Estimating Work At Jail

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DAWGS

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Does anyone have a good percentage adder for estimating work at a county jail? I have only worked in one one time and it was long ago, so I dont remember the extra time involved. The job consists of running 300' of 3/4 conduit and jetline for security cables in the cell block areas.
 
I haven't done any work like than in a number of years. The last time was at Stateville and we were lucky to get four productive hours of work in a day.
 
I used to work for a design/build electrical contractor company that lost their shirts on a prison project. They didn't account for the extra costs involved due to special requirements. One in particular that I recall is that they could not run conduit horizontally from outlet to outlet, even in the same wall. There were barriers running vertically, so they had to run the conduit vertically from the outlet, to the ceiling, over to the next location, then down the wall.

I don't have an answer to your question, and I hope someone else does. I guess my only point is that you will be glad that you asked, before you gave the client a price.
 
I did a remodel in a jail once that was converted into a Juvy center, It was extreamly difficult to do anything due to all the extra re-inforcements in the walls that you will have to penitrate, doors the will have to be unlocked and re-locked, areas that you cant go into until a gaurd is available to escort you etc.... I would say a conservative estimate, is that it will be 4 times harder than normal.... I remember we had to remove an area in the wall that had ridged pipe inside the wall that had loose rods that would spin inside them, made them damn near impossible to cut with a saw, we had to bring in a cutting torch....
 
It's not bad at all, for a small job like that I would propose T&M, with a GMP if they balk. If its a hard bid job, then figure it in OT and you pretty much cover the headache of getting in and out as long as you do it on straight time.

I do a lot of jail work and the hardest part is getting my guys cleared to work in a secure facility once that is done its pretty easy. The one big gotcha with jails is if any of your guys have warrants out there is a high probability they will get picked up while they are at the jail. The warrant will come up on the background check and they keep quiet about it until you send your guy out to do the work, were they are patiently waiting for them to come on in... It sounds funny but it's very embarrassing for you the EC, and it's a major headache.

Jails are easy, its a lot harder getting guys cleared to work at the airport than a jail. For airport work I figure double time, then add some money on top of that and hope they don't give me the work.
 
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You got that right! I was the electrician at the Central Unit in Florence AZ for 7 months. This is a level 5 prison and it has amazingly tight security. Some days it would take me over 2 hours just to get to whatever task I may have to do because of some security issue. It was a great job however, I just couldn't pay the bills. I wrote a short story about it on QRZ.com. Type in K8MB in the upper left hand corner where it asks for callsign. There was something entertaining happening every single day. :D





ITO said:
It's not bad at all, for a small job like that I would propose T&M, with a GMP if they balk. If its a hard bid job, then figure it in OT and you pretty much cover the headache of getting in and out as long as you do it on straight time.

I do a lot of jail work and the hardest part is getting my guys cleared to work in a secure facility once that is done its pretty easy. The one big gotcha with jails is if any of your guys have warrants out there is a high probability they will get picked up while they are at the jail. The warrant will come up on the background check and they keep quiet about it until you send your guy out to do the work, were they are patiently waiting for them to come on in... It sounds funny but it's very embarrassing for you the EC, and it's a major headache.

Jails are easy, its a lot harder getting guys cleared to work at the airport than a jail. For airport work I figure double time, then add some money on top of that and hope they don't give me the work.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the responses. I estimated it at doubletime. Not a big job so maybe it will be a good job to come up with a good percentage adder for future projects.
 
just finished several projects

One day lost time clearances
1/2 day at start of job and 1/2 day at end of job for tool checks.
1-2 hours everyday waiting for SAFE passage.
1/2-1 hour for every material delivery.
2 of the 30 some days we were there we lost the whole day due to jail activity (they never told us why).
 
The ones I have worked on are County Jails, not prisons. There is a big difference in security between the two, and my time and an half model may not work for a prison.
 
Yep, that's it in a nutshell. There was also a lock down period everyday for staff change. Also, if you are going to work around the inmates you may be required to wear a stab vest. The only time I ever felt a little off balance was when my inmate helper and I would work in the kitchen. There are 3 different races in there just cooking away and I could feel the tension. :D



brian john said:
just finished several projects

One day lost time clearances
1/2 day at start of job and 1/2 day at end of job for tool checks.
1-2 hours everyday waiting for SAFE passage.
1/2-1 hour for every material delivery.
2 of the 30 some days we were there we lost the whole day due to jail activity (they never told us why).
Click to expand...
 
In VA our jails are as tight or tighter that prisons, we have had such guest as the DC sniper, shoe bomber, the CIA shooter to name a few. Our jails have every right to be concerned, and even when you put money in to cover lost time sitting is frustrating.

I had a prisoner (in the big house) just sitting looking at me with a WEIRD stare for hours, my guys thought it was funny, I thought it was scary. I reported the guy and he lost privileges and was removed from the gravy detail.
 
brian john said:
just finished several projects

One day lost time clearances
1/2 day at start of job and 1/2 day at end of job for tool checks.
1-2 hours everyday waiting for SAFE passage.
1/2-1 hour for every material delivery.
2 of the 30 some days we were there we lost the whole day due to jail activity (they never told us why).
Click to expand...


Sitting for two days sounds like easy money:D Makes for a long day, but it still pays;)

One of the highest sought jobs where I live is the 2 level 5's right near by. No thank you, have at it. I couldn't work around that everyday, noooo way:mad:
 
brian john said:
In VA our jails are as tight or tighter that prisons, we have had such guest as the DC sniper, shoe bomber, the CIA shooter to name a few. Our jails have every right to be concerned, and even when you put money in to cover lost time sitting is frustrating.

I had a prisoner (in the big house) just sitting looking at me with a WEIRD stare for hours, my guys thought it was funny, I thought it was scary. I reported the guy and he lost privileges and was removed from the gravy detail.
Click to expand...

dang, maybe he was just being friendly
 
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