Why is an estimator important?

In real life, estimation is part of our everyday experience. … For students, estimating is an important skill. First and foremost, we want students to be able to determine the reasonableness of their answers. Without estimation skills, students aren’t able to determine if their answer is within a reasonable range.

ESTIMATE Advantages

• Save Money on Projects. More accurate estimations result in smoother execution of the project. …
• Complete Projects Faster. The right estimation means glitch-free, uninterrupted project execution. …
• Convert More Bids. …
• Build Stronger Client Relationships. …
• Work Simple. …
• Be Flexible. …
• Work Together.

Seeing that cost estimates provide the foundation for planning the job’s schedule and budget, the accuracy of an estimate can determine if the project is able to meet its objectives. … Accurate estimating accounts for expected and unexpected costs and helps protect your profit margins.

What are the benefits of using past project estimates and actuals to create a new project estimate?

Time and cost estimates of specific activities are adjusted as the risks, resources, and situation particulars become more clearly defined. Collecting and archiving data on past project estimates and actuals provides a knowledge base for improving project time and cost estimates.

How Do You Estimate Time for a Project?

1. Break down the project into activities and then further into smaller tasks, then estimate each task.
2. Take a look at similar projects you’ve done in the past and how many hours they took. …
3. Take past project timelines and adjust them for differences in the new project.

5 Steps to Accurate Project Costing

1. Understand the scope of the work. First, you need to understand what it is the project is going to deliver. …
2. Estimate the work. Next, estimate the work. …
3. Include all other costs. This is the step many project managers miss out on.
4. Add contingency.
5. Review, review, review.

3 main methods of cost estimating

1) Expert Judgement Method.

2) Analogous Estimating Method.

3) Parametric Estimating Method.

There are many factors that affect the construction cost estimate and have a significant impact on project cost and they are as follows:

• Similar Construction Projects.
• Construction Material Costs.
• Labor Wage Rates.
• Construction Site Conditions.
• Inflation Factor.
• Project Schedule.
• Quality of Plans & Specifications.

Top 10 Tools and Techniques to Estimate Project Cost

• Expert Judgement. While estimating the project cost, the first step is to take the comments from the experts.
• Analogous Estimation.
• Parametric Estimation.
• Bottom-Up Estimation.
• Three-Point Estimation.
• Reserve Analysis.
• Cost of Quality.
• Project Management Software.