Understanding tendering and estimating pdf

Accuracy — a reduction of errors. Competence — better trained staff. Efficiency — work properly planned and systematically carried out. Job satisfaction — for the whole estimating team. Client satisfaction — leading to likelihood of repeat business. Safety is high on the agenda of construction organizations. Estimators must understand the implications of current legislation for the design and procure- ment stages and include sufficient costs to carry out the work safely.

These hazards include possible dangers to construction operatives, staff and the public — during construction, for occupants and in carrying out repairs over the life of the building. The health and safety file tells the estimator about the pro- ject, setting out hazards associated with the design, and dangers known about the existing site. Their tasks will often be extended by clients to include: 1.

The role of planning supervisor. Vetting of designers for competence in designing safely. Producing the pre-tender stage health and safety file. The report of the committee asked the industry to experiment to secure efficiency and economy in construction. The traditional method of organizing construction work starts with appointing a consultant designer, usually an architect or engineer, or both.

Other specialists may be needed, in particular a quantity surveyor is appointed to provide cost information, prepare bills of quantity, compare bids and maintain financial man- agement during construction. Since the early s, the construction industry has experienced significant changes in the way in which contracts are managed.

In some cases, contractors have been brought in at an early stage as full members of the design team, in others clients have appointed project managers to act on their behalf. During the s clients became increasingly concerned about problems such as poor design, inadequate supervision, delays and increased costs. They were also critical of the separation of design from construction, particularly between the building professions.

In an attempt to overcome some of these long-standing criticisms, the British Property Federation BPF published its manual for building design and construc- tion in It wanted to introduce a new system to change attitudes and alter the way in which the members of the construction team deal with one another.

The BPF also tried to remove some of the overlap of effort between quantity surveyors and contractors without the need for the traditional bill of quantities. This system for building procurement was little used and to some extent was superseded by new forms of contract such as the Engineering and Construction contract.

Management contracting was used in the s and s for large complex projects but construction management is now seen as a more attractive choice.

This method accounts for a large part of con- struction work because it is the one commonly used in the public sector; but even this is being replaced with new systems, in particular the Private Finance Initiative PFI and Prime Contracting. The private sector includes industrial, commercial, social, charitable and professional organizations, and individuals.

The public sec- tor is taken to mean government departments, nationalized industries, statutory authorities, local authorities and development agencies. The experience which a client has of building procurement ranges from extensive, in the case of a client with a project management team, to none, where a private individual may want a development only once in a lifetime.

Clients will usually identify their needs in terms of commercial or social pres- sure to change; by an examination of primary objectives such as: 1. Space requirements: the need to improve production levels, add to pro- duction capacity, accommodate new processes or provide domestic or social accommodation; 2. Investment: to exploit opportunities to invest in buildings; 3. Location: could lead to a better use of resources, capture a new market or improve amenity; 5.

Politics: mainly in the public sector. Property developers on the one hand can influence their professional advisers and the contractual arrangements, and select a contractor with the right com- mitment to meeting project targets.

The main aim is to achieve a degree of cer- tainty in the building process. On the other hand, individuals and inexperienced clients are guided by their advisers and contractors, and will be offered what the construction team think they need. This is achieved by control of the following: 1. The time: by contractors accepting more responsibility for meeting comple- tion dates, and designers being more aware of the importance of complete information well in advance of work on site; 3.

The cost: by achieving realistic cost estimates and tenders which reflect the final cost, reducing risk of contractual claims stemming from poor documen- tation and late receipt of information, and avoiding delays which can cause loss of revenue and costly funding arrangements.

Many clients are prepared to pay for a good service and see these objectives being met through alternative methods of contracting. The client has traditionally occupied a passive role in the construction process. Standard forms of contract require the employer to pay for work properly exe- cuted, give possession to the site on the agreed date and appoint his professional team to design, supervise and inspect the work and account the finances. A more realistic view is that the client is the most important member of the team because, as patron for the scheme, he identifies the need for the building and he must pay everyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the construction process.

This is why we now see clients taking a more active part in the control of construction work and in part explains the emergence of construction management in the UK. Contractor involvement During the late s, clients were looking for procurement methods which could quickly produce or refurbish large buildings with complex designs. Clearly the contractor needed to contribute to the design phase and continue to advise on the design during construction.

