Category: Estimating

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s WebLEM+Plus

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s WebLEM+Plus, a systematic approach to labor estimating that’s proven successful for hundreds of mechanical contractors in generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual construction.

In using WebLEM+Plus, piping systems can be estimated using two different methods—the traditional Component Method or the more recent buildout of the Work Activity Method, which includes over 138,850 labor hour values allowing you to easily identify shop and field labor separately.

MCAA’s WebLEM+Plus allows MCAA Manufacturer/Supplier Council members and drawing content providers to attach their drawing content, technical data, pictures of each product, item weight, and other item information to each labor unit.

A unique data identifier is available to download as the central data key that connects all the software systems you use, helping all industry partners work together better.

LEARN MORE

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Nick Nikpourfard.

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Webinar #22: How to Estimate the Impacts of Overtime on Labor Productivity – John Koontz

People are not machines. Running an engine for 16 hours will result in twice the output achieved by running it for 8 hours… but the same math does not apply to our workforce. It is a well-known fact that working longer hours each day, and more days per week, results in reduced worker productivity. However, while it is easy to calculate the difference between overtime premiums and straight time labor costs on a spreadsheet, calculating the real costs of productivity impacts caused by extended periods of overtime work is less clear-cut. So how do we explain, estimate, and account for this lost productivity? In this webinar, John Koontz explains the three types of overtime typically found in construction and talks about the three universally accepted methods of calculating overtime impact costs. Most importantly, he covers the preferred and most effective method of OT impact calculation, which incorporates all three methods. We can’t always avoid overtime, and we certainly can’t avoid the productivity impacts that result from working extended hours – but we can learn to use the information contained in the 2020 Edition of the MCAA Change Orders-Productivity-Overtime Primer to make a solid case for recouping impact costs associated with working overtime.

Additional Resources:

This webinar was recorded June 23, 2020.

How to Log in to the WebLEM+Plus When It Goes Live on January 27th

Here’s how to log in to the WebLEM+Plus as an Administrator or Non-administrator…

As of January 27th the WebLEM Administrator for MCAA member companies will be able to log in to the WebLEM+Plus using their current User ID and administrator password. (If you forgot your administrator password, use the “Forgot Password” link to reset your password.)

IMPORTANT: The current WebLEM will not be available January 24-26 while we make the switch to the WebLEM+Plus. On January 27 you will be able to log in with your current credentials (as outlined earlier in this article).

Once you’ve logged in to the WebLEM+Plus as the Administrator, we urge you to change your administrator password and create a shared password for the rest of the staff in your company. The shared password is a new feature that allows the company administrators to create unique passwords for their employees.

Non-administrators can access the WebLEM+Plus by using their current User ID followed by “.shared” (i.e. 58575.shared) and their current WebLEM password (which is comprised of six alphanumeric characters).

On January 27, the WebLEM Administrator of each member company will receive an email from support@weblem.org. Along with other useful information, this email will reiterate the details on how to access the new WebLEM+Plus database and update your passwords.

To help ensure proper delivery of emails to your inbox, please add support@weblem.org as a legitimate email to your Whitelist.

Here’s what you will find in the WebLEM+Plus: a complete buildout of the Work Activity Method Labor Units (over 100,000 labor units have been added to the LEM), allowing you to easily identify shop and field labor separately.

Additionally, as more contractors use BIM in virtual design and construction, they are faced with many limitations, such as: 1) a lack of drawing content specific to manufacturers; 2) software systems that don’t connect; and 3) no drawing standards. The goal of MCAA’s WebLEM+Plus is to become a single solution to all these challenges.

1) Features currently being added to the WebLEM+Plus will allow manufacturers and drawing content providers to attach their drawing content technical data, pictures of each product, item weight, and so forth to each labor unit.

Having all that information specific to a manufacturer in one location will allow MCAA contractors to move seamlessly from estimating to virtual construction to fabrication and manufacturing to installation, all the while allowing contractors to keep the data consistent and accurate.

MCAA is actively working with many of our Manufacturer/Supplier Council members to connect their specific product data to our labor units. (We are initially working with manufacturers such as Victaulic, Milwaukee Valve, NIBCO, Viega, Weldbend and Zurn.)

Also, thanks to MCAA contractor member U.S. Engineering for donating its drawing content library to accelerate the effort of helping manufacturers get their data connected for our members’ use. And thanks to Manufacturer/Supplier Council member Trimble, which will be offering its Building Data and SysQue content to MCAA members at a special discounted price.

2) We’ve also created and made the unique data identifier available for our members to download and be the central data key that connects all the software systems they use.

3) And, we are publishing the first-ever drawing content standard to help all industry partners work together better.

At MCAA we’re excited about this project, so mark your calendar for January 27th. Once it goes live keep checking the WebLEM+Plus for real-time updates, such as when specific manufacturers get their information connected and available.

Should you have questions at any point, please feel free to contact MCAA’s Nick Nikpourfard at nickn@mcaa.org.

The Next-Generation of MCAA’s Most Valuable Resource Goes Live on January 27th!

When you log onto the WebLEM on January 27th you will be automatically redirected to a new MCAA member landing page for the WebLEM+Plus, which is the next generation of our most valuable resource.

Here’s what you will find there: a complete buildout of the Work Activity Method Labor Units (over 100,000 labor units have been added to the LEM), allowing you to easily identify shop and field labor separately.

Additionally, as more contractors use BIM in virtual design and construction, they are faced with many limitations, such as: 1) a lack of drawing content specific to manufacturers; 2) software systems that don’t connect; and 3), no drawing standards. The goal of MCAA’s WebLEM+Plus is to become a single solution to all these challenges.

1) Features currently being added to the WebLEM+Plus will allow manufacturers and drawing content providers to attach their drawing content technical data, pictures of each product, item weight, and so forth to each labor unit.

