Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
MarketResearch
Newsletters
Codes&Standards
Safety
Subscription
EnterSearch...
Lighting
Residential
Systems
GreenBuilding
YourBusiness
Products
ECmagLIVE
Current Issues
Past Issues
ClickToViewFullSize
heotherday,Isawanonlinediscussionabout
usingthelaborunitsthatcomewithcomputer
estimatingsystems.Thequestionwaswhether
youshouldusethelaborunitsasis.Thesimple
answerismaybe.Thecomplexanswerisalso
maybe.
Thebottomlineisthattheapplicationoflaborunitscanbeverycomplex.Letsstartwithwheretheycome
from.TheNationalElectricalContractorsAssociation(NECA)firstpublishedtheManualofLaborUnits(MLU)
in1923.Ataskforceofmembercontractorsfromavarietyofmarketsandcontractorsizesrevisesitevery
otheryear.Youshoulddefinitelyreadtheinstructionsinthefrontofthemanualandeachsectionbeforeusing
thelaborunits.
ECMag Live
Therearethreecolumnsoflaborunits:normal,difficultandverydifficult.Itisimportanttounderstandthatthe
normalcolumnisonlytobeusedforsimpleconstruction,includingitemssuchasnewconstructionwithnew
materials,threestoriesandfewer,insideyournormalgeographicalareaofwork,withinstandardhours,etc.A
completelistofconditionsandalaborfactorscoresheetareinthemanual.Anydeviationfromnormal
conditionsisareasontoadjustyourlaborunits.Mostoften,youwilladjustthemupward.
Its complex
Heresareallifeexample.Iwasestimatinga1millionsquarefoothangerforMcDonnellDouglas.Thescope
includedtheinstallationof14,400feetof4footrigidconduitabovethetruss.Theconduitwastobeinstalled
infourparallelruns.Sincethetrussheightvariedfrom5080feetabovethefloor,zoomboomswouldbe
requiredtofacilitatetheinstallation.However,diggingintothedocuments,wediscoveredthegeneral
contractorwouldsuspendaworkplatformfromthebridgecranerails.Theplatformwouldchangepositions
everytwoweeks,eventuallycoveringtheentirebuilding.Thismeantwecouldmakeourinstallationsusingan
8footladder.
Asyoucanimagine,comingupwithalaborunitforthisinstallationwascomplicated.Rightupfront,wehave
oneofthefewreasonstofactorlabordown:parallelconduits.Fourparallelconduitscouldhavealabor
deductionofaround20percent.Next,sinceweareworkingontheplatform,wedonotneedtofactorupfor
theheight.However,weneedtoconsiderhowmuchtimeittakestoaccesstheplatform.Inthiscase,there
wasonlyoneconstructionelevator,sowehadtoanticipatedelays.Inaddition,sincethebuildingwassobig,
ittookalongtimetogetfromouryardtotheworklocationsinthebuilding.Comingupwiththelaborfactor
fortimespentgettingmenandmaterialsuptotheplatformandthenbackdownwasdifficult,becausethis
kindofsituationwasnotinanylabormanualIhadeverseen.Wehadtomakeajudgmentbasedon
experienceandalittleguesswork.
Letsgetbacktotheoriginalquestionaboutthelaborunitsthatcomewithestimatingsystems.Thesesystems
oftencomewithseveralcolumnsoflaborunits.ThreeofthemareusuallysimilartothecolumnsintheMLU.
AfourthcolumncompetitiveisoftenincludedandislessthantheMLUnormalcolumn.Becarefulusing
thiscolumnbecauseitismeantforcontractorsworkinginareasandonprojectswheretheygetsuperior
productionfromtheircrews.Ifyouareatsuchacompany,thesecompetitiveunitscanbeusedbasedonyour
companysexperience.
Featured Sponsors
VideoLibrary
beforeitistoolate.Second,whentheprojectisdone,youcananalyzethedifferencesbetweentheestimated
laborandtheactuallabor.Havingthiskindofhistoricaldataisagreattoolforfutureestimates.
Sotheanswertotheoriginalquestionisyes,youcanusethelaborunitsthatcomewithanestimatingsystem
ifaprojectfallsunderthenormalconditionsthattheMLUdescribes.Iftheprojectisnotnormal,youmust
adjustyourlaborunitsaccordingly.
Estimating, Databases, Labor, LaborUnits
Related Articles
Informationtechnologyand
automationhaveconverted
constructionproject
estimatingfromanarcane
andsometimesmysterious
arttoan...
Decisions, Decisions:
Cognitive Bias in
Individuals, Groups and
Organizations
Variousinternetsources
claimthatadultsmakean
averageof35,000decisions
eachday.Whilethattotal
may...
READMORE
READMORE
Comments
0Comments
Recommend
ElectricalContractor
Share
Login
SortbyBest
Startthediscussion
Bethefirsttocomment.
Subscribe d AddDisqustoyoursiteAddDisqusAdd
Electrical Contractor
Archives
Privacy
Social
Service
DigitalEdition
2016
2015
SiteHelp
AboutUs
2014
2013
SiteFeedback
Contact
2012
2011
YouTube
Subscription
MediaKit
2010
2009
PrivacyPolicy
Contributors
2008
2007
GooglePlus
TermsofService
LastName
2006
2005
ViewSamples
RSS
Leavethisfieldblank
Conventions&Shows
NECAMEI
NECANEIS
ELECTRIInternational
NECAConnection
20032016.AllRightsReserved.
ElectricalContractor:3BethesdaMetroCenter,Suite1100,Bethesda,MD.208145372|Phone:301.657.3110|Fax:301.215.4501
MOBILEVERSION
Submit