At the same time, where projects were less com- plex, design and build systems were being adopted for both building and civil engineering projects. In order to respond to these different needs, contractors have developed a wider range of construction services, sometimes setting up separate divisions within a com- pany.

The danger is that a contractor more used to working in a traditional market may fail to achieve the objectives expected by the clients. For construction management, as seen in the USA, to flourish, contractors must accept the responsibility for producing detailed drawings and cost-effective production techniques.

Whichever method is used, there will usually be a num- ber of tendering stages that encourage the parties to harmonize their aims and develop cooperation and trust which did not always happen in the past.

Partnerships between clients and contract- ors provide the benefit of more open relationships based on trust and cooperation. By relaxing many of the traditional contract conditions and formalities the parties can achieve their goals of repeat business and a less adversarial approach. In civil engineering, there are generally fewer professional interests, and an engineer whether working for a client or contractor works in a similar way.

Civil engineers understand standard documentation which is used for most engineer- ing schemes. Contractors can, however, influence the design for civil engineering work significantly, and often submit tenders with alternative bids, which can offer substantial savings to a client. Again partnership arrangements have developed in contracting, principally in process engineering, water industries and where modu- larization and standardization have been used.

Partnering During the mids, partnering emerged in a number of forms, partly to reverse the suicidal fall into institutionalized conflict with appalling relationships between contracting parties in the construction industry, and more recently as a means of securing more work by creating a competitive advantage. Attempts to foster cooperation between contractors and clients first appeared in standard contracts with the publication of the Joint Contracts Tribunal JCT Management Contract in These developments are clear attempts to get the parties to construction con- tracts to work together with less adversarial methods of procurement.

But is a posi- tive working spirit the same as closing the gap between design and construction? It is difficult to imagine the prescriptive method of partnering, through carefully worded contracts, being successful. It is not appropriate to draw up a contract to say you will agree with each other each time an unexpected problem arises. Perhaps this is the reason for the growth of contractor-led partnerships.

It has often been observed that contractors have developed partnering schemes in order to add a powerful ingredient to what may be a highly competitive bid. For many years alternative tenders have been submitted by civil engineering contractors based on changes to the design or specification.

More recently, partnering has been used as the basis for alternative bids to combine technical innovation with an offer to look for additional savings such as sharing site staff and testing equipment; con- tinuous improvement; ensuring quality and eliminating claims. So which approach is better for clients? In order to answer this question, and explore the expertise of tenderers, many public and influential clients are asking for elaborate pre-selection submission documents and inter- views whereby contractors must demonstrate a proven track record in partner- ing with other clients.

There is some evidence that clients are satisfied with partnering arrangements particularly when an element of competition has been provided at an early stage of the scheme. It is clearly encouraging to have a team working to a set of mutual objectives which can achieve a project within the budget, no claims and comple- tion on time. Contractors have also benefited when work has been scarce by first securing the work, then receiving a reasonable gross margin and finally by shar- ing cost savings as the project develops.

Partnering is not about the allocation of risk. Risk will depend on the contract option: design and build, lump sum or prime cost, and the nature of the works. Unforeseen ground conditions, for example, can be a risk which can be minimized by open and frank problem solving, but are by definition unpredictable. It is worth noting that clients have been prepared to pay a fair price for a good job for hundreds of years.

It is for the construction industry to prove that it can deliver the service that clients deserve. Apportionment of risk The procurement system, and associated contractual arrangement, will dictate the financial and other risks borne by the parties to the contract.

A guide to how the risks are divided for each contractual arrangement is given in Fig. Lump-sum contracts based on complete pre-tender design and full documen- tation spread a smaller risk of cost overrun evenly between the parties. Results may be further improved by using a selective list of tenderers, avoiding nomin- ations, checking ground conditions, and reducing the guesswork needed by con- tractors at tender stage.

A contract where the price is calculated from a schedule of rates has two major problems: 1. The contractor is unable to identify the full extent of the work at tender stage, he is thus unable to plan and accurately assess his overheads; and 2. The client will not know the full price of the work until the contract is complete. Although this arrangement has the benefit of a quick start, there is little incentive to save time or costs.

It would be unfair to say, however, that management contracting or construction management is more expensive than an alternative approach. All the package contracts are let competi- tively and the management fees are surprisingly low. It has been suggested that in the case of management contracting the management contractor makes more money by looking after the payments to package contractors. Traditional method The traditional structure for project procurement shown in Fig.

