Quantification and Costing Flashcards
Name the 3 NRM documents?
NRM1 - Order of Cost Estimating and Cost Planning for Capital Building Works.
NRM2 - Detailed Measurement for Building Works.
NRM3 - Order of Cost Estimating and Cost Planning for Building Maintenance Works.
Name the 3 RMM documents?
RMM1 - Order of Cost Estimating, Cost Planning and Detailed Measurement for Rail Infrastructure Works.
RMM2 - Rail Activity Based Cost Models for Rail Infrastructure Works.
RMM3 - Order of Cost Estimating, Cost Planning and Detailed Measurement for Rail Maintenance Works.
What’s the strucutre of NRM1?
- General
- Measurement rules for order of cost estimating
- Measurement rules for cost planning
- Tabulated rules of measurement for elemental cost planning
Split into 14 Group Elements
E.g. Group Element 2: Superstructure
Group Element > Element > Sub-element > Component
What’s the structure of NRM2?
- General
- Detailed measurement of building works
- Rules of measurement for building works
Tables of measurement split into 41 work sections.
E.g. Work Section 7: Piling
What’s the strucutre of RMM1?
- RMM Suite of Documents in Context
- General
- Cost Estimating and Cost Planning
- Detailed Measurement (includes tabulated rules of measurement)
Cost Category > Group Element > Element > Sub-element > Component > Sub-component
Cost Categories:
1.0 - Direct Construction Work
2.0 - Indirect Construction Work
3.0 - Design, Project Management and Other Project Costs
4.0 - Risk
5.0 - Inflation
6.0 - Taxation and Grants
Group Element E.g. 1.03 - Electric Power and Plant.
What’s the structure of RMM2?
- RMM Suite of Documents in Context
- General
- Primary Rail Activity Cost Model.
Benchmarking process:
- Data Collection
- Data Comparison
- Data Analysis
- Action
- Repeat
What benefits do standard methods of measure offer?
Provides a standard set of measuring rules for construction works understood across the industry.
Consistent format allows the data to be used to benchmark similar schemes.
Provides a consistent Work Breakdown Structure.
List the different types of cost plans and when they would be produced?
Order of Cost Estimate - RIBA 1
Formal Cost Plan 1 - RIBA 2
Formal Cost Plan 2 - RIBA 3
Formal Cost Plan 3 - RIBA 4
What outliers did you discover on the M621 final estimate?
- Length on the piles
- Formwork quantities
What format was the cost plans you produced for Network Rail?
Based on the RMM Cost Plan format.
Cost captured against all the Cost Category’s.
Direct construction cost was built up from labour, plant and materials basis.
Cost from other cost categories such as possession cost and PM cost were also included in the estimate.
What standard method of measure did you base your NR cost plans on?
Rail Method of Measure 1 - Order of Cost Estimating, Cost Planning and Detailed Measurement for Rail Infrastructure Works.
How was contingency on the cost plans calculated?
Risk Analysis was conducted and benchmarked against similar historical schemes.
What is a schedule of rates?
List of rates for provision of labour, plant, material or completing specific types of works.
Used to price works, such as for framework contracts.
Explain the price reduction you achieved in assuring the subcontractor’s quote on the South UPS project?
Price from suppllier was £59K.
Utilising SPONS Mechnical and Electrical price book and adjuting their rates for inflation and region I calculated a rate of £28.
Rate was reduced by £32 to £26.5K
Misunderstanding as to required UPS size.
How did you go about challenging the UPS rate with the supplier?
- Prepared all my calculations and backup for the price range I developed.
- Arranged a meeting with the subcontractor’s QS.
- Explained my position and findings and sort to work with the subcontractor’s QS collaboratively.
- Subcontractor’s QS did some investigation and accepted my challenge and provided an updated. quote.
What is the pounds in the ground metric?
This is a metric used by NR to monitor how much of project expenditure is spent on direct construction cost v other cost categories.
RVC = Direct + Design + Prelims
IP CoE = Direct
What was your data source for the RRV rates library?
NR had a large number of RRV suppliers on a framework with an agreed schedule of rates.
