Should You Use An Earthwork Services Bureau?

- By Dave R. Zimmerman, C.E.O., Earthwork Services, Inc.

IN-HOUSE EARTHWORK ESTIMATING CAN BE COSTLY AND DIFFICULT. FOR A FEE, SOME COMPANIES WILL DO IT FOR YOU. Computers and digitizers in recent years have revolutionized the earthwork take-offs process by allowing the computer to do the tedious calculations that are done over and over again across the site. Some of these computerized earthwork take-off systems also have the ability to plot color graphics of each project, which are very helpful in bidding work and filing for change orders. Computer systems, however, come with their own set of risks. Aside from the initial cost of a powerful, full-featured earthwork take-off system ($15,000 to $25,000), buyers are faced with the challenge of finding and paying a competent operator - someone who understands the abilities and limitations of the software and can manipulate the computer to model and calculate the terrain correctly.

These problems have created a new industry of computerized earthwork take-off service bureaus that specialize in providing computer-aided earthwork estimating for the construction industry. Earthwork service bureaus, using state-of-the-art computer equipment in an assembly line manner, can produce a high number of take-offs perday at a low cost. The very nature of specialization requires extensive job knowledge and efficiency in reducing overhead costs. Service bureaus can departmentalize the various aspects of the work, including quality control. This is one step better than most in-house methods, in which an estimator checks his own work after many hours at a computer station with numerous interruptions.

A poorly trained operator can make huge mistakes in digitizing that appear to be high quality work to the untrained eye. Because of this, many large general engineering contractors have policies in place that require a second take-off on grading items exceeding a certain dollar amount. Competent service bureaus have the continuous work flow, work variety, training, and ongoing quality control to adapt software to specific client needs.

Robinson Construction Inc., a general engineering and construction company in Kent, WA, owns a state-of-the-art earthwork take-off system yet still sends much of its work to a local service bureau. "The earthwork take-off bureau we use provides expertise in deciphering and then calculating difficult grading plans, and acts as a confidential source to use for overflow work, which frees up key personnel for less tedious tasks," says Pat Gailey, vice president.

Scarsella Bros. Inc., an AGC member and second-generation heavy/highway contractor in the Seattle area, uses a service bureau in bidding large excavation jobs. Says Frank Scarsella, vice president, "Using a computerized take-off service has saved us a lot of time, and its reports have provided us with invaluable information in calculating the true costs of earthwork construction."

- Dave R. Zimmerman has a B.S. in Construction Engineering and 10 years of experience in providing computerized earthwork services to the civil engineering and construction industries.