Contractors Cast Wider Net for Estimating Help

Oct 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Tom Zind, Freelance Writer

Although software makes the task easier, some electrical contractors are looking to outsourcing as a solution

“Estimating.” In the construction world of logistics nightmares, impossible deadlines, and complex projects, the word has a benign ring to it. But as every good electrical contractor knows, getting that job done right is the critical first step to landing profitable work — and hardly one to be entrusted to just anyone. Ironically, that line of reasoning is used to both justify and argue against outsourcing project cost estimating to third parties.

Opponents of outsourcing say it's simply too nuanced and far too important a task to let someone outside the company fold handle. Proponents, however, maintain that farming the work out to trusted and capable professionals can yield better numbers and free up valuable resources. Plus, more estimators translates to more bids, and more bids means more work.

Software can help streamline the estimating process.

Meanwhile, continual improvements in information technology tools are muddying the decision of whether to hire outside estimators. More powerful and reliable estimating and bidding software is taking some of the tedium and cost out of the process, helping outsourcing critics make their case. But for many contractors, it's not an either-or proposition. Some larger contractors don't use any outside help. Some smaller ones, who are constrained by labor resources, mull turning all of it over to specialists. Most who outsource, however, probably do it selectively, using staffers for most of the work and hiring estimating contractors only at certain times of the year or for certain types of jobs.

Help in a pinch

Those in the latter camp, like Commonwealth Electric Company of the Midwest, Lincoln, Neb., essentially view outside estimators as “bench strength” to be tapped when circumstances dictate. A large contractor with dedicated staff estimators and others who can do takeoffs and related work, Commonwealth still gets in a bind on occasion, admits Matt Firestone, the company's chief estimator. That's when the call of “grab a bat” goes out to a professional estimating company.

When Commonwealth outsources estimates, several issues come into play. A heavy bidding/estimating schedule, overcommitted in-house staff, specialized projects that demand an intense focus or particular expertise, or a job out of left field the company feels compelled to bid on are common reasons, says Firestone. No matter what the reason is, the company tries to make sure the call for assistance is tied to a real need and provides a value.

“Anytime we outsource estimating work, it's good for us because it puts us in a position to bid on something we probably would have had to turn down,” he says.

Likewise, Triad Electrical Contractors, Inc., Mundelein, Ill., uses an estimating service only under certain circumstances, and only when the help is absolutely necessary.

“Mostly, it depends on my workload and also what type of job it is,” says Nick Mascari, president of the small company, which employs 14. “I'd prefer to do it in-house, but if I'm overloaded and it's a relatively simple job (like one for a public bid that I don't have a lot of questions about), then I'll send it out.”

For Mascari, the value of sending estimating work out comes primarily in the form of speed and accuracy. In the year he's used his primary estimating supplier, Accurate Electrical Estimating, Coral Springs, Fla., Mascari has come to appreciate its reliability and quick turnaround.

“On an average job, they can come up with an estimate twice as fast as I can,” he says.

Nevertheless, Mascari prefers to do his own takeoffs and estimating on jobs he needs to understand better through more focused and intimate study. Specialized work, such as medical facilities and projects that require him to take a design-build or value engineering approach, are also typically kept in-house.

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