ARC C.

VILLANUEVA
BCE 321- 5075
ENGR. ABO YASSER MANALINDO

WRITTEN REPORT

Accounting for waste:

 Quantities derived during the takeoff process are often not the same quantities
that are purchased when the work is actually in process.
 The difference between what to include in the takeoff and estimate and what is
actually installed is called waste. As mentioned earlier, the material quantities
before waste is added are called net quantities; they are called gross quantities
after waste has been added.
 Waste may need to be added for any of three primary reasons:
1. To adjust to the standard sales unit
2. As anticipated waste resulting from handling
3. To achieve a specific assembly lap, as in shingles or rebar

Adjusting for Standard Sales Units

 Framing lumber is purchased in standard lengths, usually in 2′ increments,
delivered to the site and then cut to exact lengths for the specific component of
the frame. It is purchased in lengths as close to the in-place length as possible,
to minimize waste.
 It is important to be attentive to other types of materials with similar waste
requirements. Any material with a standard sales unit larger than needed for the
task qualifies as having a waste component. Construction materials sold in
lengths, rolls, bundles, boxes, or sheets, and fluids sold in gallons, drums, or
barrels, should be reviewed for waste

Waste Resulting from Handling

 Waste can occur as a result of handling or placement, which is fairly common.
Even with careful planning and execution of a task, waste occurs.
 Often, these materials are distributed by equipment, and, due to the inaccurate
nature of placing earthen materials, waste can be significant. Generally, the
more the materials are handled, the more waste can be expected.

Waste Required for Lap

 Consider the placement of welded wire fabric (WWF) for reinforcement in a slab,
which is required to be continuous by design. For the WWF to be effective, there
must be no break in the continuity. It is sold in specific sales units, most
commonly as a sheet measuring 5′ × 10″, or 50 SF. The specifications define the
amount of lap required based on the design. In this particular example, Section
03300 of Master Format, Cast-in-Place Concrete, might define the lap as a
minimum of 12″ on side laps and 12″ on end laps. If the effective area, or the net
area that one sheet will cover, is compared with the individual sales unit, a
significant loss for lap is evident. If a 12″ lap is maintained on the end and side of
 a single sheet, the effective area is reduced from 50 SF to 36 SF, or 72% of its
original area. This represents a 28% waste as a result of the lap required.

Economy of Scale
 In addition to the specific examples already noted, there are other
considerations that, while not specifically considered waste, have an impact on
the amount of materials included within the takeoff. Price breaks based on total
quantities, referred to as economy of scale, should also be taken into account.
This is a simple economic principle that can be defined for our purposes as
securing a better unit price for a large quantity of a material purchased.

Compaction
 Take, for example, soil placement. When soils are imported to a site, placed, and
compacted, there is a portion of the in-truck, or loose volume, that is “lost” due
to compaction.
 Many of the leftovers from waste not only have no real value to the project but
add a further expense for disposal. Consider the falloff from the earlier framing
example. It has no appreciable value to the project that can be acknowledged in
the estimate and will cost money to dispose of. Most wood frame projects,
when completed, have a pile of lumber scraps that need to be disposed of.
Associated costs might include dumpster and disposal fees, along with the labor
to put the scraps in a dumpster.

Pricing the Estimate

 There are two main types of costs associated with the unit price estimate:
Production costs -Production costs are part of the actual physical project,
including materials, labor, tools, equipment, and subcontractor costs for each
task or activity incorporated in the final structure.

Nonproduction costs- Nonproduction costs are overhead, or the cost of

supporting the production activities.

Overhead costs are divided into two categories:

 Direct Overhead Costs

sometimes referred to as project overhead, are directly related to one individual
project. These include a wide variety of costs such as temporary facilities, trailer
rental, supervision, telephone usage, dumpsters, and electrical power usage.
 Indirect Overhead Costs
Indirect overhead costs are referred to as main office overhead, which is any
cost of a general nature that is not unique to a specific project. Indirect overhead
costs are associated with being in business. Some examples include main office rent
or mortgage, salaries and benefits of staff, base insurance policies, company vehicle
costs, and so forth.
Direct Overhead Costs

 Time-sensitive costs are items whose price is driven by time. The longer the
particular item is on-site, the higher the cost. To accurately assign a dollar value
to these costs, a schedule should be developed to determine how and when
they apply during the term of the project. Initial schedules for determining
time-sensitive costs tend to be rudimentary and develop with more information
as the estimate proceeds. It is not uncommon for a project schedule to evolve
through three generations before it is considered sufficient for use.
 Direct overhead costs that are not affected by time are classified as fixed project
overhead costs. Examples include building permit fees, registered site layout,
engineering design fees, access roads or ramps, and so forth. In most
circumstances, there is a single occurrence for each of these costs, independent
of the project schedule.