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You may have asked yourself “Why do
I need a professionally-developed bid tabulation analysis system
when I can get bid tabs results for free from the DOT?” Or “I
already know my market and the prices that everyone is bidding.”
Or “bid tabs data is history, we only look at future jobs and no
two jobs are alike.” These are questions or comments we hear
every day from owners, estimators and project managers.
As the business climate gets more
and more competitive, it becomes critical to have more
information to make better business decisions. Just knowing the
state average for a pay item is not enough. A bid tabulation
analysis system gives you the speed, power and flexibility to
easily generate much more information in much less time than
ever before. Listed below are some of the benefits of using
this type of system.
 PRE-LETTING
JOB ANALYSIS
Using a bid tabulation analysis system allows you to load
historical averages for an upcoming job in just moments. In a
matter of seconds you can have a rough estimate of the total
project size, breakdown of each category of work, including how
much of the total is your work and how much is subcontracted.
You can also see a comparison of your historical averages to
your likely competitors on the project. This type of
information takes only seconds to generate and provides a
valuable “first-look” at a project. The totals can also be used
to provide information for bonding purposes.
COMPETITOR
ANALYSIS
Understanding your competition, the market and prices can be
the difference between first and second. Tabulation analysis
systems allow you to see who your biggest competitors are and
how you have historically stacked up against them. These
systems can show you how much work your competition is bidding,
how much they have left on the table and even a listing of the
projects they have bid. The more you know about your
competition, the better decisions you can make. You may not
care about your competition, but I bet they care about you.
ELIMINATE
ERRORS
Although no two projects are exactly alike, many, if not
most, of the pay items on each project are similar. Using a
tabulation analysis system allows you to check your bid against
historical averages and can highlight any areas that are outside
certain parameters. This allows you to quickly check your bid
and highlight any prices that seem out of line.
WIN CHANGE ORDERS
When disputes with the DOT arise you can set parameters up
to shore up and defend your prices. Although you will base your
change order request on actual costs to perform the work, the
DOT looks at historical averages when evaluating costs. With a
tabulation analysis system, you can provide additional support
for your proposal by searching through prices in a specific
quantity range, a specific region or county, and a specific time
frame, all in just a few seconds.
SEARCH
FOR RARE PAY ITEMS
When bidding a job and it is almost time to turn in your bid
you may notice that you do not have a price for a pay item you
have not seen before. Using a tabulation analysis system you
can quickly search through the database and see all the prices
for that item. Even if you have to plug a price, you can be
somewhat comfortable in the price you enter.
MARKET OVERVIEW
Tabulation analysis systems can provide valuable “big
picture” market trends. These systems can show month to month
and year to year pricing and can analyze pricing for specific
pay items, categories of work or overall market size and
breakdown.
POST
BID ANALYSIS
Using a tabulation analysis system allows you to perform
both summary and detailed analysis of a bid. This type of
information can help answer the questions: Where did we miss the
job? Where did we leave money on the table? Did we get the best
sub prices? Are there any areas of our bid that are lower or
higher than our competition?
SUMMARY
These systems are typically very easy to learn and use and
allow you to sift through information in seconds. These tools
give you an even better understanding of your market and your
competition as well as prices.
In summary, tabulation analysis
systems give owners and estimators access to historical
information in ways never before possible. Although these
systems are based on “historical” prices, the past is always a
useful tool in knowing where you are going. An analogy would be
a stock broker using graphs and charts to see the historical
profits of a company. When you combine this history with
knowledge of the current operations of a company, you can make
accurate predictions of future returns. Just as having the
right equipment on the job maximizes productivity, having the
right tools in the office is just as important.
Oman Systems, Inc. provides
Estimating and Bid Tabulation Analysis systems for the
heavy/highway and infrastructure industry. For more
information, you can visit our website at
www.OmanCo.com or call us at 1-800-541-0803. |
