This is newsletter #35 in the series. If you have missed prior newsletters, and are enjoying the series, we encourage you to purchase the complete Electrical Estimating Program. Click on the coupon at the bottom of this page.

After you have adjusted the total labor-unit hours, you must consider all necessary additional labor requirements for the job. Be aware that these conditions are not adjustments of the labor unit for job conditions, but additional labor that might be required, such as:

As-Built Drawings. As-built drawings are intended to show, in accurate detail, the location of feeders, branch circuits, and the size of equipment. These are typically produced by the original architect or engineer as many jobs require these to be done in an electronic form, by using AutoCAD or a .pdf file. If this responsibility happens to fall on you as required by the contract and specifications, be sure to include the labor to create and maintain as-built drawings. Some contractors may have the capability to do this in-house, whereas others will need to hire someone to do them.

Author’s Comment: Be sure you include the cost for revising as-built drawings when you invoice for change orders.

Demolition. Some jobs require the removal of the existing electrical wiring and equipment before you begin adding anything new. The labor for demolition must be considered and this is one of those times where these costs might be just an educated guess. However, with experience you will get a feel as to what might be reasonable and profitable. Be sure to verify whether the demolition will be to “disconnect and make safe” for others to do the actual removals, or if you will need to perform both the disconnecting and removal operations.

Environmentally Hazardous Material. Be sure the bid includes the labor and any special considerations required to handle environmentally hazardous material. This includes preparation, packaging, shipping, and the proper disposal of ballasts, electric-discharge lamps, radioactive exit signs, personal protective gear, and so on. With all that may be involved, it's probably a good idea to subcontract this work to a company that specializes hazardous material(s) removal.

Excavation, Trenching, and Backfill. There are places in the country where you cannot plant a bush without a pick. Conversely, if you try to dig a trench in sugar sand on the beach, the more you dig the wider the trench gets, but it does not get any deeper. Poor soil conditions can turn what was anticipated to be a simple job into a major project. It is often more cost-effective to subcontract this type of work rather than take the entire responsibility of accidentally cutting fiber optic cable, telephone wires, underground high-voltage utility lines, sprinkler and water pipes, or a gas main.

Author’s Comment: Before you begin any kind of excavation, make certain that you are aware of any existing underground utilities and their location(s) to ensure that they are avoided. These are typically indicated on the site plan but if not, it is your responsibility to obtain this information "before you dig" as there may be substantial fines and penalties imposed for any damages created if you don't!

Job Location. If the job is not located in the area of your shop, you need to add travel time. Also consider that it will be more difficult to manage the job and to get the material there when needed. The following example should help you understand how to determine travel time.

Example: What is the total travel time required for a 212-hour job that has three workers, assuming travel time of 1 hour per worker per day?
(a) 5.25 hours (b) 8.75 hours (c) 10 hours (d) 30 hours
Answer: (d) 30 hours
Job Days = Total Job Hours/Hours Worked per Day
Job Days = 212 hours/21 hours per day (3 workers at 7 hours per day)
Job Days = 10 travel days
Travel time = 1 hour per day per worker x 3 workers x 10 days
Travel time = 30 hours

Job Meetings. Do not forget to add labor for jobsite safety meetings and other planned meetings of jobsite staff. You might be required to attend meetings even before your phase of the job begins, so be sure to check the plans and specifications carefully. Also, try to anticipate a reasonable number of "Trades" meetings which help in overall job production scheduling and prevent the different trades from working on top of each other. These meetings are usually attended by either yourself or your lead or job foreman.

Match-Up of Existing Equipment. Maybe you have a situation where you are required to match existing equipment, colors, or luminaries. This can become very time consuming and costly so be sure to account for this expense.

Miscellaneous Material Items. It is impractical to try to determine the labor for every material item required for a job. Add 8 percent to the total estimated labor hours for miscellaneous material items not counted or measured when using the manual estimating method.

