Development of a Estimating App for a Mechanical Services Company
Budget: $1,500 – $3,000 CAD
Development of a Web-based Estimating App for a Mechanical Services Company
- Platform: Web-based
- Features:
- Cost Estimation
- Ideal skills and experience:
- Proficiency in web development languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Experience in developing web-based applications and databases
- Knowledge of cost estimation methodologies and algorithms in the mechanical services industry
- Familiarity with inventory management and project management principles
- Ability to design a user-friendly and intuitive interface
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
- Attention to detail and accuracy in calculations
- Ability to integrate the app with existing systems if required
1. What are the primary objectives of this estimating application? What specific problems do you want it to solve?
We want to be able to estimate and track our estimates throughout the lifecycle. Ultimately I want to be able to ensure we are not missing items on an estimate, produce a standardized response (PDF) and provide guidance on what unit rates we should be charging for each activity required in a project. We would know this information by storing what we charged previously, how we executed and ultimately what our as-sold margin vs executed margin would be.
2. Can you describe the workflow of your estimating process, from receiving a project request to delivering the estimate to the client? Customer requests a quote for some work, we get additional information as required, we assign it to a lead estimator, need to know the submittal requirements such as date required for estimate, anticipated release date, required completion date etc. We then need to break down the project into Shop or Field work (if it’s a hybrid project then we make two project numbers and the Field becomes the customer for the Field. Break each job into major tasks or components, each component will then be broken down into sub-assemblies or sub-components. Each sub-component will have different required tasks such as welding, grinding, blasting, painting, NDE, inspections, admin support, freight, material etc. We need to get the details of each of these items and then look up similar past components for previously bid projects and get some bookends or a range for the manhours and material costs for each of these tasks. Once the estimate has been complete, it needs to be reviewed by a manager and if over set criteria (price, estimated margin, field or shop etc.) may required a Sr. Managers approval prior to being approved for submittal to the customer. We also need to clarify out items in the clients suggested contract or make clear our assumptions and basis of estimate. Once everything is approved the estimate should be rendered in PDF format including our T&Cs. A copy will be stored on the server (Sharepoint) and then the lead estimator can submit it to the customer. The lead estimator will then follow up on past estimates. He will then state if we got the project or not. If not we will want to know why we didn’t get the work. If we are successful then the estimate needs to be made into a project and we need to make sure we conduct a follow up / close out at the end of the project to get the as sold margin vs the completed margin.
3. What types of projects do you typically work on? Are they standardized or highly customized?
Highly customized but typical involved either field or shop work. Field work can be various trades and sub-contractors to execute. Shop work can be anything from material supply, to welding, cutting, metal fabrication, coating, blasting, NDE, weld testing, machining and other activities.
4. Do you have any specific industry standards or regulations that need to be considered in your estimates?
Not at this time.
5. What specific information do you need to include in your estimates? For example, material costs, labor costs, equipment costs, overhead, profit margins, etc.
Material Cost, Labour costs, equipment costs, overhead recovery, margin, direct labour vs indirect labour and other basic information.
6. Will the application need to support multiple user roles with different permissions, such as estimators, project managers, and administrators?
Yes we will have Admin, Super-Admin, Estimators, Project Managers, Directors and HR
7. Do you require integration with other systems or data sources, such as inventory management, supplier databases, or financial systems?
Needs to integrate with Sage 100 Contractor
8. How do you currently manage project data and client information? Do you have existing databases or systems that need to be integrated?
Currently on an excel spreadsheet. We do not need integration.
9. Are there any specific calculations or algorithms that you use for estimating, such as cost per unit, labor hour estimates, or complex pricing models?
Yes we will want to do a bottom up budget using base case cost per unit estimates. Factored Page and Nations would be a good starting point.
10. What kind of reporting and analytics features are essential for your estimating application? What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you want to track?
We will want to know how many projects we estimate, what percentage we successfully get based on lead estimator, type of work as well as customer. Will also want to track how much work is being complete through each area in a given window of time. How many manhours, how many feet of weld, kg of material etc. Other helpful KPIs.
11. Do you need the ability to generate and export estimates in various formats, such as PDF or Excel?
Yes, both excel and PDF
12. Will there be a need for tracking changes and revisions to estimates over time?
Yes, we want to track each version. Tracking versions should be alphabetic revisions prior to submitting to the customer. Once an estimate has been approved to send it should be tracked as rev 0 and iterate after than.
13. How do you envision the user interface for the application? Do you have any design preferences or examples of similar applications you like? I would like a modern React.js UI. Simple and logical UX that is mobile first design.
14. Are there any specific security or compliance requirements, such as data encryption or user authentication? We need to have user authentication. Data encryption from webpage to server is required.
15. What is your preferred technology stack, if any, for this project (besides Django)?
Django and React
16. What is your budget and timeline for developing this application?
We are asking for estimates and we would like it to be complete within 3 months.
17. Do you have any specific long-term goals or scalability requirements for the application?
It will be continually developed and changed to suit our needs. We need to ensure proper documentation is included and comments are put into the code during generation. App structure and wireframe need to be agreed upon prior to starting to write code.
