Validating Estimating Data

The following information should be used to validate data in the Estimating database.

For the verification stage to be completed, the administrator of the database should establish:

The following sections describe some typical guidelines and workflows for validating estimating information in the Autodesk Fabrication products:

Materials being Bought Out

  1. Is the source price list correct?
    1. Has validation been done on the price list data values being imported?

      The values entered in the price list we are taking as already verified as these will be the values used for the build up of the Bought out rates.

    2. Are the correct units assigned to establish a qty of 1 or a cost for 1 meter?

      The software can only establish these 2 variances for value entry. On import, there are certain conversions that take place based on the unit field name; for example, Box 50 left in the unit field will divide by 50 to establish the cost of 1 quantity.

  2. Has the source price list been entered/imported correctly?
    1. When importing the price list, have all fields been mapped to each of them supported by the software ( ID code, Unit, Price, Discount etc.)?
    2. Are the correct units assigned to establish a quantity of 1, or a cost for 1 meter?

      The software can only establish these 2 variances for value entry. On import, there are certain conversions that take place based on the unit field name; for example, Box 50 left in the unit field will divide by 50 to establish the cost of 1 quantity.

  3. Is there a discount applied and is this the correct value from the Setup Discounts?

    The discount can be imported directly from the source data but must also be referenced from the Setup Discounts option for each of the price lists. This is then decreased/multiplied/increased by a value using the Discount code as referencing ID.

  4. Have correct Markup/Overhead percentages been applied? Have company standards for overhead percentages been setup in the Overheads section of the Costing database, and also Carriage and Supplier Overhead assignment to the Supplier Price list itself?
  5. Are there Ancillary costs being applied?

    Have codes-based or unit-based values been entered against all ancillaries in use? For example, have Bolt and Gasket costs for Flange Kit application been entered? These can also link to Price Lists, if using code-based assignment.

  6. Has the Price List table been linked to the Bought Out item?

    This is linked on the Costing tab of the item through the M:Rate field.

Materials for Manufacture

  1. Have values for the materials been assigned to calculate the weight (density or weight per sq/m)?
  2. Has the correct cost per Kg been entered against each gauge of material?
  3. Has the correct wastage factor been applied from the Costing Database? True Area plus wastage percentage or Blank Size minus Excess factor?
  4. Have the correct Overheads and Handling percentages been entered?
  5. Has each ancillary application obtained the correct value from manual entering of qty/per m or linked via code to the Price List?

Fabrication and Installation Tables

  1. Has the table been created or an existing one adjusted for each product?
  2. Are the table breakpoints verified to ensure time is applied correctly to the product?
  3. Is the correct Labor Rate assigned to the table for calculating correctly?

    Labor Rates are setup from the Costing Database which are in turn assigned to each Fabrication and Installation table to perform the calculation.

  4. Has the table been assigned to the items in use (for each item on each of the service templates in use)?
  5. Is there Fabrication or Installation time against each ancillary? (Ancillary Material, Fixings, Support materials etc - F:rate and E:Rate values from within the Ancillary database.)

Item Setup

  1. Has the Costing tab of each item been setup correctly? All items used on each Service template would need this action.
    1. Price List assigned to M:Rate field. Each of the products code for each of the sizes should be listed in a product based Price List in order to report a cost. Non coded items used Breakpoint Price Lists.
    2. Fabrication/Installation tables assigned to F:Rate and E:Rate fields respectively. Assignment of these fields then enables the calculation to occur providing the Cost Type is active.
    3. Has the cost type been set to ensure reading of the assigned tables? Normal (= Reads Material, Fab and Install table assignments), Supply Only (= Material and Fab tables). Free Issue (= Install table only).
    4. Has the item been set to the correct cost unit? Length based items to use "per m" for example.
  2. Has a Cost Breakdown been viewed to confirm the completed items costing structure? Materials / Fabrication / Installation including percentage discount applied and displaying all overhead application for a total Gross Cost. (Right click on the selected Item(s) Cost Breakdown to view).
Parent topic: Using ESTmep