Construction plans are a contractual document that will be advertised to contractors. Therefore, the item codes, extensions, and descriptions need to exactly match the Item Master.
Design (C2) Estimates are budgetary tools to ensure projects are designed within budget. Budgetary estimates are never advertised with the plans to contractors. Therefore, it is acceptable that the plans do not exactly match the estimate as long as you have accounted for all items in the estimate. You can use a similar item in your estimate and insert notes to explain which items are “placeholders” for the newer items that are not in the Estimator catalogs.
Using Estimator Average Historical Prices
If you use Estimator bid histories to price items, you should always use sound engineering and estimating judgment and cross reference the software with historical data. Never solely rely on software to obtain historical prices. Historical bid data for cross referencing can be found here:
Historical Bid Data
Item Codes Not In Estimator
It is acceptable that the plans and estimate do not match exactly as long as the General Summary follows the Item Master exactly. If an item is not in Estimator, you may use one of the miscellaneous item codes or a similar item in your estimate. The Estimator catalogs are restricted and you cannot modify or add items.
Your item may not appear in Estimator because the catalogs are built upon a history of items that have been used. Therefore, if the item has not been used, it will not appear in the Estimator catalog. (This is common with new and infrequently used items.) Keep in mind that the estimate is not a contract document, it is used to budget the cost of a project. Therefore, using a similar item will suffice. The General Summary needs to have the correct item number, item extension, unit, and description because it is a contract document that will be viewed and bid by contractors.
No Historical Pricing Available
If you use Estimator bid histories to estimate an item, be aware that the software does not always give an accurate price. In Estimator, you can view the historical regression models to determine if the software is using enough data to perform an accurate regression. You may also verify historical prices by using authoritative references such as the CMS Cost Search. Lump sum, miscellaneous, special, and as per plan items are job-specific and cannot be accurately estimated using bid histories. Therefore, you should estimate these items using a cost-based approach (cost sheets).
Historical Pricing Incorrect
Be careful if you use a bid history as a price basis. You should not use a bid history for miscellaneous, special, as per plan, and lump sum items. These items are unique and vary from plan-to-plan. Therefore, using an average price for these items is inaccurate. In addition, the software uses regression models to interpolate and extrapolate prices. If few data points are available, the regression may be inaccurate. We recommend doing your own independent check to verify the accuracy of your prices.
A cost sheet is used for cost-based estimating. You must estimate the cost, quantity, and production rate of the material, labor, equipment, profit, and overhead of an item. Cost sheets are more detailed than bid-based (historical based) prices.
As you add and modify items in your estimate, you may need to renumber it to put the items in the correct order.
To renumber your estimate, follow this procedure.
With the Estimator software and the estimate open, select the “Edit” menu. There are three options to select from to renumber an estimate including: “Renumber Estimate Items”, “Renumber Using Current Order (Items Grid Not Visible)”, and “Renumber Selected Items, (Items Grid Not Visible)”. In order to use the second and third renumbering options, you must have a Cost Group selected, not an individual item nor be at the top level (the first page with the general estimate information) of the estimate.
Error Opening Estimator Files
There are several common causes of this problem. First, verify that you are using the Ohio version of Estimator since there are different versions of the software for different states. Second, verify that you have the software setup correctly.
To make consultant Estimator files compatible with the District Estimator software, please do the following:
With your estimate file open, click on "Edit", then "Estimate Users".
Add a user to the estimate with a user ID “*” and a location of “00000” (Without the quotes.) This will allow the District to open the file as a generic user.
To copy groups / items from one estimate to another, you must be using the same catalog for both estimates. Otherwise, one of the Estimator files will become read only.
To copy an individual group
Select the group from the tree area in Estimator. If you are at the top level of the estimate (the first page with the general estimate information), you may select the group from the grid area.
To copy the group, either right-mouse click and select “Copy” or from the “Edit” menu select “Copy”.
Switch to the other Estimator file.
Right-mouse click over a blank area of the tree area and select “Paste” or from the “Edit” menu select “Paste”.
To copy multiple groups
To copy multiple groups, you must be at the top level of the estimate (the first page with the general estimate information). You may then select the groups from the right-hand side of the screen, the grid area. To select individual groups, hold down the Control key while clicking on the groups. To select a range of groups, hold down the Shift key and click on the first and last groups in the range you want to select.
To copy the groups, either right-mouse click and select “Copy” or from the “Edit” menu select “Copy”.
Switch to the other Estimator file.
Right-mouse click over a blank area of the tree area and select “Paste” or from the “Edit” menu select “Paste”.
To copy items
Select a group from the left-hand side of the screen (the tree area). You may then select the item(s) from the right-hand side of the screen, the grid area. To select individual items, hold down the Control key while clicking on the items. To select a range of items, hold down the Shift key and click on the first and last items in the range you want to select.
To copy the items, either right-mouse click and select “Copy” or from the “Edit” menu select “Copy”.
Switch to the other Estimator file.
Right-mouse click over a blank area of the tree area and select “Paste” or from the “Edit” menu select “Paste”.
Yellow Exclamation Mark in Estimator
An exclamation mark indicates an error in the estimate. To view the errors, select “Verify Estimate” from the “Edit” menu. You may also select the yellow check mark from the toolbar. It is important to verify your estimate and correct all errors to ensure Estimator is correctly accounting for all items and prices. In addition, it is important to fill out the main page in Estimator as incomplete information can lead to problems with the estimate.
Switching Catalogs / Estimate Becomes "Read Only"
To change the catalog of a current estimate:
Open your estimate.
From the “Edit” menu, select “Estimate Options”.
In the “Catalog” drop down box, select the catalog you want to use. Once you select the catalog, click “OK”.
You must refresh your estimate to use the new catalog prices.
Estimator Default Catalog
(This procedure will change the default catalog when you begin a new estimate with generic Estimator templates. ODOT templates are setup to default to a particular ODOT catalog.)
With the Estimator software open, select the “Tools” menu.
Select “Switch Catalog”.
From the box that appears, select the catalog you want to use and click “OK”. Please note that if you use this option while you are in an Estimator file, it will make the file read only and it will not correctly switch the catalog. You should only use this option when you have Estimator open but are not in an estimate.
Read Only Estimate
Your estimate may become “read only” when you open another estimate. We recommend closing Estimator software completely and restarting it before you open another estimate.
Updating Historical Prices
Select the “Edit” menu.
Select “Update Price Information.” A box with three choices will appear.
Select the second option, “Refresh Time Dependent Data”. Only bid histories and cost sheet data will update. Reference prices will not update because these are manually input.
If you have additional questions regarding Estimator or need a user profile, please contact:
Rebecca Moser
ODOT Office of Contract Sales & Estimating
(614) 466-7681
If you need to purchase Estimator, please contact:
Estimator Sales
Info Tech, Inc.
*ODOT has an Estimator site license. Therefore, district personnel should contact DoIT for a copy.