Flow of estimating data in Sri Lankan building contractor organizations

Abstract

When an estimator prices a bill of quantities, s/he collects, generates and assembles data (estimating data) for the purpose of establishing the cost of constructing the project. The data generated could be used by the contractor's subsequent management functions, and the use of estimating data in the contractors' post-tender management worthy of attention. Drawing information from ten case studies of the organization of Sri Lankan building contractors, this paper identifies the contractors': management functions; management tasks; and management groups. It also establishes the flow of estimating data within and between the management functions. These flows highlight the substantial burden of re-work in the post-tender use of data. It is argued that the current format and presentation of estimating data in Sri Lanka are the major causes for such re-work. However, it was found that any revolutionary change to the conventional format would not be welcomed by the industry. Any new proposal should be developed within the limitation of acceptability to conventional practice. The recommendation is that the ‘unit rate’ is broken down to its cost components of material, labour and plant. The breakdown of the unit rate would supply all the necessary data for direct use, thus reducing the re-work. Further research should be addressed to investigate the best format and structure of this breakdown.