I brought all these schedules together into a central library with clear descriptions and easy filtering options.
What information was included in this rates library?
- Item Description
- Supplier
- Rate
- Unit
- Copy of supplier quote
- Rate Base Date
Surely with an organisation such as NR, a rate library already existed?
NR have large libraries of Unit Rate data, but the rates library I established was more granular covering cost of supply for specific materials aiding in the production of detailed cost estimates.
What changes did you make to the template?
Requirement to define requirements for RRV, and then the rate for the RRV was automatically calculated based on the RRV rates library data. This meant a lump sum figure was no longer being used.
Allowances for materials had to be based on supplier quotes, or data from historical projects with adjustments.
Greater accuracy and accountability.
What was the inflation tool you integrated?
Choose project start date, completion date and desired inflation index such as RPI, CPI and BCIS construction index. This automatically provided the inflation % adjustment required.
How did the forecasting model work?
Forecasting based on a S - curve that:
1/3 = 1/4
2/3 = 1/2
3/3 = 1/4
What are the benefits of a pricing document based on the standard methods of measure being included the ITT?
- It saves the cost and time of several contractors measuring the same design to calculate their bids for competition.
- It provides a consistent basis for obtaining competitive bids.
- It provides an extensive and clear statement of the work to be executed.
- It provides a strong basis for budgetary control and accurate cost reporting of the contract
- When BQ items are codified, it allows reconciliation and any necessary transfers and
adjustments to be made to the cost plan. - It provides one of the best sources of real-time cost data, which can be used for estimating the cost of future building projects as it provides a cost model in a single document.
What sections will you find in a BoQ?
- form of tender (including certificate of bona fide tender)
- summary
- preliminaries
- measured works
- non-measurable works
- provisional sums
- contractor-designed works
- risks
- credits (for materials arising from the works)
- dayworks (provisional) and
- annexes.
What’s the structure of a cost plan?
- Facilitating Works
- Building Works
- Main Contractor’s Prelims
- Main Contractor’s OH&P
- Design Team Fees:
- Consultant fee’s
- Main Contractor’s pre-construction fee
- Main Contractor’s design fee - Other Project Cost
- Risk Allowances:
- Employer’s Change Risk
- Employer’s Other Risk
- Design Development Risk
- Construction Risk - Tender Inflation
- Construction Inflation
- VAT
What is the difference between tender inflation and construction inflation?
Tender inflation: the period from the estimate base date to the date of tender return.
Construction inflation: the period from the date of tender return to the mid-point of the construction period.
What is the difference between an Activity Schedule and a Bill of Quantities?
AS is far less granular than a BoQ, it provides a lump sum against an activity or task.
BoQ is in far great detail providing rates, quantities and units all the way down to componenet level.
Provide an example of how you used RMM?
9 Sections under Direct Construction Costs Group Element.
Examples:
- Railway Control Systems
- Electric Power and Plant
- Civil Engineering
For Cantilevers meaursed as a numerated item:
1.00 Cost Catergory - Direct Construction Cost
1.02 Group Element - Train Power Systems
1.02.02 Element - Overhead Line Equipment
1.02.02.01 Sub-element - Support Structures
1.02.02.01.03 Component - Support Structures: Single Track Cantilever
1.02.02.01.03.02 Sub-component - Cantilever
Name some series under the Highway Method of Measurement?
Series 600 - Earthworks
Series 700 - Pavements
List the 4 type of SPONS price books?
Architects and Builders Price Book
Mechanical and Electrical Price Book
External Works and Landscape
Civil Engineering and Highway Work
What are the different parts in the SPONS price book?
1- General
2 - Rates of Labour and Wages
3 - Approximate Estimiating
4 - Prices for Measured Works
5 - Fees for Professonal Services
6 - Daywork and Prime Cost
What are some of the limitations of SPONS?
Outdated Information: The data in SPONS may not always reflect the most current market conditions, especially in rapidly changing markets.
Generalization: SPONS provides average costs, which might not be accurate for specific projects or region.
Limited Scope: It may not cover all materials, labor, or specific construction methods, leading to gaps in the estimates.
