Our “2-Day Introductory Class” for e4Clicks Project Estimator is coming up soon, March 13-14, 2013 in Las Vegas, NV. We also are offering a NEW course, “1-Day Construction Cost Estimating 101, featuring RSMeans Cost Data” at NO CHARGE, on March 12, 2013 at the same location. Participants of our 2-Day session are welcome to come...Continue Reading
Peter Cholakis, 4Clicks CMO, was recently appointed to the NIBS (National Institute of Building Sciences) NBIMS (National BIM Standard) Planning Committee, as well as Chair of the NBIMS3.0 Terminology Subcommittee. The adoption of standards and best practices for BIM, the life-cycle management of the built environment, is very important to our Nation’s economy as well...Continue Reading
Just a quick note on the importance of teamwork to you SABER and JOC programs. While we all know the value of Owners, Contractors, and AE’s working together, it’s also important that Procurement, Planning, and PMs/CEs and DPW staff work together. Everyone working with the same data, within software tools; not only saves time, but...Continue Reading
“CE AFSCs were promoted at a 26.2% rate, more than 3% higher than the AF average–a testament to the outstanding work and contributions to the mission made by the CE family every day.” – Mickey Addison, Engineer/Base Support Officer at United States Air Force. Allain Eric B 436 CES, Dover AFB, DE Clifford David L,...Continue Reading
We’d like to wish everyone; Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Healthy and Prosperous New Year. Thank you all for your business, support, and friendship. “In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” Dietrich BonhoefferContinue Reading
It Has Always Been the Soldier: It is the Soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press; It is the Solder, not the poet who has given us the freedom of speech; It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer who has given us freedom to demonstrate It is the...Continue Reading
Teaching Construction Cost Estimating: Experience and mentoring play a major role in developing cost estimating skills, however, training and retraining are also very important. A sample construction cost estimating course outline shown below. If your organization is interested in an on-site session, please give us a call. Levels of Cost Estimating Order of Magnitude...Continue Reading
Recently I noted the following on Linked In – “When I was at ODD, I was constantly asked by the staffers who’d been there for a while why the AF didn’t have an installation command like the Army or Navy…I explained how much more airpower is dependent on bases, AF doctrine for combat support, etc.,...Continue Reading
Job order contracting is an innovative procurement technique designed to provide more responsive facility maintenance and repair and minor construction. It is intended to significantly reduce engineering and procurement lead-times by awarding a competitively bid, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity, multitask contract to a single general contractor. The contract consists of detailed task specifications for a multitude of...Continue Reading
What is BIM, and what can you do to develop best practice in terms of bridging the disconnection between key BIM stakeholders? A focus upon “change management” would likely delivery the highest return on your investment. BIM is the life-cycle management of the built environment supported by digital technology. As such it requires an understanding...Continue Reading
Join us in the Springs! e4Clicks Project Estimator Introductory Class – October 17th and 18th 4Clicks will be hosting our awesome 2-day introductory training session in Colorado Springs. Work directly with e4Clicks Project Estimator and do actual detailed item cost estimates with RSMeans Cost Data. You will even take a quick look at Visual Cost...Continue Reading
“The problem with the AIA approach to IPD is it is inherently anti-architect. It explicitly reduces the traditional influence of architects at early stages of a project when the design is being developed. It reduces the influence of the main driver of design excellence, the architect.” While the AIA implementation of Integrated Project Delivery may...Continue Reading
e4Clicks Project Estimator Users, please consider attending our SPOTLIGHT WebCast, 8/23/2012, 3PM EST. Re-pricing an estimate for year-end that wasn’t awarded last fallout? Have a new year-end project similar to an existing one you’ve already done? Come join us! We want to show you how you can shorten down the time it takes to finish...Continue Reading
Maintaining balance across the financial, environmental and operational aspects of every decision, every material and every system. Job Order Contracting – JOC and SABER are great construction delivery methods for sustainability projects. JOC and SABER allow more projects to be done on-time and on-budget, by local contractors who are motivated to succeed.Continue Reading
– e4Clicks Project Estimator Introductory Training – 4clicks.com/training o August 8-9, 2012 – Ontario, CA o August 14-15, 2012 – San Antonio, TX o October 17-18, Colorado Springs, TX – JOC Certificate Program – Alliance for Construction Excellence – ACE – www.ace4aec.com/course/job-order-contracting-joc-certificate-program-08272012 o August 26 – December 10, Phoenix, AZContinue Reading
Some of us may believe that “leaving construction and that in the hands of the professional contractors” is the solution to the inefficiencies of our industry. In reality, lack of a collaborative approach to construction among Owners, Contractors, and AE’s is the primary source of most cost overruns, legal issues, and overall poor project management....Continue Reading
The Value of Dynamic Costs for Job Order Contracts: Adjusting the costs within a Unit Price Book (UPB) on a regular basis, typically each year, helps to mitigate risk for both the Owner and Contractor by more accurately reflecting actual costs. UPBs can be research and republished annually to reflect a higher degree of accuracy...Continue Reading
A professional construction cost estimator in an important team member of any Owner, Contractor, or AE organization’s involvement in a facility renovation, repair, sustainability, or new construction project. A cost estimator’s role is to review the many factors, variables, and information sources associated with a construction project and to present an accurate total cost (the...Continue Reading
While accurate, timely, and transparent cost estimating is critical to the success of any renovation, repair, sustainability, or new construction project, most construction cost estimators (over 55%) continue to rely primarily upon manual methods, hard copy documents, or electronic spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel. Lack of robust business processes, management practices, proper education and training,...Continue Reading
It’s amazing how many cost estimators exclusively use spreadsheets. In end, this practice creates more problems than it solves. Certainly spreadsheets play an important role, however, study after study has proven them to be inefficient and prone to error when collaboration is required, or when relatively sophisticated databases are commonly used. The solution for Owners,...Continue Reading
Unit price books are unit price-based cost databases referenced by a particular JOC or SABER contract. In some cases UPBs can be task-based; however, this method doesn’t provide a level of detail consistent with the practices of most construction cost estimators. RSMeans is used in the majority of JOC contracts in the United States (over...Continue Reading
Traditional methods such as design-bid-build and even “newer” methods such as design-build are not fully collaborative. The net result is information is not shared by all parties and adversarial components of these methods typically lead to mistrust and waste. Integrated project delivery (IPD) and Job order contracting (JOC), the later also referred to as “IPD-lite”...Continue Reading
What is a coefficient? A multiplier? A factor? These terms describe a number which is applied to the unit price book (UPB) to arrive at the contractual cost for JOC / SABER construction projects. A coefficient of 1.08 means that the contractor will perform each and every line item in the unit price book for...Continue Reading
Price coefficients are applied to unit line prices from a unit price book (UPB) to determine the actual cost of JOC or SABER project and/or task order. The contracted price coefficient is applied to all labor and materials line items necessary for each job to arrive at an estimated for the job. Coefficients are important...Continue Reading
