Cost Estimating

Objective

Develop cost estimates for a sample project to include labor and material costs.

Instructions

Develop cost estimates for a small project. The project is reconfiguring one of housekeeping's storage closets to maximize storage capacity and organize the closet contents. Currently the closet is stuffed with boxes and there's no shelving. You will identify everything that's currently stored in this closet and design and install storage solutions. Here are the known requirements:

1. Hazardous cleaning materials must be stored safely and in a way that minimizes risk of spilling.
2. Wet mops must be hung over the shower area so they can dry without dripping on other items.
3. No boxes are allowed. All items must be removed from their boxes and stored so they are visible.
4. Storage space must allow for at least two weeks' worth of cleaning supplies.
5. Must provide space for dirty linens for laundry separate from clean linens.

Typical inventory items include: housekeeping cart, mops, broom, vacuum cleaner, cleaning chemicals, mop bucket, trashcan liners, cleaning rags and extra supplies of paper towels and toilet paper. For this assignment:

1. Research maintenance closet storage solutions to determine alternatives and costs.
2. Document the dimensions of the closet to support estimating design elements such as shelving.
3. Estimate material costs for your storage design and input this information into the provided spreadsheet.
4. Estimate labor requirements, hours and costs. Input this information into the provided spreadsheet.

You must complete the following activities in the spreadsheet for this assignment:

1. Description of work: Describe the work effort and scope of this project. This should be written in paragraph format. Keep in mind the stated requirements identified in the handout as these may identify additional work and/or deliverables for your project. You will document project specific information such as the type, dimensions, and location of the closet.
2. Deliverables: List all deliverables related to the description of work. This should be a bullet list of project outcomes, results, or products required to satisfy the project goals and objectives. Remember that deliverables are to be expressed as nouns, not verbs (activities).
3. Activity list: List all activities required to create each deliverable identified above. There should be at least two activities for each deliverable. Populate each column with the appropriate time or cost value. Comment fields (hover mouse over red triangles found in the column headers) have been provided to guide you on the information required. Each row should represent a single activity and include all labor and material estimate information for that activity. Add more rows if needed. Please use Excel formulas to calculate totals in column G.
4. Estimating technique: Provide the basis for the estimating. Specify the estimating method used for labor costs and material costs.
5. Estimating assumptions: List any assumptions you included when estimating the cost of each activity. Assumptions are documented when there is insufficient or incomplete knowledge regarding the item (or person) being estimated. Focus assumptions specific to cost estimating and not general project level assumptions.
6. Provide at least 2 internet links to resources you found and used to estimate storage solution cost information and labor costs.