The designer is employed to advise the client, design, ensure the work is kept within the cost limit and complies with the standards required. A quantity surveyor can be engaged to give guidance on design costs and budgets, prepare bills of quantities, check tenders, prepare interim valuations and advise on the value of variations. Consultant structural and services engineers may be employed either by the client, or his advisers, to design the specialist parts of the project.

Separating responsibilities for design and construction is seen as the main rea- son for the move away from traditional contractual arrangements. Instead of the direct appointment of consultants, many major building owners and developers make use of in-house project managers either to control inde- pendent consultants or to carry out all the design and financial control of the project. The continuing high sales of these contracts point to the commanding position of traditional methods.

Design and build The design and build arrangement is an attractive option for clients. It simplifies the contractual links between the parties to the main contract see Fig.

The benefits include: single-point responsibility, prices which reflect more closely the final cost to the client, inherently more buildable designs and an overlap of design and construction phases leading to early completion.

Apart from the usual design and con- struction responsibilities the agreement will often include land acquisition, short- and long-term finance, commissioning, fitting out and recruitment and training of personnel. Occasionally the client will ask the contractor to adopt a design started by his preferred consultant. It is generally believed that nova- tion of consultants in design and build contracts is a recipe for friction between the parties and the contractor seldom maintains full control over his consultant team.

The main drawback of novation of designers is that once the designers are fully acting in the employment of the contractor, the client finds himself without his team of advisers needed to check the tender and monitor post-tender changes and quality of work.

At tender stage the employer will introduce some competition, either open or selective tendering, which is followed by clarification of the agreement and negoti- ation. The National Joint Consultative Committee for Building NJCC published an advisory booklet in for private clients and public authorities planning to engage a contractor who would be responsible for the design and construction of a building project.

Each firm invited to tender for design and build work is carefully selected not only for its financial standing and construction record but its design capability and management structure for the work.

The Code of Procedure recognizes the need for longer tendering periods often three to four months and longer on more complex schemes and where extensive specialist work or negotiations with statutory bodies is required even more time may be needed. The Code suggests that the design proposals and contract sum analysis are support- ing documents which could be submitted separately. Before entering into a design and build arrangement a client should consider the drawbacks.

A client may not realize the importance of independent professional advice. It would be difficult to support these criticisms now that design and build is so well established. Professional contractors have taken a pride in their approach to this system, which reduces conflict between the parties and gives the client single- point responsibility for design, time and cost.

The new form was based on the standard form of building contract, with quantities. The contract is for a lump sum price payable in stages or monthly. In place of a bill of quantities the form provides for a contract sum analysis to assist those preparing interim valuations and valuing variations. It must be said, however, the contract sum analysis only helps with significant variations and is of no use with day-to-day changes.

With a greater number of public contracts let under the PFI, contractors have formed consortia to provide services which include the whole design and con- struction process together with responsibility for financing costs, fitting out, staffing, revenue collection, operation costs, maintenance and replacement. Management contracting During the s, clients were attracted to management contracting because it offered early starts to large-scale and often complex construction projects.

He is responsible for the smooth running of the work on site so that the contract can be finished within time and cost. Although most major contractors have undertaken work using management contracts, there has been a feeling that it is not a final solution and a better method will evolve in the future. One development has been a combination of design and build and management contracting whereby the contractor produces a design and guaran- teed maximum price, and the work is later assigned to a number of major package contractors.

The contract was needed to meet the growth in this procurement method and the need for standard documentation to replace the many improvised forms which had been used. A management contractor is selected using the following criteria: 1. Experience of management contracting.

Quality and experience of project staff. Programme and method statement. The Architect or Contract Administrator leads the Professional Team and issues instructions to the management contractor on behalf of the employer.

During construction his duties include placing and letting contracts with specialists, cost studies, setting out, provision of shared facil- ities, plant, and scaffolding, planning and monitoring the work, and coordinating all the activities on site, but not carrying out the permanent works. The Employer pays the prime cost of carrying out the work and the fees for providing the man- agement services.

These fees will be either a lump sum or calculated as a percent- age of the contract value. Trade discounts including the 2. Clients are attracted to management contracting for the following reasons: 1. Construction can start before design is complete, and design can be changed during the construction phase; 2. Construction expertise is available to improve on the design; 3. Better coordination of specialist contractors through detailed planning of work packages and common facilities; 4.

