Would you like to deliver a more accurate conceptual estimate based on defendable data rather than depending on others?
For Robbie Gronbach, Vice President of Preconstruction Services at the award-winning Willis Smith Construction, being able to work in a data-driven estimating system has been a “stress reliever.” Instead of worrying about tracking down information from other team members, the precon team at Willis Smith “gets work accomplished faster” and has streamlined their workflow. In turn, they’ve been able to add more projects to their schedule, increasing the company’s profitability.
And for those of you with new and junior estimators, wouldn’t it be nice if you had a database of cost history they could confidently pull information from?
Unless you have enough expert estimators to fill in the blanks for a project that comes in with very little information, conceptual estimating is challenging. DESTINI Estimator construction estimating software has built-in features that help you create an accurate conceptual estimate you feel confident presenting to owners.
What is Conceptual Estimating?
Conceptual estimating is a way to get an idea of how much a scope of work is going to cost based on very little information.
Most often, conceptual estimating is left up to your most seasoned estimators who have a wealth of knowledge they can pull from because of the years of experience they have with those projects. Unless you are working with a team of senior estimators with time on their hands, it is harder to pull conceptual estimates together on time.
How Does DESTINI Estimator’s Cost History Feature Help with Conceptual Estimating?
DESTINI Estimator houses all your historical cost data into one place, so estimators can easily look through the historical data of jobs of similar type and use that to create a conceptual estimate. It gives your entire team the ability to make project decisions based on real data instead of having to rely on years of ‘been there, done that’ experience.
Jon Bowser, Head of Infrastructure at Beck Technology says, “The junior estimator doesn’t have to necessarily think through all the possible things that go into an estimate because it’s already been done by the company.”
Built into DESTINI Estimator, the cost history database captures and curates your data so you can compare and analyze past, present, and future projects.
How Does DESTINI Estimator’s Conceptual Estimating Capabilities Benefit Your Preconstruction Team?
Jon says, “We have workflows that involve our project view to power your estimates.” It makes the conceptual job easier and saves time. Jon says, “There’s always something else that needs to get done on the job, so the faster you can do the everyday nuts and bolts operations, the more time you have to do the bigger and better things that you wish you had more time for.”
What Will Conceptual Estimating Look Like in the Future?
The idea of cost history has been around for a long time; however, the best way to capture and curate it is a fairly recent technological development. Now that there are databased-driven software like DESTINI Estimator, precon teams can actually use that data for benchmarking.
Jon says, “The data just wasn’t so easily accessible before, so we’re definitely excited to jump on and lead the way and help provide those new insights. Those new workflows of using and leveraging that data helps preconstruction teams make better and smarter decisions, and ultimately let people get their job done faster and spend more time doing the things that really matter to them.”
Jon walks you through an introduction to conceptual estimating and cost history in DESTINI Estimator in the webinar below.
