Gold Seal Estimator flashcards
Gold Seal Estimator · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Quantity Takeoff
- The process of measuring and listing every material and labor item required by the drawings and specifications, expressed in the unit of measure used for pricing.
- Unit of Measure
- The standard basis for pricing a line item, such as linear feet, square feet, cubic yards, or each, which must match the takeoff and the supplier or subcontractor quote.
- Waste Factor
- A percentage added to net material quantities to cover cutting losses, breakage, and offcuts; it is applied to material only, never to labor hours.
- Productivity Rate
- The number of units a crew installs per labor hour under stated conditions; dividing total quantity by this rate yields total labor hours.
- Labor Burden
- The percentage added to base wages to cover payroll taxes, workers compensation, insurance, and fringe benefits; it is applied before labor is extended into the estimate.
- Crew Hourly Rate
- The sum of each crew member's burdened hourly wage; multiplying by the required crew hours produces the total labor cost for the activity.
- Direct Cost
- The sum of material, labor, equipment, and subcontract costs attributable to the work itself, before overhead, profit, contingency, and bond or insurance costs are added.
- Overhead
- Indirect costs of running the business or the project site, such as supervision, temporary facilities, and home office expense, recovered through a markup on direct cost.
- Profit Markup
- The amount added above cost to produce the bid price; it is normally applied as a percentage of the total estimated cost rather than of individual line items.
- Contingency
- A reserve included in the estimate to cover unknown but probable costs; it shrinks as design documents mature and should be tracked separately from base cost.
- Extended Cost
- The product of a quantity and its unit price for a single line item; extended costs are summed to build the subtotal of the estimate.
- Alternates
- Separately priced items requested in the bid documents that may be added to or deducted from the base bid, and which must be estimated with the same rigor as base scope.
- Allowance
- A stated dollar amount carried in the bid for work whose final cost is unknown, later adjusted to actual cost; it is not a guarantee of the final price.
- Unit Price Bid
- A bid format in which the contractor states a price per unit of measure, and final payment equals the measured quantity times that unit price.
- Lump Sum Bid
- A bid format in which one total price covers the entire defined scope, so quantity risk from measurement error falls on the contractor rather than the owner.
- Bid Day
- The deadline for submitting the completed proposal; estimators finalize subcontractor quotes, verify scope coverage, and confirm the markup strategy before this time.
- Scope Gap
- Work required by the specifications but missing from a subcontractor's quote; the estimator must identify and price it to avoid an unrecovered cost after award.
- Addendum
- A written modification to the bid documents issued before bid opening; its cost impact must be incorporated into the estimate and acknowledged in the proposal.
- Constructability Review
- An assessment of whether the design can be built as drawn and detailed, used to identify missing or conflicting scope before the estimate is finalized.
- Bid Summary Sheet
- A recap that rolls up trade estimates, adds general conditions, overhead, profit, contingency, and bonds, and produces the final lump sum proposal price.
- General Conditions
- Project-specific indirect costs such as site supervision, temporary utilities, cleaning, and permits, usually estimated as a time-based or percentage cost.
- Bond Cost
- The premium for performance and payment bonds, typically computed as a percentage of the contract amount and sometimes tiered by contract size.
- Escalation
- An adjustment to material and labor prices to reflect expected cost increases between the estimate date and the actual time of purchase or installation.
- Quantity Survey
- A structured re-measurement of key quantities from the drawings used to verify the takeoff and catch omissions before the bid is submitted.
- Material Escalation Clause
- A contract provision allowing price adjustment if specified commodity prices move beyond a stated threshold, shifting part of the price risk to the owner.
- Recap by Trade
- A summary that groups extended costs by trade or CSI division, allowing the estimator to benchmark each trade against historical cost data.
- Historical Cost Database
- Records of past project costs and productivity, adjusted for location, time, and project conditions, used to validate new estimates and unit prices.
- Location Factor
- A multiplier applied to base unit costs to reflect regional differences in labor wages, material prices, and market conditions at the project site.
- Equipment Cost
- The ownership and operating cost of construction equipment, including depreciation, fuel, repairs, and mobilization, charged to the activity that uses it.
- Subcontractor Quote Comparison
- A side-by-side review of competing sub quotes that checks inclusions, exclusions, and alternates so the lowest responsive quote is selected for the bid.
- Bid Opening
- The formal event at which proposals are opened and read; after this point, the submitted price generally cannot be changed by the bidder.
- Value Engineering
- A structured review that proposes cost-reducing alternatives meeting the same performance requirements, often submitted with the bid or during design.