Computer-Assisted Estimate. There is typically no need to make any labor-hour adjustment for miscellaneous material items, since the software should account for all material required to complete the job.

Mobilization and Demobilization. Do not forget to include the labor required to set up and close down the job, such as preparing the job trailer to be moved.

Nonproductive Labor. Labor units include a prorated amount of the normal nonproductive labor experienced on a typical project. On some projects the nonproductive labor is greater than the normal amount, and the estimated labor for the installation of the electrical systems must be increased accordingly. For example, the owner or general contractor may allow or require all construction crafts to take coffee breaks at a specific time and for a specific duration. The evaluation and determination of the magnitude of abnormal productivity is extremely difficult because there are no standard percentages, mathematical formulas, or guidelines that can be used. The evaluation of the cause and effect of abnormal nonproductive situations can only be determined by the judgment of an experi-enced person. In estimating the project labor requirements, the electrical contractor must evaluate all the known and anticipated project conditions that will affect the labor productivity and then adjust the estimated labor man-hours accordingly.

A substantially different condition exists when estimating the labor for change orders. You not only must evaluate the magnitude of the nonproductive labor before any change order is received, but the change order itself always increases the nonproductive labor and the supervisory labor to some degree. The issuance of a single typical small change order does increase the nonproductive labor, but usually not in measurable amounts. However, after several change orders are issued, or when a single change order of substantial size is issued, the electrical contractor will always experience a major increase in lost productivity.
Labor units include 5 percent for nonproductive labor. Does this job have the potential for excessive nonproductive time?

Breaks. When you are on a job for a while, your employees get to know those who work with the other trades, and breaks tend to become longer and more frequent if they do not have proper supervision.

Distracting Job Conditions. Is this job going to be directly on a beach, marina, or other areas where the workers will be distracted?

Case Study: In Daytona Beach during “Spring Break” you should increase the labor requirements by some factor for work performed directly on the beach.

Inspection Tours. Inspection tours are a fact of life and the larger the job, the more frequent and longer the tours. Sometimes projects have multiple inspectors for the different systems, often by different inspection agencies. Do not forget about these!

Plans and Specifications. If adequate drawings and specifications are not provided, add a factor to account for anticipated nonproductive time to figure out what is required. Labor units assume that you have clear and conflict-free drawings and specifications. If this is not the case, inform the general contractor or the owner that your bid includes additional labor as a contingency.

Power. Labor to ensure that temporary, standby, or emergency power is available must be included in the bid if required. Remember to take any need for maintenance into consideration too.

Public Safety. Public safety is a factor, especially when doing work for city, county, state, or federal governmental agencies. Are you required to install traffic cones, barricades, or security gates? Will you be required to have flaggers, or possibly stand-by personnel? Be sure to read the specifications closely and plan your estimate accordingly to account for the labor as well as the cost for safety products.

Security. When working in some governmental and private facilities, you are required to follow specific procedures to receive clearance to enter the premises. Some facilities require that security be notified well in advance of persons desiring entry into the premises and they have to wait for someone to escort them while in the facility. Include monies for badges and drug testing because your personnel might also have to have drug testing done, or attend site specific orientation meetings or courses.

Service and Warranty. No job is installed perfectly, so add some labor to cover service and warranty work.

Site Conditions. Because of traffic conditions, projects in the downtown areas of large cities can cause significant lost time. Traffic conditions and narrow streets make it difficult to unload material and equipment. Inadequate parking and storage space are also potential problems. Parking costs in large cities like Chicago can be very expensive, in the range of $25 to $ 50 per day.

Subcontract Supervision. Do not forget to include the labor required for your electricians to supervise and direct subcontractors.

Training. Do you pay your electricians to attend a training and certification program? Include the cost of regular safety training and any required personal protective equipment (PPE) that you provide. It will be wise to add 1 percent to cover labor training.

The above content is extracted from Mike Holt's Electrical Estimating Program.