Having all that information specific to a manufacturer in one location will allow MCAA contractors to move seamlessly from estimating to virtual construction to fabrication and manufacturing to installation, all the while allowing contractors to keep the data consistent and accurate.

MCAA is actively working with many of our Manufacturer/Supplier Council members to connect their specific product data to our labor units. (We are initially working with manufacturers such as Victaulic, Milwaukee Valve, NIBCO, Viega, Weldbend and Zurn.)

Also, thanks to MCAA contractor member U.S. Engineering for donating its drawing content library to accelerate the effort of helping manufacturers get their data connected for our members’ use. And thanks to Manufacturer/Supplier Council member Trimble, which will be offering its Building Data and SysQue content to MCAA members at a special discounted price.

2) We’ve also created and made the unique data identifier available for our members to download and be the central data key that connects all the software systems they use.

3) And, we are publishing the first-ever drawing content standard to help all industry partners work together better.

Soon the WebLEM Administrator of each member company will receive an email from the support@weblem.org. The email will provide you, among other information, details on how to access the new WebLEM+Plus database and update your passwords.

At MCAA we’re excited about this project, so mark your calendar for January 27th and then keep checking the WebLEM+Plus for real-time updates, such as when specific manufacturers get their information connected and available.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Nick Nikpourfard at nickn@mcaa.org.

MCAA’s Most Valuable Resource Is About to Get Better

As more contractors use BIM in virtual design and construction, they are faced with many limitations, including no drawing standards, a lack of drawing content specific to manufacturers, software systems that don’t connect and no easy way to estimate shop hours versus field hours. The goal of MCAA’s WebLEM+Plus is to become a single solution to all of these challenges.

When the WebLEM+Plus is released soon, you will find a complete buildout of the Work Activity Method Labor Units (over 100,000 labor units are being added to the LEM) which allow contractors to specifically identify shop and field labor separately.

You will also find features in this release which allow each manufacturers and drawing content providers to attach their drawing content (.ITM and RFA), technical data, pictures of the product, item weight, etc. to each and every labor unit.

When the WebLEM+Plus website is released, be sure to keep coming back to the site as we work with manufacturers to get their information connected and available to you.

We’re also making it easier for software partners and all MCAA members to connect to our data by providing APIs for our software partners to use, and by making our unique data identifier available for our contractors to download and be the central data key that connects all of the software systems they use.

And, we’ve published the first ever drawing content standard to help all industry partners work together better.

MCAA contractors will soon have a single source for all of their needs and it’s the WebLEM+Plus. So, stay tuned! We’ll keep you updated!

Coming Soon!

As more contractors use BIM in virtual design and construction, they are faced with many limitations, including no drawing standards, a lack of drawing content specific to manufacturers, software systems that don’t connect and no easy way to estimate shop hours versus field hours. The goal of MCAA’s WebLEM+Plus is to become a single solution to all of these challenges.

When the WebLEM+Plus is released soon, you will find a complete buildout of the Work Activity Method Labor Units (over 100,000 labor units are being added to the LEM) which allow contractors to specifically identify shop and field labor separately.

You will also find features in this release which allow each manufacturers and drawing content providers to attach their drawing content (.ITM and RFA), technical data, pictures of the product, item weight, etc. to each and every labor unit.

When the WebLEM+Plus website is released, be sure to keep coming back to the site as we work with manufacturers to get their information connected and available to you.

We’re also making it easier for software partners and all MCAA members to connect to our data by providing APIs for our software partners to use, and by making our unique data identifier available for our contractors to download and be the central data key that connects all of the software systems they use.

And, we’ve published the first ever drawing content standard to help all industry partners work together better.

MCAA contractors will soon have a single source for all of their needs and it’s the WebLEM+Plus. So, stay tuned! We’ll keep you updated!

Tool & Equipment Rental Guide Rates Are EquipmentWatch Rates

Are you being asked to use rates other than those included in MCAA’s Tool & Equipment Rental Guide? Not to worry… EquipmentWatch prepares the rates in MCAA’s guide using the same cost formulas and methodology they use for their own rates.

Need to prove it to a customer? The Introduction on page 3 of the guide states that:

The Tool & Equipment Rental Guide is a comprehensive, current guide to cost recovery for equipment used by mechanical contractors. The rates in this guide are intended as guidelines paralleling amounts an equipment owner should charge during rental or contractual periods to recover equipment-related costs on a single-shift (8-hour) basis.

These rates are derived from cost formulas and data developed by EquipmentWatch and from analytic methods used in the construction industry. Generally, these methods consider purchase price, depreciation, maintenance and overhaul costs, indirect equipment costs, and average annual use hours. Specific market conditions, such as local supply and demand, are not considered in these calculations. These rates are not a tabulation of rates being charged nationally. They do not reflect rates charged by rental companies except by coincidence. Recognizing that costs may vary considerably from state to state, a Regional Rate Adjustment Table is provided as Appendix I.

Additional information about the guide’s definitions and methodology can be found on pages 5-6.

Download the Guide

Get Your Copy of the New Tool and Equipment Rental Guide

MCAA has released the 2016-2017 edition of its Tool and Equipment Rental Guide. The guide puts the latest comprehensive cost recovery information for commonly used tools and equipment at your fingertips. The single download includes both a PDF version and an Excel spreadsheet. The guide is free as a member benefit.

The rental rates are based on ownership and operating costs for contractor-owned equipment and are derived from formulas and data developed by the experts at EquipmentWatch and from analytic methods used in the construction industry.

Generally, these methods consider the purchase price, depreciation, maintenance and overhaul costs, indirect equipment costs and average annual use hours.

Profit, project overhead and general company overhead costs such as office facilities and supplies are not included in the rates.

Download your copy here.