When we are asked to bid on projects, like many of you, we are asked how long it will take to complete the job.  We do our best to give a good estimate as to how long it will take, but there are many factors that go into this. 

1 – Project Awarded 

2 – Scope Defined / Customer Meeting

3 – Necessary Drawings and Documentation

4 – Site Visit / Assessment

5 – Design Calculation

6 – Drawings Created

7 – Customer Review

8 – Project Completed

The first and most critical factor is the overall scope of the project.  The scope lays down the ground work for everything that needs to be completed for the job.  Some of these items can be done in parallel (at the same time) or they can only be completed in series (one after the other).  For example you can’t really complete the structural steel drawings if you haven’t completed the calculations for that steel.  You could also be waiting on approval from the customer to make sure they are in agreement with the general layout of the design.  It is usually best to have a meeting or a conference call to walk through all of the expectations at the beginning of the project.  This allows everyone to collaborate to develop the best plan going forward with the project.  It will also limit the number of surprises.  After this meeting, it is key to document the agreed up path forward.  This is so both parties can remember down the line what was originally agreed upon. 

A key part of the project is to obtain any existing drawings and documentation that may exist relating to where the work is going to be completed.  If our scope to is to design temporary steel to support a track, we would want the steel plans for that area, the column schedule, elevation views of column rows, and possibly the steel levels above and below.  We would also be looking for any drawings that may show equipment or other items that are inducing load into the current structure.  These existing loads are needed so that we can figure out how to efficiently support the temporary track.  The time it takes to receive these drawings from the end customer may extend the schedule or require another site visit to obtain field measurements. 

A site visit adds to the schedule, but its impact depends on when it occurs.  This is because some portions of the project may not be able to be started until the site visit is completed.  For example, if we are concerned that the existing structure does not match what is currently on the drawings, we may not want to start the calculations until a site visit and assessment are completed.  This helps to eliminate double work which at the end of the day saves you money.  For this reason we recommend a site visit so we have our eyes on the project and may catch something that wasn’t looked for previously.  We may also be able to provide other ideas to help improve the project during our site walk.  However, if we were assured that the structure matches the prints, but then we later find out it doesn’t after the design has been completed, then the schedule lengthens.  This scenario can be avoided by having a site visit completed early on in the project. 

The scope will lay the ground work for how many drawings and calculations may need to be done.  For drawings, we assume that each drawing takes between 6 and 18 hours to complete.  This wide range depends on the complexity of the drawing and the level of detail shown.  For lift plans and simpler layouts we are usually around 6 hours or less, but for complex boiler rigging jobs, it can take 18 or more hours for a drawing to be complete. 

A simplified, ideal schedule is shown.  This simple schedule obviously changes depending on the type of the project and over nature of the job at hand, but this provides a good insight as to what is normally required. 

The review process can also take a long time depending on the number of eyes that are on the project.  If there are multiple people that need to give approval, with multiple opinions, it can take a while for everyone to agree to the final product.  We usually try to send out a preliminary design early on that is about 25% complete so that the general direction of the design can be agreed upon.  We also try to have this preliminary design completed prior to a site visit so that we have a good idea as to where potential interferences will occur.  This saves on rework at the end of the project and limits surprises. 

Another way to set the length of the job, as the customer, is to set the deadline yourself.  This could drive the price up as noted in our discussion “Engineering Services Cost and Pricing Guide”.  The project may demand when certain things need to be accomplished, but there should be a good working relationship and communication between the engineering team and the customer so they are on the same page as to what is realistic and beneficial cost wise.    

At the end of the day both parties want to have a successful project and we want to make sure our process is as efficient as possible for you.  Communication is critical on any project and communicating at the proper times is even more so.  Making sure the scope is defined on the front end will allow a better and more complete schedule to be built.  This can give a more accurate length of project duration.  Here at The Dothea Group, we will do our best to meet your schedule needs and we will provide efficient, engineered solutions to better your project, improve safety, and increase your bottom line. 

If you are interested in learning more about our engineering services, contact us today.  We can partner with you to ensure a successful bid or project.