Some problems have emerged, and management contracting has declined, except for a few very large projects. Contractors are less enthusiastic now that margins have fallen and sub-contractors have demanded prompt payments. The specialists often carry the burden of late changes to drawings and specifications which are more common when design development takes place during construction.

The client cannot be sure of the final cost and will carry more risk. This is because the management contractor can pass on all the costs incurred for each trade, site staff and site facilities.

Construction management In the USA, where the roles of the professionals are different, the client or his pro- ject manager will take a more active part in the construction phase.

A construc- tion manager is appointed as a professional consultant with powers to inspect work on site and issue instructions see Fig. The client has a greater control over funds during construction because he has a contract with all the trade and specialist contractors.

These contractors welcome the direct links with the client partly for the higher status this brings but more importantly because the lines of communications are clearer and payments are made sooner. There have been some spectacular building failures in the USA; a congressional inquiry in found that design quality can be impaired by excessive speed and cost cutting exercises.

Problems have been found when designers, who are often selected on a least fee basis, pass preliminary designs to works contractors who pro- duce the detailed drawings. This is a division of responsibilities which can lead to errors and legal action. In the UK, some clients would not want to deal directly with sub-contractors or be involved in every problem of time and cost that could arise.

Construction management also allows for change, and the delay of decisions until the latest possible time. In large businesses which rely on new technologies this can be important. Standard documentation has been prepared by the JCT and published in January Previously variants of main forms of contract have been drafted by large client bodies, and it is likely that these will continue to be used.

At tender stage, each specialist contractor receives specifications, drawings, method statements, and details of the scope of works from which each estimator can prepare his own bills of quantity. A number of onerous responsibilities are placed with package contractors, such as: 1. All risks associated with the preparation of bills of quantity which must include all work needed to complete the package whether shown clearly on the draw- ing or not. In some cases contractors must assess reinforcement quantities, for example, before the reinforcement is designed; 2.

The need to complete elements of the design to the satisfaction of the architect; 3. Payment retentions may be kept for up to 12 months after the completion of the whole project; 4. Complex warranties for all contractors with design responsibilities. There are concerns in certain sectors that there is a need to evaluate competi- tive interest and market capacity. An amount of money will be set aside by the public sector to ensure that, if this is not the case, there will be sufficient funds to proceed using a traditional procurement route.

Terminology Awarding authority The public sector body department agency, NHS trust, local authority etc. BAFO Best and final offer. Final priced bid submitted by tenderers following the evalu- ation of initial bids.

Benchmarking A procedure for testing whether the standard and price of services is consistent with the market standard, without any formal competitive tendering. This is usually adopted during the project concession period to ensure FM services continue to represent value for money. Consortium The group of private sector participants who have come together for the purpose of tendering for a PFI contract.

The generic term is the Project Company, which is established by the preferred tenderer and is the contracting party for a project see Fig. The first stage at which a design and competitive bid is submitted. Market testing A procedure for repricing the provision of services on a periodic basis by means of competitive tender. Output specification The specification which sets out the requirements in non-prescriptive terms, so that the tenderers can determine how to provide the services.

Public sector comparator PSC The PSC is an assessment of the scheme which includes capital costs, operating costs and third party revenues. The PSC is a benchmark against which value for money can be gauged. Service level specification The specification given in the agreed project agreement setting out the standard to which the service must be provided.

This is accompanied by an agreed per- formance monitoring regime. Unitary payment The payment by the awarding authority to the project company for the provision of the facility.

Variant bid A bid which does not comply with the prescribed requirements of the awarding authority for a reference bid but which a tenderer is proposing as offering better value for money. This is done on the basis of its own priorities. There is no private sector involvement in the choice. Step 2 The Client identifies the operational requirements that it is seeking to provide in the area concerned: for schools, the number of places required, the age group to be served, the curriculum to be taught, the methods of teaching.

For a hospital the requirements might be the number of scanners, operating theatres and number of beds. Step 3 Sites are identified for the proposed new buildings. Step 5 A short list is drawn up and an invitation to tender is issued. Step 6 The tenderers are asked to provide a site plan and building design, and to indicate the annual charge for building, equipping, maintaining and operating the new premises including the grounds. Potential income from dual use of premises will need to be taken into account.

