Estimating II and Bidding
Complete bids for whole projects: estimating as a business process and the go or no-go decision, organizing the estimate and its summary, loaded labor rates with 2026 payroll taxes, workers' compensation and fringes, crews, productivity, overtime and learning, method-based pricing of self-performed concrete, steel and carpentry with winter work and cranes, checking mechanical and electrical prices, scope sheets and subcontractor quote leveling, general conditions, overhead, markup versus margin and bonds, state sales, use and gross receipts taxes, escalation to the midpoint, allowances and contingency, bid day and public bidding under FAR Part 14, the Miller Act and listing laws, the winner's curse, bidding models, risk pricing and unbalanced bids, and parametric checks, ending in a capstone bid for a small commercial building.
CON-300 Year 3 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 37 min
Offered by HSM University · Construction Management
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Treat estimating as a business process: match estimate types to purposes, calculate the cost of estimating per dollar won, make structured go or no-go decisions and measure hit rate, bid spread and estimate accuracy
- Organize a complete bid: review all bid documents, divide the work into packages that match local trade practice, decide what to self-perform, and build an estimate summary with defined markup bases, alternates, separate prices and unit prices
- Build loaded labor rates from 2026 payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, SUTA), workers' compensation and fringe benefits, balance crews, and adjust productivity for site conditions, overtime, shift work and learning
- Price self-performed concrete, steel erection and carpentry by method, including formwork sets and reuse, pour planning, winter protection, piece-based erection and installation items, and price job-wide equipment such as tower cranes on the schedule
- Explain how mechanical contractors estimate plumbing, fire protection, HVAC and controls, and check mechanical quotes with fixture counts, duct weight, head counts, unit costs and implied labor hours
- Explain how electrical contractors estimate distribution, branch circuits, lighting, fire alarm and communications, and check electrical quotes with measured runs, device counts, unit costs and scope interfaces
- Prequalify subcontractors, write scope sheets, read and price quote qualifications, level quotes with plugs and deductions, and decide which numbers to carry, including single quotes and plugs
- Build general conditions from the schedule, calculate home office overhead rates, convert correctly between markup and margin, set profit, and apply bonds and insurance on the right base
- Apply state sales, use and gross receipts taxes correctly in a bid, escalate costs to the cost-weighted midpoint, carry allowances according to the contract, and size contingency by estimate class and simulation
- Run a disciplined bid day and submit a responsive bid, applying public bidding rules (FAR Part 14, responsiveness and responsibility, mistakes, protests), bid guarantees, Miller Act bonds and subcontractor listing laws
- Account for the winner's curse, use bid history to estimate probabilities of winning and expected profit, price identified risks with a risk register, and recognize and evaluate unbalanced bids
- Prepare and check conceptual and parametric estimates adjusted for time, location, size and specification, and assemble and defend a complete bid for a small commercial building
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 37 min total · final exam
- 1 The estimate as a business process 30 min · quiz
- 2 Organizing a complete estimate 29 min · quiz
- 3 Labor, equipment and productivity pricing 29 min · quiz
- 4 Self-performed trades in depth 31 min · quiz
- 5 Mechanical estimating 29 min · quiz
- 6 Electrical estimating 28 min · quiz
- 7 Subcontractor quotes, scope sheets and bid leveling 25 min · quiz
- 8 General conditions, indirect costs and markups 27 min · quiz
- 9 Taxes, escalation, allowances and contingency 29 min · quiz
- 10 Bid day and submission 25 min · quiz
- 11 Bid strategy and risk pricing 28 min · quiz
- 12 Conceptual and parametric estimating, and capstone: a complete bid 27 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Complete bids for whole projects: estimating as a business process and the go or no-go decision, organizing the estimate and its summary, loaded labor rates with 2026 payroll taxes, workers' compensation and fringes, crews, productivity, overtime and learning, method-based pricing of self-performed concrete, steel and carpentry with winter work and cranes, checking mechanical and electrical prices, scope sheets and subcontractor quote leveling, general conditions, overhead, markup versus margin and bonds, state sales, use and gross receipts taxes, escalation to the midpoint, allowances and contingency, bid day and public bidding under FAR Part 14, the Miller Act and listing laws, the winner's curse, bidding models, risk pricing and unbalanced bids, and parametric checks, ending in a capstone bid for a small commercial building.
Part of the Construction Management stream, typically taken in year 3.