Work Activity Method to help contractors achieve greater accuracy

Lunch and Learn session led by Ron King at MCA of NW Ohio

MCAA’s Labor Estimating Committee added the Work Activity Method of labor calculations to its popular Web-Based Labor Estimating Manual (WebLEM). The Work Activity Method will help contractors assign labor hours by each work activity with greater accuracy.

On May 3, area mechanical contractors gathered at MCA of NW Ohio for a lunch and learn education session, led by Ron King, on using this new Work Activity Method.

King, who serves as co-chair of MCAA’s LEM Committee, discussed the advantages of the Work Activity Method compared to the present method of laboring — the Component Method.

According to King, currently contractors establish shop versus field labor hours by the Percentage Method and the Diameter-Inch Method.

In his presentation, King said that contractors have been accounting for back-to-back fittings by applying a correction factor. Also there was no way to break down the components of the joint, some contractors have improvised by determining that a “cap” equals one joint.

Using the Work Activity Method, contractors can:

• break down the hours from their estimate into shop versus field;
• accurately estimate the number of hours required in situations involving many back-to-back fittings;
• break down the components included in work activities such as the pipe cut, weld, hydrotest and others; and
• achieve better cost control of labor activities.

The Component Method will continue to be available in WebLEM for use where a shop versus field percentage multiplier is applied.

Ron King is the mechanical estimating segment manger for Trimble MEP (Toronto, Canada). He is co-chairman of the MCAA LEM Committee, which is responsible for formulating the labor units used for mechanical estimating. He also participates on the Pipe Fabrication Institute (PFI) Engineering Committee. Ron has more than 25 years in the industry and previously served as the mechanical department manager of a large industrial contractor in Walbridge, Ohio.

WebLEM is the next generation of the popular Labor Estimating Manual (LEM), which is considered the industry’s most reliable, authoritative source for comprehensive labor units for typical project tasks. This new, web-based product contains the detailed labor data contractors have come to depend on. With the WebLEM, you can quickly search for and retrieve information. The WebLEM also offers users the capability to export data into Microsoft Excel or CSV format for added flexibility. Data in the WebLEM is reviewed and updated periodically to reflect the latest products and joining methods.