# labor units for estimating



## Going_Commando

It depends. Labor units arent a one size fits all proposition.


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## Chris1971

hd13 said:


> what are your guys labor units, for receptacles, panelboards, conduit, etc. and also are you union, non-union, residential, commercial or industrial


NECA has a good set of labor units. Get those if you can.


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## mdfriday

Chris1971 said:


> NECA has a good set of labor units. Get those if you can.


:laughing:.....:laughing::laughing:. You will not get a job if you bid with neca labor units. Good luck getting them on a change order as well.


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## captkirk

It was a lot of work for me to come up with my numbers... why dont you give us an example of what you need to know and what we came up with.


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## Chris1971

mdfriday said:


> :laughing:.....:laughing::laughing:. You will not get a job if you bid with neca labor units. Good luck getting them on a change order as well.


I said that to him because he has an IBEW avatar.:laughing::laughing:


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## RGH

for quick reference Paul Rosenburg's "electrical estimating pal"


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## Cletis

If your doing union labor units don't forget to multiply by 1.2/hr for poop time


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## sparky970

I use 80% of NECA 1 for most of my bids


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## Wiresmith

captkirk said:


> It was a lot of work for me to come up with my numbers... why dont you give us an example of what you need to know and what we came up with.


 im just trying to learn about estimating, im planning on eventually starting my own company and have no experience estimating. thanks, anything helps anyone else use "electrical estimating pal" what do you think of it.


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## Wiresmith

sparky970 said:


> I use 80% of NECA 1 for most of my bids


is that 







*NECA Manual of Labor Units (MLU) 2011-2012*
for estimate baseline you just multiply there unit by 0.8?

thanks


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## 480sparky

Books are fine to get started with, but it's best to benchmark your own work.


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## Wiresmith

got any book recomendations, thanks


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## Celtic

hd13 said:


> im planning on eventually starting my own company and have no experience estimating.


What will your market segment be?
Resi., Comm., Industrial, Transportation, Nuclear, etc.
New Construction, service, remodel, etc

An expensive hi end product geared towards industrial installations will be a waste of money [and time] if you are primarily leaning towards residential work [new, remodel, service, insurance, etc].

Similarly, an entry level product will probably be an exercise in frustration should you be heading towards heavy industrial installations.


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## Southeast Power

Chris1971 said:


> NECA has a good set of labor units. Get those if you can.


"Change orders at NECA 3 rates" :thumbsup:


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## Southeast Power

mdfriday said:


> :laughing:.....:laughing::laughing:. You will not get a job if you bid with neca labor units. Good luck getting them on a change order as well.


Good luck staying in business if you dont.

Look at flat rate prices. 
Do you think those just happened? 
See a trend? 
The Numbers are real.


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## Wiresmith

Celtic said:


> What will your market segment be?
> Resi., Comm., Industrial, Transportation, Nuclear, etc.
> New Construction, service, remodel, etc
> 
> An expensive hi end product geared towards industrial installations will be a waste of money [and time] if you are primarily leaning towards residential work [new, remodel, service, insurance, etc].
> 
> Similarly, an entry level product will probably be an exercise in frustration should you be heading towards heavy industrial installations.


 commercial, industrial, new construction, remodel and service. thanks


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## Wiresmith

jrannis said:


> "Change orders at NECA 3 rates" :thumbsup:


 is neca 3 a different program/book than 
*NECA Manual of Labor Units (MLU) 2011-2012*

© 2011, NECA, 500+ pages, Index No. 4090-11
Type: Book








thanks
http://www.necanet.org/store/products/index.cfm/4090-11


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## ghostwriter

*Labor Units*

No if you look in the book, it is just a column line.

NECA has 3 columns for labor units.

NECA column 1 is for "normal" installations

NECA column 2 is for "Difficult" installations

NECA column 3 is for "Very Difficult" installations

How you determine what column to use is up to you.

If you purchase the publication, I gives some general guidelines in determining what column to use.

In the past before CMs and GCs had electrical estimators on staff, often the change orders would be estimated on column 3 to maximize profit.

Now on most jobs the NECA column line for change orders would be negotiated in the contract at the start of the job.


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## mrsysko

is there any way i can talk to you about adjusted labor rates .....
maybe you have a small spread sheet


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## cdslotz

mrsysko said:


> is there any way i can talk to you about adjusted labor rates .....
> maybe you have a small spread sheet


No one is going to give your their labor units. Purchase your own, bid some jobs, do the jobs and adjust your rates accordingly. 
People spend years doing this....


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## jackshackastinkin

estimating is a process developed over time with checks and balances (completed jobs) to see how good you really are.


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## Wiresmith

jackshackastinkin said:


> estimating is a process developed over time with checks and balances (completed jobs) to see how good you really are.


Thanks Jrzy, better late than never


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