Estimating Underground Utilities

Attendees of this two-day course will receive personalized instruction on how to properly achieve accurate takeoffs for all types of underground utility projects. Using real sets of drawings, students will perform complete takeoffs and will apply material and labor costs to assemble a complete estimate. The training provides the necessary skill sets and knowledge-based processes for consistent underground utility estimating. This course is for new estimators, field personnel and all other construction professionals who want to acquire a sound fundamental understanding of the principles of underground utility construction cost estimates. The course is designed to improve costing, pricing and production techniques of underground utility contractors on private and government projects.

This program concentrates on the specific problems encountered while estimating varying costs of underground utilities. Recommended solutions to items such as interferences, work stoppages and unanticipated conditions are covered in detail. This course will provide the estimator with a practical and time-saving approach to quantity calculations, soil analysis and water tables. It will also cover how to accurately determine the productivity rates upon which to base your bid.

Location details are provided upon registration.

• Trenching volume calculations
• Trenching productivity
• Pipe laying productivity
• Pipe trench assemblies
• Storm drainage exercise
• Materials costing
• Pre-bid investigation
• Performing pre-estimate checklists
• Analyze sites and soil brings
• The bidding procedure
• Estimating forms and formats
• Swell and shrink
• Material weights and swell factors
• Prepared exercises
• Daily production estimates
• Calculate productivity
• Allow for time at structure locations
• Adjust productivity for sub-surface interference
• Apply crew cost to estimated productivity
• Test estimating skills with problem solving exercises
• Equipment selection procedures
• Subsurface interferences
• De-watering methods
• Specification analysis
• Safety requirements
• Sanitary sewer exercise
• Clearing and demolition
• Drainage pipe and miscellaneous structures
• Estimating ground water control
• Format of the estimate
• Basic cost data
• Complete the bidding package
• Effects of interference, interruptions and the unexpected
• OSHA trenching excavation standards

Upon completion of the course students will be able to perform accurate trench volume and backfill calculations and verify the engineer’s quantities. They will foresee project complexities and installation difficulties and will assemble crews for maximum efficiency. Students will have the confidence to correctly gauge productivity and improve estimate accuracy.

This course is available as a video home study. This format is ideal for busy construction professionals who are unable to attend a live course. It is also beneficial as an in house training tool for human resource departments. The video home study format includes everything that is presented in the live version of the course. video home study courses are shipped via UPS to the shipping address that you select upon checkout.

The video home study course includes: 

• Instructor video presentation on USB flash drive
• Course workbook
• Practice blueprints
• Reference book
• Engineering scale
• Calculator