Estimating Earthwork Quantities

Estimating earthmoving work (Filling & Cutting) is essential for evaluating Infrastructure projects.

For earthwork contractors, the key to survival is an accurate estimate of earthwork volumes. Without a precise estimate, the contractor will have little or no chance to present a precise bid (let alone a winning bid). And without an accurate estimate of earthwork volumes, the contractor will be unable to assign construction assets or formulate a project schedule correctly. Estimating earthwork construction requires many assumptions and unknowns. Because of this, it is this portion of the construction project that represents the most significant financial risk to the contractor.

An earthwork estimate is only as good as the site information used as the basis for the forecast. Our estimator calculates an earthwork volume by physically walking as much of the site as possible, a copy of the earthwork plans in hand. In short, we do not substitute for good old-fashioned job-site reconnaissance, even in this age of Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) and global positioning systems (GPS).