CE Costs

[frombensalem]

I am interested in knowing what factors effect CE costs. Typically for a highway construction project what are the CE costs? I have heard the CE costs typically range from 10 to 15 % of the construction cost. Any help in this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[sc]

In most cases the cost varies greatly depending on the complexity and overall cost of the project to construct.

For example 10km of simple road reconstruction with a construction cost of say $1.50M may cost only $30,000 to design and document because it is not complex. Whereas a 10km length of winding road in a know "green" area with a resulting long public consultation process and state planning process may still cost only $1.50M to construct, however the project has become more complex and hence design and documentation costs may rise to $45,000. The same can be applied to a CE during construction supervision.

So in reply the cost of your CE may vary greatly depending on the project complexity. I generally have a price range of 2%-15% of construction cost for design and documentation and 3%-10% for construction supervision.



regards
sc

 

[KRSServices]

I wish that some people would throw those damned CE estimates (as a percentage of total construction cost) out the window and forget about them forever. If you are an Owner (road authority, or highway manager) contemplating a project, then you surely must have information as to historical values of the project costs (of similar nature) in your area. The CE costs are going to be a function of the total project and should never be relative to the construction costs. What is the scope of work being requested of the CE? Is the CE responsible for providing a turnkey project where all the land negotiations, surveying, geotechnical, testing, contract management and administration, registration of rights-of-way, utility relocates, pipeline crosing agreements, regulatory approvals and deficiency resolution are vested with the CE?

Many CE's I know will gladly sit with an Owner to determine a class D estimate of all the anticipated costs so that a budget can be drafted (regardless of the RFQ date). You will be surprised at how that dumb percentage estimate flucuates after a project is examined with the major components basically evaluated.

A good manager will have a catalogue of historical costs from which to work from and a vast number of years of experience from which to draw upon to provide you with a reasonable budget. It only takes a few hours to develop a reasonable budget, but do not get caught up with the % of construction estimating. Get to know the proposed job and disect it from there.

KRS Services

http://www.krs-services.com