We are currently involved in a Prison addition of 4 buildings in central California. we are in disagreement with the State on the interpretation of NECA Manual of Labor estimating. the CM's contention is that level two and three include the cost for non-work time while the electrician is being checked in and out of the prison (tool check and normal down time while moving between sallyports)
our contention is that the NECA charts deal with difficult situations while doing the work (limited tools and parts while inside the wire) and that the lost work time (one to two hours each day for each worker) is not inclusive within the cost charts.
please provide comment.
I stated this the other day. It is called estimating because it is not exactimating. If you look at NECA labor units you will notice that column 2 is actually nothing more or less than column one times 1.25 and column three 1.5. I never really understood why they don't just tell us to do the math.
Short answer to what I assume is your underlying question. No I would not consider NECA 2 and/or 3 to include lost time you talk about as a blanket statement. For bidding purposes I might, but not for change orders. And if I had to argue it with the CM, I would argue that it would be a terribly inaccurate way to account for it.
That said, I assume your post is basically a fight on change orders and how much each side is entitled to. If not don't read on.
There is no "right or wrong" Ultimately with fixed price change orders, we (subcontractors) need to propose costs that first and foremost cover our cost so we don't lose money. Then (skeptical here) as much more as we can get away with without being greedy. If we get in an argument like it sounds your crew is in. Then I do one of two things. I reevaluate the back up and change around where and how I get my money. By this, I mean that I rarely propose a change order that I can't find additional cost items, like tool rental, material warehouse man etc. So I may come back with slightly more or slightly less in the change order.
The other option and often the better one is you refuse to proceed with the work on a fixed price. Do it time and material. I find in most cases this will actually result is a larger cost to the owner and a lower profit for us. That may not make sense, but when doing T and M, you can only perform the one task. If it would be more productive to perform in conjunction with other tasks you can't do it. It is what it is though.
