(In the past, I have used the estimating norms of whichever company I have worked for, and they are all slightly different.) They have generally been handed down over the years within the estimating departments of the individual companies. They could be for a specific country / location where that company mostly executes its projects. It is not very clear how these in-house norms were developed by the individual companies and for which location. These norms are not widely shared with the larger estimating community and are considered proprietary by the individual EPC companies. Most estimators use their company’s in-house labour norms for all detailed estimating purposes. The various labour estimating norms most prevalent in the Oil & Gas industry are the Gulf Coast, DACE or in-house norms.

Hours per equipment installed (various kinds of equipment)īut the question is, where can an estimator get these labour norm hours?.Hours per instrument installed in the field (various kinds of instruments).Hours per meter to install electrical cables (of various sizes).Hours per meter to erect pipes (for various diameters and thicknesses).Hours per joint to weld pipes (of various diameters, thicknesses and materials).Hours per tonne to fabricate and install structural steel.Hours per m3 to install concrete foundations.The labour norms are standard time taken by a mixed crew to complete a unit of various types of construction works in an ideal location. During the estimating process, this is generally done by calculating the direct labour hours for the various estimated quantities from material take-offs (MTOs), using Labour Estimating Norms for ideal working conditions. The cost of this fabrication & installation works can be estimated if all the labour hours required for the project can be calculated. However, assessing labour hours is not straightforward and the labour effort required for various activities vary hugely, and standardised norms for assessing labour needs are not freely available or widely shared.įor any project, the site needs to be prepared, foundations need to be constructed and all material and equipment need to be fabricated and installed. It is my opinion that labour is the most important resource for any project and a proper assessment of labour hours and related costs is essential for the accuracy of any estimate.

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