Construction engineering is a professional discipline that deals with the designing, planning, construction and management of infrastructures such as roads, tunnels, bridges, airports, railroads, facilities, buildings, dams, utilities and other projects.
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations, and comes from Latin constructio and Old French construction. To construct is the verb: the act of building, and the noun is construction: how something is built, the nature of its structure.
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined finish; regardless of industry. Project managers are first point of contact for any issues or discrepancies arising from within the heads of various departments in an organization before the problem escalates to higher authorities, as project representative.
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic, and environmental concerns, but they may also consider aesthetic and social factors.
The German civil servants called Beamte or Beamtinnen have a privileged legal status compared to other German public employees, who are generally subject to the same laws and regulations as employees in the private sector. For example, the state can only fire Beamte if they commit a felony.
Design–bid–build, also known as Design–tendertraditional method or hardbid, is a project delivery method in which the agency or owner contracts with separate entities for the design and construction of a project.
Construction management (CM) is a professional service that uses specialized, project management techniques to oversee the planning, design, and construction of a project, from its beginning to its end. The purpose of Construction management is to control a project's time / delivery, cost and quality—sometimes referred to as a project management triangle or "triple constraints." CM is compatible with all project delivery systems, including design-bid-build, design-build, CM At-Risk and Public Private Partnerships. Professional construction managers may be reserved for lengthy, large-scale, high budget undertakings, called capital projects.
A cost estimate is the approximation of the cost of a program, project, or operation. The cost estimate is the product of the cost estimating process. The cost estimate has a single total value and may have identifiable component values.
Navi Mumbai International Airport is a greenfield international airport being built by the CIDCO in the city of Navi Mumbai, India. It will be the extension to the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) as India's first urban multi-airport system.
A building estimator or cost estimator is an individual that quantifies the materials, labor, and equipment needed to complete a construction project. Building cost estimating can concern diverse forms of construction from residential properties to hi-rise and civil works. Both estimators and quantity surveyors must have a background education in the construction industry. Representative professional bodies which regulate property professionals:
Construction bidding is the process of submitting a proposal (tender) to undertake, or manage the undertaking of a construction project. The process starts with a cost estimate from blueprints and material take offs.
Cost engineering is "the engineering practice devoted to the management of project cost, involving such activities as estimating, cost control, cost forecasting, investment appraisal and risk analysis". "Cost Engineers budget, plan and monitor investment projects. They seek the optimum balance between cost, quality and time requirements."
When estimating the cost for a project, product or other item or investment, there is always uncertainty as to the precise content of all items in the estimate, how work will be performed, what work conditions will be like when the project is executed and so on. These uncertainties are risks to the project. Some refer to these risks as "known-unknowns" because the estimator is aware of them, and based on past experience, can even estimate their probable costs. The estimated costs of the known-unknowns is referred to by cost estimators as cost contingency.
Construction cost estimating software is computer software designed for contractors to estimate construction costs for a specific project. A cost estimator will typically use estimating software to estimate their bid price for a project, which will ultimately become part of a resulting construction contract. Some architects, engineers, construction managers, and others may also use cost estimating software to prepare cost estimates for purposes other than bidding.
Operational bills are a tendering document for estimating costs prepared by architects that describes a construction project in terms of the operations needed to build it. This form of document contrasts with that of bills of quantities in which such tendering and estimation is limited to the materials in the completed work. Operational bills have the advantages of enhancing communication between design and production, enabling realistic tender pricing, and making the preparation of critical-path analysis easy for the contractor.
A bid manager is an executive sales role within an organization, responsible for managing bids generally in response to request for proposals (RFPs) from customers, but also as proactive pursuits for business. Bid managers orchestrate the creation of the solution and proposal as ‘Bid Project Managers’ ensuring compliance with customer requirements while highlighting company value proposition. The role of a bid manager often works with company board directors and C-level management to bring and deliver strategic approaches to win bids.
Pre-construction services are used in planning a construction project before the actual construction begins. These services are often referred to as preconstruction or precon. It is a modern practice, considered to be part of construction project management, which is the overall planning, coordination, and control of a project from inception to completion aimed at meeting a client’s requirements in order to produce a functionally and financially viable project.
Basis of Estimate a tool used in the field of project management by which members of the project team, usually estimators, project managers, or cost analysts, calculate the total cost of the project. Through carefully planned equations, hierarchical listing of elements, standard calculations, checklists of project elements and other methods, the project team adds in all expenses of a project, from labor to materials to administrative costs. These calculations formulate a Basis of Estimate which is, when completed, a number that can be used to determine the ability of the firm or company to carry out the project, or used as a tool in competing for a contract bid or otherwise proposing the project to another.
The following is a glossary of terms relating to construction cost estimating.
Quantity take-offs(QTO) are a detailed measurement of materials and labor needed to complete a construction project. They are developed by an estimator during the pre-construction phase. This process includes breaking the project down into smaller and more manageable units that are easier to measure or estimate. The level of detail required for measurement may vary. These measurements are used to format a bid on the scope of construction. Estimators review drawings, specifications and models to find these quantities. Experienced estimators have developed procedures to help them quantify their work. Many programs have been developed to aid in the efficiency of these processes. With BIM quantity take-off can be conducted almost automatically given that the type of materials, their quantity and price is included in the model. It is known that construction projects often run overtime and over budget and one of the reasons is lack of accuracy in quantity takeoff and estimates.
