"Do cost estimates based on your imagination."
This is a true story from when I changed jobs to join the design department of a certain equipment company.
A scene that was hard to believe unfolded at this company. It was...No drawings available at the time of cost estimationThat's the point.
When I asked how they were able to calculate the costs without any drawings,"Do it by imagining"That was the utterly unimaginable response I received.
First, I’d like to explain the general workflow at this company. We receive a request for equipment installation from a client, conduct a site survey at the construction site, and then use that information to perform various calculations, select equipment and materials, and prepare a cost estimate.
After completing the cost estimate, we submit a quotation to the client. This results in either the order being confirmed or the opportunity being lost (in the latter case, the process ends here). Only after the order is confirmed do we begin drafting the drawings. We then hand over the project from the design department to the construction department, conduct a pre-construction survey, prepare a construction schedule, and finally begin construction.
Personally, I’d prefer to have the drawings at the cost-estimation stage, before submitting a quote. However, at this company,Drawings are prepared after the order is confirmed...was how it read.
Why are we doing cost estimates without any drawings?
In my previous job, I used to do cost estimates while reading blueprints. Since I had always taken that for granted, I was surprised by the environment after I changed jobs.
I had some doubts about a workplace where cost estimation was being done without drawings, so I asked why they weren't preparing them.
In response, I received answers such as, “I don’t have time to draw the blueprints,” and “If I make a mistake, the time I spent drawing them will be wasted.” Other reasons included, “Even if I outsource the blueprint creation, I end up having to make corrections myself,” and “I’m simply not good at reading and drawing blueprints.”
It’s true that if you end up making corrections, the time spent drawing the plans is wasted. But that doesn’t apply only to the plans—it also applies to on-site surveys, the time spent on calculations, and all of that as well.Ruined...will be.
What Happens If There Are No Drawings During Quantity Surveying?
The larger the project, the more drawings there were, which only served to increase the workload on the design department.
In many cases, there was only about one month between the confirmation of an order and the start of construction. Furthermore, the lack of drawings during the cost estimation phase often led to various problems with the construction department.
Errors in material selection and miscounts occurred, which in some cases led to budget overruns. Furthermore, because the drawings were not completed promptly, communication and handoffs between the design and construction departments were not smooth, resulting in problems during construction. There was even a risk that the construction schedule would be delayed.
I, too, once made a mistake in selecting the wrong size for a component, which caused me to exceed my budget and led to a sharp drop in gross profit. At that time, I went to see the client, explained the design error and its cause, and apologized.
Is it true that you don't need drawings when doing quantity surveys?
As I just mentioned, isn’t one of the reasons such problems occur the fact that cost estimates are prepared without drawings? If drawings were available during the cost estimation process, it should be possible to prevent at least some of these problems before they arise.
However, this"I don't have time to draw blueprints."I believe that behind this reason lies a deeper-rooted labor shortage problem.
At the time, we didn’t have enough staff to handle the workload, so we were working late into the night every day. However, due to the Labor Standards Act’s monthly overtime limit of 45 hours, even that was restricted, making it increasingly difficult to keep up with the work.
As part of the company’s policy, we were encouraged to outsource drafting work to reduce individual workloads. However, I found myself so swamped with preparing materials to explain the work to external parties that my own work ended up coming to a standstill. I’ve even thought to myself, “If I have time to prepare materials, it would be faster to just draw the drawings myself.”
What's more, the job involves more than just creating drawings;Calculation,Material selection,We need to consider this.If the discussions don't go well,It may be necessary to visit the site several times.When the deadline is approaching,The time I have to draw blueprints is being cut back.
Behind the tendency to put off drawing up plans lies this reality of labor shortages. Even so, based on my experience, I am keenly aware of the importance of drawings during the cost estimation phase.
"Do cost estimates based on your imagination." Is this really something we just have to accept?
