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Top 10 Tips for Successful MEP Estimating and Takeoff

On average, MEP contractors bid as many as eight times before landing a job. As competition continues to put pressure on the bidding process, estimators need a way to balance efficiency with accuracy.

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A host of problems plague estimators — from operational inefficiencies to miscommunication, sometimes it seems like more can go wrong than can go right. No matter your professional experience, you have undoubtedly experienced project bottlenecking, unexpected costs, or workflow stopgaps. Here's the hard truth: Customers don't really care about excuses. They want an accurate, transparent, and professional bid as fast as possible.

Effective estimating requires a fine balance between hard facts and intuition. As you combine the inputs of customers, architects, engineers, and your own expertise, you are expected to synthesize a staggering amount of information into a viable, accurate project estimate and bid. This is no small task. Estimators are keenly aware of the leading challenges that bog down their efficiency and day-to-day workflow. On average, MEP contractors bid as many as eight times before landing a job. As competition continues to put pressure on the bidding process, estimators need a way to balance efficiency with accuracy.

Don't resign yourself or your company to inefficiency. Thanks to improved integration strategies, communication channels, and cloud computing, construction teams are overcoming these top estimating and takeoff challenges.