Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Unit Method Estimating


Unit Method Estimating
The unit method estimating consists of choosing a standard unit of accomodation and multiplying  an approximate cost per unit

Estimate = Standard units of accommodation X Cost/Unit
for example:
Schools – costs per pupil place
Hospitals  - costs per bed place
Roads – per Kilometers
Car parks - costs per  car space

The technique is based on the fact that there is usually some close relationship between the cost of a construction project and the number of functional units it accomodates.  Functional units are those factors which express the intended  use of the building better than any other.  This method is extremely useful on occasions where the  building’s client requires a preliminary estimate based on little more information than the basic units of  accommodation.

The units adopted to facilitate this analysis depend on the  type of project under consideration.
Site condition
Specification changes
Market conditions
Regional changes
Inflation

Using this estimating method can generate a rough estimate quickly, but the lack of accuracy will render it of little use in the cost planning procedure outlined earlier. However, this method ids often used to determine the very first notion of a price in early discussions of a project and as a crude means of comparing the known costs of differet buildings.

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