We want to have a chat/comment system for each project so we can collaborate and note items as required. We need a full audit log as well.
- Platform: Web-based
- Features:
- Cost Estimation
- Ideal skills and experience:
- Proficiency in web development languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Experience in developing web-based applications and databases
- Knowledge of cost estimation methodologies and algorithms in the mechanical services industry
- Familiarity with inventory management and project management principles
- Ability to design a user-friendly and intuitive interface
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
- Attention to detail and accuracy in calculations
- Ability to integrate the app with existing systems if required
1. What are the primary objectives of this estimating application? What specific problems do you want it to solve?
We want to be able to estimate and track our estimates throughout the lifecycle. Ultimately I want to be able to ensure we are not missing items on an estimate, produce a standardized response (PDF) and provide guidance on what unit rates we should be charging for each activity required in a project. We would know this information by storing what we charged previously, how we executed and ultimately what our as-sold margin vs executed margin would be.
2. Can you describe the workflow of your estimating process, from receiving a project request to delivering the estimate to the client? Customer requests a quote for some work, we get additional information as required, we assign it to a lead estimator, need to know the submittal requirements such as date required for estimate, anticipated release date, required completion date etc. We then need to break down the project into Shop or Field work (if it’s a hybrid project then we make two project numbers and the Field becomes the customer for the Field. Break each job into major tasks or components, each component will then be broken down into sub-assemblies or sub-components. Each sub-component will have different required tasks such as welding, grinding, blasting, painting, NDE, inspections, admin support, freight, material etc. We need to get the details of each of these items and then look up similar past components for previously bid projects and get some bookends or a range for the manhours and material costs for each of these tasks. Once the estimate has been complete, it needs to be reviewed by a manager and if over set criteria (price, estimated margin, field or shop etc.) may required a Sr. Managers approval prior to being approved for submittal to the customer. We also need to clarify out items in the clients suggested contract or make clear our assumptions and basis of estimate. Once everything is approved the estimate should be rendered in PDF format including our T&Cs. A copy will be stored on the server (Sharepoint) and then the lead estimator can submit it to the customer. The lead estimator will then follow up on past estimates. He will then state if we got the project or not. If not we will want to know why we didn’t get the work. If we are successful then the estimate needs to be made into a project and we need to make sure we conduct a follow up / close out at the end of the project to get the as sold margin vs the completed margin.
3. What types of projects do you typically work on? Are they standardized or highly customized?
Highly customized but typical involved either field or shop work. Field work can be various trades and sub-contractors to execute. Shop work can be anything from material supply, to welding, cutting, metal fabrication, coating, blasting, NDE, weld testing, machining and other activities.
4. Do you have any specific industry standards or regulations that need to be considered in your estimates?
Not at this time.
5. What specific information do you need to include in your estimates? For example, material costs, labor costs, equipment costs, overhead, profit margins, etc.
Material Cost, Labour costs, equipment costs, overhead recovery, margin, direct labour vs indirect labour and other basic information.
6. Will the application need to support multiple user roles with different permissions, such as estimators, project managers, and administrators?
Yes we will have Admin, Super-Admin, Estimators, Project Managers, Directors and HR
7. Do you require integration with other systems or data sources, such as inventory management, supplier databases, or financial systems?
Needs to integrate with Sage 100 Contractor
8. How do you currently manage project data and client information? Do you have existing databases or systems that need to be integrated?
Currently on an excel spreadsheet. We do not need integration.
9. Are there any specific calculations or algorithms that you use for estimating, such as cost per unit, labor hour estimates, or complex pricing models?
Yes we will want to do a bottom up budget using base case cost per unit estimates. Factored Page and Nations would be a good starting point.
10. What kind of reporting and analytics features are essential for your estimating application? What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you want to track?
We will want to know how many projects we estimate, what percentage we successfully get based on lead estimator, type of work as well as customer. Will also want to track how much work is being complete through each area in a given window of time. How many manhours, how many feet of weld, kg of material etc. Other helpful KPIs.
11. Do you need the ability to generate and export estimates in various formats, such as PDF or Excel?
Yes, both excel and PDF
12. Will there be a need for tracking changes and revisions to estimates over time?
Yes, we want to track each version. Tracking versions should be alphabetic revisions prior to submitting to the customer. Once an estimate has been approved to send it should be tracked as rev 0 and iterate after than.
13. How do you envision the user interface for the application? Do you have any design preferences or examples of similar applications you like? I would like a modern React.js UI. Simple and logical UX that is mobile first design.
14. Are there any specific security or compliance requirements, such as data encryption or user authentication? We need to have user authentication. Data encryption from webpage to server is required.
15. What is your preferred technology stack, if any, for this project (besides Django)?
Django and React
16. What is your budget and timeline for developing this application?
We are asking for estimates and we would like it to be complete within 3 months.
17. Do you have any specific long-term goals or scalability requirements for the application?
It will be continually developed and changed to suit our needs. We need to ensure proper documentation is included and comments are put into the code during generation. App structure and wireframe need to be agreed upon prior to starting to write code.
We want to have a chat/comment system for each project so we can collaborate and note items as required. We need a full audit log as well.