The left side of the Estimate Entry – Tree View window is a tree of the biditems that have been set up for the current estimate. The right side of the screen is used to enter information for activities.
Some key sections of this window include:
Biditem Information: Shows the total cost of the selected biditem, including all activities and resources in that biditem.
Activity Information: Shows details for the selected activity in this biditem.
Crew Information: Shows the crew selected for this activity, and information related to the crew, such as productivity rates and calendar.
Resource Detail: Shows the resources (equipment, labor, and materials) that have been added to the activity.
Each biditem must have at least one activity to hold the resources (and therefore, the costs) for that biditem. If cost needs to be broken out into further detail, biditems can have more than one activity.
In the tree on the left, click on 10: Clear and Grub.
Information for this biditem is shown on the right side of the window, in the Biditem Information area.
In the Activity field, enter A.
Click in the first row of the Resource Detail grid near the bottom of the window (or press Alt+D to jump to this grid).
Notice that the Description, Quantity, and Unit fields are automatically filled to match the biditem’s Description, Quantity, and Unit fields. This is designed intentionally for speed. However, these fields can be edited if they need to be unique from the values within the biditem.
Click the ellipsis button in the Crew field to open a selection list of the crews created for this estimate.
Locate and click the CLEAR crew to select it.
Tip: If the crew code is known, begin typing the code into the Crew field to generate a search box.
Click OK.
In the Prod field, enter US (units per shift).
This is the productivity calculation that will be used to calculate the crew hours (in the Crew Hrs field).
In the Rate field, enter 4.000.
Along with the calculation selected in the Prod field, the rate is used to calculate crew hours for the activity. In this case, the crew can complete 4 units (acres) per shift.
Note: If there is no crew that is right for a particular activity, or if additional resources are needed, labor, equipment, and materials can be added manually. This process is explained later in the tutorial.
Click in the Resource Detail grid at the bottom of the screen.
80.00 is automatically entered in the Crew Hrs field (calculated based on the Prod and Rate fields).
The resources assigned to the clearing crew (CLEAR) are automatically entered in the Resource Detail grid, including quantities based on the calculated crew hours.
The Cost and Cost (unit cost) fields for the biditem are updated in the Biditem Information area.
The activity is listed in the tree on the left side of the window.
Adding Activities Using the Add Activities Button:
The Add/Sort Activities window can be used to quickly add multiple activities for a biditem. In this example, though,only one activity will be added.
On the left side of the Estimate Entry window, click biditem 10: Clear and Grub.
Click Add Activities below the tree on the left.
The tree on the left lists activities from the Activity Codebook. The grid on the right list activities that have been added to this biditem.
In the first empty row in the grid, enter B in the Activity column.
In the Description column, enter Debris Removal and Hauling.
In the Quantity column, enter 1.
In the Unit column, enter LS (lump sum).
Move to the next row in the grid to save.
Click OK.
Notice that the new activity B has been added to the tree in Estimate Entry – Tree View.
Adding Activities from the Activity Codebook:
The Activity Codebook is a database of standard activity codes. Each activity code specifies the labor, equipment, materials, and crews used for the activity. When an estimate uses the activity code, the default crew and resources are brought into the estimate. New installations of HeavyBid include a default Activity Codebook which can be modified/replaced to meet company needs.
TIP: The Activity Codebook is also available under Menu >Setup > Activity Codebook.
Right-click biditem 30: Blade (Erosion Control), and select Add/Sort Activities.
In the Add/Sort Activities window, expand the tree on the left and select the check box for activity 290001 Install Silt Fence.
In the Quantity column for the new activity, enter 1000.
In the following steps, you will add one resource to activity B, a dump fee. This is a local resource because it is only available within this estimate (it is not added to the system-wide codebooks).
In the tree, click activity B – Debris Removal and Hauling.
Click in the first row in the Resource Detail section.
In the Resource column, enter 2DUMP.
Press Tab to move to the next column.
In the window that pops up, click Yes.
This resource does not exist in the estimate yet and needs to be created in the local setup.
The Create a Local Resource window displays.
In the Description field, enter Dump Fee.
In the Unit Cost field, enter 8.00.
In the Unit field, enter CY (cubic yard).
Click OK.
The local resource is added to the Resource Detail grid for the activity.
In the Quantity field for 2DUMP (on the Estimate Entry window), enter 3000.00.
Tab through or arrow off of the row to save.
Add Labor and Equipment Resources Outside the Crew:
Add the following activity to biditem 30: Blade (Erosion Control):
Activity Code - A
Description - Blade (Erosion Control)
Quantity - 86.00
Unit - HR
Click the Resource column header to open the resource selection screen.
Select 8M - Motorgrader and OM - Motorgrader Operator from the left-hand tree.
In the grid on the right, enter 86 within the Quantity column for both resources.
Ensure the check box for Crew for both resources is not selected.
Click OK.
Notice that the Description for both resources is preceded by ==>. This indicates that the resource is not part of a crew and these resources are not updated when crew hours/productivity change.
Adding Material Resources from the System-Wide Codebook:
The System-Wide Material/Other Resources Codebook is a database of resource codes that can be accessed from any estimate. In this example, a resource code will be pulled from the codebook into an activity within the current estimate.
With biditem 30/activity B selected, click the Select Materials icon in the Estimate Entry right-hand toolbar.
In the Select Resources window, click + next to 4 SUBCONTRACTORS to expand that section of the tree.
Select the check box for 4HAUL Hauling – Sub.
In the Quantity column for 4HAUL, enter 180.
Click OK.
In the Unit column for 4HAUL, enter LOAD.
In the Unit Cost column, enter 175.00.
Move to another row to save the record.
Notice that the biditem total at the top of the screen now includes the total costs for both resources in this activity.
The crew productivity can be automatically recalculated if a specific number of crew hours is desired. This can be useful in instances where rounding crew hours is preferred.
Add a new activity to biditem 20: Remove Old Concrete, using the following values:
Activity - A
Description - Remove Sidewalk
Quantity - 1400
Unit - LF
In the Crew field, enter LOAD (Track Loader Crew).
In the Prod field, enter US (units per shift).
In the Rate field, enter 365.
Click in the Resource Detail grid to apply the changes.
Crew Hrs is automatically calculated based on the productivity rate entered.
In the Crew Hrs filed, change the number to 32.
Tab through or click in the Resource Detail grid to apply the changes.
Rate is automatically recalculated to reflect the updated crew hours.
New activities and biditems can be created by copying them from the current estimate or from other estimates.
Right-click activity B – Debris Removal and Hauling for biditem 10: Clear and Grub.
From the right-click menu, select Copy/Move Activity.
In the Copy to Biditem field, enter 20.
For information about the other options on this window, press F1 to open the online help.
Click OK.
In the window inquiring about the quantity for the 4HAUL, click No.
“Factoring” refers to recalculating a resource's quantity when the activity quantity is changed. Normally, lump sum items (with a unit LS) should not be factored.
Click No when prompted to copy the activity again.
Several quick review windows are available from the Estimate Entry window.
The Biditem Totals window displays information about the biditem currently selected in Estimate Entry. Click the Biditem Totals icon in the Estimate Entry Toolbar located to the far right to access this utility.
The Activity Totals window displays information about the activity currently selected in Estimate Entry. Click the Activity Totals icon in the Estimate Entry Toolbar to access this utility.
