Job Estimating - Piping Systems ? 2

[mcprofusion]

Seasons Greetings !

I was hoping to get a few helpful leads on proper job estimating techniques used in industrial pipework contracting; job costing for pipefitting, welding, and installation.

I have been in the piping industry for some time as a welder and pipefitter, and i understand that the equation will depend somewhat on piping experience, to some degree. However, are there special tables or guidelines that are available ?

I would really appreciate your in any way possible Thanks !

Marc

http://www.mcprofusion.com

 

[pedarrin]

I have found that a good starting point are the Means Estimating Books. They are a series of books issued every year which details most if not all aspects of estimating in the construction arena. They offer a good guideline so you can get most aspects of the job.

As I said, they are a good starting point. Since you have experience in the field, you know about how long it takes to make pipe joints in most situations which would be encountered in the field. USE THIS KNOWLEDGE!!! I used to do estimating and relied heavily on a guy who had done it in the field. It seemed like he was always getting the good prices, while mine were more hit and miss.

 

[kcmisra]

One suggested way :
A. Fix the ranges of pipe diameters say 10 to 50, 50 to 75 etc
B. Cost as per number of bends - you may further estmate for the complexity of bend viz the Bend Radus, Multiplane or single plane bends etc. The angle of Bend can also form a criterion.
C. Cost for welding should be based on diameter range and per mm thickness of weld.
D Edge preparaton should be based on the diameter and thickness
E Pressure testing estmates should be based on type of end connection or is it a blind end ( no fittings). In the latter case, method of hydrotesting viz. using Hydro-test blanks (bladder type) or welding on blanks with subsequent cuttng and edge preparation will determne the cost.
F. Piping if required to be carried from templates would add on to the work especially if branch piping and flanges/unions are there.
G. Cost and time for QC must of course be taken into account.
H. Other pping related activities like stress relieving, qualification of welders, chemical cleaning, preparation of jigs & fixtures etc would have to be taken into consideration.
I. One of course should not forget method of bendng (hot/cold/NC/Manual or CNC) and type of material being handled!

Actually I am also in search of estimating methods for piping in ship bulding industry and would appreciate more info. My notes are based purely on experence in contracting for piping work.

 

[matt1965]

You should go to Google and type in Labor Calculator, this will take you to the phcc site where you can download and use their labor calculator for 30 days. It's worked well for me for a long time. But as you probably know an estimate is only as good as your material take-off.

 

[ghamgs0c]

I wonder if someone can help me with the techniques to inspect the piping under cold insulation. Basically, we have a piping to transfer prpane & BUtane at -45 DEG F & 25 Deg F to the sea island. We dont know thier condition and the piping are not equiped with Instrument scraping indications.
Any suggestion how to isolate the lines, purge them , inspect them, putting them back in service with estimation of the timing.
The piping length is about 10 MIles with 20 Inch in dimeter.
Thanks for the help from every one.