Step 7 The tender responses are evaluated on the basis of best value for money. Step 9 The site is leased to the private contractor for 30 years. The premises are built, equipped and made available to the Client from the agreed dates. Step 10 All operational matters remain the sole responsibility of the Client governors and the Council in case of a school and an NHS Trust in the case of a hospital.

The Client pays an annual fee unitary payment or in some cases where a toll can be imposed on users the project can be financially free-standing. Step 12 At the end of the year period the building and grounds will usually revert to the Client. Frequently asked questions What is PFI? Have there been any real benefits? In February the National Audit Office published its report on building pro- jects carried out under the private finance initiative. It found that of the 37 PFI construction projects looked at, less than a quarter came in over the original con- tract price.

Previous experience of similar schemes indicated three-quarters of public sector schemes exceeded the price agreed at contract. There were similar improvements for timely delivery with only a quarter of PFI projects delivered late which compares with three-quarters of similar pro- jects which ran over schedule previously.

What are the commercial foundations of PFI transactions? In many cases it is a service which is being sold to the public sector over a defined period, for example the provision of computers to a government department. As an alternative, the project can be financially free-standing where the costs are recovered from private users.

Examples are the Second Severn Crossing and A69 through road tolling. There are many projects where the costs are met from pub- lic funds and partly from asset development, such as the shared use of the facil- ity or development of other parts of the site.

People talk about better value for money. How does this happen for PFI projects? Innovative and economical design calculated on whole life basis. Since the project company is responsible for maintaining the asset it is more likely to take care to secure quality of construction work.

Allocation of risks to the parties able to manage them at least cost. This indicated that the private companies were absorbing risk that would previ- ously have been borne by the taxpayer. Greater exploitation of assets — additional income from shared use of facilities or the sale of redundant assets. Integration of design, build and service operation. What are the real costs of all the elements of a PFI contract?

Are PFI bids tendered on a competitive basis? The bid takes place in three stages: 1. Invitation to negotiate stage leads to firm bids from a short list of tenderers. A preferred bidder can then be selected. Negotiation to complete the detailed contract terms with a preferred bidder. There is also a cost check against a public sector comparator. This is a calcu- lation showing what it would cost to provide the outputs from the private sector by a non-PFI route.

Are all risks transferred to the private sector? Not necessarily. Risks will be different for different projects. For older buildings, for example, there might be a greater emphasis on maintenance. Furthermore, there could be defects which have been ignored for a number of years — backlog maintenance.

Who can provide the service to the public sector? This is formed by a contractor joining forces with an FM service provider and various developers and financiers. How does a public body test the willingness of the private sector to engage in the tender process?

The simple answer is by discussing the scheme with potential operators before sending out the invitation to negotiate. Estimating methods for PFI construction It can be seen in Chapter 5 that the estimating method chosen will depend on the amount of information available and the design stage reached.

The project team must read the extensive enquiry documents carefully to understand the requirements for the formal submission. In particular the finan- cial aspects must comply with the forms to be submitted.

It is sometimes difficult to assess how much the design should be developed, particularly when bidding costs must be kept under control. At an early client meeting it would be wise to ask for a copy of the selection criteria. Start the submission document from day one! The preparation of the submission document can be a mammoth task. A senior member of staff should be nominated as presentation manager. Agree with members of the team what they are going to provide. Although clients ask for documents to be exchanged electronically, they often demand paper copies, sometimes running to 30 or 40 copies.

It is prudent to ensure that the lorry delivering the tender can reliably transport over a tonne of cargo! There are three stages as follows: 1. Target setting; 2. Cost control and net construction cost; 3. Submission documents. New build and reconfigure Assess where accommodation can be provided in retained estate. Potentially convert Pathology into University labs and Fred Jones ward into outpatients. Inflation can be dealt with separately. Costs workbook 1. Single spreadsheet workbook with elemental cost plans, and summaries of risk, fees, pre- lims, cashflow and inflation.

Schedule of equipment costs. Produce early cost plan, by week three if possible. Your financial adviser will need some costs in order to set up a spreadsheet model.

Pick an architect who fully understands the market sector. For example, up-to-date experience in education is vital for a school project. There is a tempta- tion to choose an architect or engineer because he is well known by the client or is willing to work at risk in the early stages. Decide who is responsible for each aspect of cost.

