge gained from experience. in defense attorneys whose clients (estimates) may be sitting in jail, your estimates may be doomed by a failure to provide a strong defense to convince the judge (decision makers) to "free" their client. A WINNING CASE To defend your estimate, you must present a strong case and back up your estimate to the satisfaction of the decision makers by providing: * Your clear understanding of the scope of the work to be performed * Examples of similar work and costs for work performed by your organization * Bid documents-bid forms, bonds, safety-related forms--that are completed with your written clarifications and ready to be submitted * Copies of subcontractor One who takes a portion of a contract from the principal contractor or from another subcontractor. When an individual or a company is involved in a large-scale project, a contractor is often hired to see that the work is done. , material, landfill, bonding, and special insurance pricing. Provide the decision makers with any additional information you feel may be necessary to convince them the pricing you have provided looks reasonable and is acceptable. Once you have provided the decision maker(s) sufficient information to make an informed decision, and they have the confidence in your understanding of the specific project-related scope and pricing that you have presented, then and only then will the decision makers feel confident in your presentation. It is critical that each demolition estimate must be treated with respect, whether it is in the $500 or $5 million range. My suggestion for you is to design an "Estimate Check List" for every estimate. Include all the information necessary to prepare your organization's estimate and ensure that "all bases are covered." Remember, everyone makes mistakes. The only loss you will sustain from mistakes will be if you and your organization fail to accept responsibility and do not explore and determine the set of circumstances that led up to that mistake. The faster you learn from your mistakes the better and more valuable you will become to your company. Whether your are submitting two estimates per week or 20, your responsibility as an estimator is to manage your time to ensure that "all bases are covered" and that the case (estimate) you present to the decision makers (judge) is accurate and complete to the best of your ability. The author and his brother and L. H. (Les) Gumbiner are the principals of Demolition Industry Consultants LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , Noblesville, Ind., a company with 80+ years of demolition estimating experience that offers on-site "Demolition Estimating Workshops." More information can be found at www.demolitionhelp.com. TOP TEN RELATED ARTICLE: Demolition estimating mistakes. The following are, in my experience, the actions leading to the 10 mistakes most commonly made when preparing demolition estimates. No. 10 Looking at too many jobs without taking time to organize blueprint blueprint, white-on-blue photographic print, commonly of a working drawing used during building or manufacturing. The plan is first drawn to scale on a special paper or tracing cloth through which light can penetrate. measurements and take-offs, bid documents and field notes. No. 9 Rushing into last-minute bid preparation (less than 24 hours prior to due date). No. 8 Trusting your memory and/or believing "I have lots of time" when there are seven, 10 or 14 days to bid. Bid dates will sneak up Verb 1. sneak up - advance stealthily or unnoticed; "Age creeps up on you" creep up advance, march on, move on, progress, pass on, go on - move forward, also in the metaphorical sense; "Time marches on" on you. No. 7 Failure to read, review and understand "The Special General Conditions" section of contract documents. (These supersede To obliterate, replace, make void, or useless. Supersede means to take the place of, as by reason of superior worth or right. A recently enacted statute that repeals an older law is said to supersede the prior legislation. General Conditions). No. 6 Not knowing your company's past cost and production rates for similar work. No. 5 Believing that every job you bid, you will have the best people and equipment available to perform your job. No. 4 Math errors. Always use an electronic spreadsheet spreadsheet Computer software that allows the user to enter columns and rows of numbers in a ledgerlike format. Any cell of the ledger may contain either data or a formula that describes the value that should be inserted therein based on the values in other cells. . Ninety percent of estimating mistakes are math errors. No. 3 Failure to request subcontractor, disposal and supplier pricing. As soon as you get your bid file organized, and you have determined services and materials that will need to be provided by others, confirm these subcontractor quotes. Waiting for last minute pricing leads to higher prices. No. 2 Failure to ensure that pre-bid documents; resumes, addendums acknowledged, schedules, safety documents, certificates and licenses (state), and bonds are completed 24 hours ahead of the bid date. And the No. 1 mistake made by demolition estimators: Failure to understand "if it's not in writing it is not a part of the contract." Unless stated in writing in the form of contract documents and addendums, remember this: Owners and project managers "don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. what anybody said." It must be in writing. --W.I. (Bill) Gumbiner |
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