Show on a chart who is pricing: capital maintenance, routine maintenance, decanting, life cycle fund, new furniture, up-grading existing building stock etc. Do people understand their roles? Completing the price Design fees Infrastructure charges Risk Inflation Margin Cashflow forecast Input to financial model, may also be required for submission.

Life cycle costs analysis capital replacement costs What information is needed for the life cycle cost model? Tender submission Including FM, site developments, variant bids and finance. The tender team will not have sufficient time for collating and binding submission documents. Decide on estimating method to adopt It is important to know the construction cost from an early stage. An approxi- mate estimate method should be used at the start, such as superficial cost plan or unit of accommodation.

Then costs can be refined when design information is available from the designers. There is a reliance on cost planning and approximate esti- mating techniques. Figure 2. Clients have a wide choice of standard contracts for construction work, in particular the forms used for building, which cover most of the common procurement systems. The alternative approach would be to produce a common form of contract for all construction work whether in the public or private sector, building or civil engineering, English or Scottish law.

This idea is not new; it was one of the principal recommendations of the Banwell Report in Sir Michael Latham also addressed the problem in One of his recommendations was for public and private sector clients to begin to use the New Engineering Contract NEC family of contracts, in particular the Engineering and Construction contract.

These ideals have not borne fruit, and there are more forms of contract published every year using different principles, terminology and apportionment of risk. Where a standard form of contract is proposed, an estimator must carefully examine the information which will be inserted in the Appendix and note any amendments to the standard conditions so that the terms of the offer can be evaluated.

An estimator should assess the cost of complying with certain terms and advise management of any onerous conditions that may influence the bid. Non-standard forms of contract are sent to the commercial department, com- pany secretary or director so that the conditions can be evaluated before the final review meeting. Essentials of a valid construction contract Construction contracts are the same as any other contract, and in the end, will depend on general principles of law.

In construction, the contract is generally for producing a building or part of the built environment, and can be entered in one of four ways: 1. Implied by conduct of the parties; a contractor may submit an offer and later have access to the site.

By word of mouth; typically where an offer is accepted by telephone. By exchange of letters; common for small domestic works of extension, alter- ation or repair. Using a written contract; the contract documents often include the enquiry documents, the written offer, minutes of meetings, tender-stage correspond- ence, a programme, a method statement and a formal contract with the agreed terms.

An estimator should keep a separate file containing all papers which will form the basis of the agreement. This is most important where negotiations take place after a formal offer has been made. Inaccurate estimates lead to problems with customer satisfaction, which often create payment issues. A thorough, complete, and accurate estimate is in the best interest of all parties involved in the work.

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Introduction to Estimating for Construction explains both the traditional techniques, and best practice in early contractor involvement situations, within the framework of modern construction procurement.

As well as introducing different estimating techniques, it includes: The nature of costs in construction from a cost of resources approach Modern tendering procedures and the stages of development of construction projects How to convert an estimate into a formal tender and then into a contract Simple numerical examples of estimates Estimating and cost analysis during the construction project Summaries and discussion questions in every chapter This is an easy to read introduction to building estimating for undergraduate students, or anyone working in a quantity surveying or construction commercial management role who needs a quick reference.

The seventh edition includes new material on estimating strategy, tendering, procedures and best practice, as well as the build-up of unit rates of cost, overheads and profit, and e-commerce. Bestselling Series. Harry Potter. Books By Language. Books in Spanish.

A Kwakye. Description This text looks at tendering and estimating within the construction industry. The author focuses on four main themes: the client's development strategy, the efficient use of the contractors resources, the tendering and estimating process, and tender analysis and direction.

Product details Format Paperback pages Dimensions x x Table of contents Part 1 Construction procurement: construction generally; types of construction activities; demand for construction product; construction industry; characteristics of the construction industry; classification of client's; participants in the construction process; price determination.

Part 2 Clients development strategy: client's economic considerations; traits of suitable contractor; contractural arrangement. Part 3 Selection of contractor: selection of decision; timing the selection; mode of contractor selection. Part 5 Tender action: tender enquiry; preliminary enquiry; decision to tender; tender documents; sequence of tender preparation; elemental analysis of cost; winter working; compiling the estimate.