ASTM International Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings has approved a new practice that will help developers and builders to better estimate the cost of a construction project. The new standard, E 2514, Practice for Presentation Format of Elemental Cost Estimates, Summaries, and Analyses, is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee E06.81 on Building Economics.
 
“Numerous examples of elemental report formats abound and they typically follow a common pattern,” says Anthony Huxley, an E06.81 member and a construction consultant in Ontario, Canada. “E 2514 provides a common format and describes in some detail the preferred display of figures, their displayed precision, and the analysis and summary techniques used to create the displayed figures from the necessary underlying construction quantity and cost data.” Huxley notes that use of the new standard will make it easier for design changes to be incorporated prior to the bid process, saving time and money for all parties involved in the project.
 
E 2514 provides a concise, consistent and logical way to present cost information obtained through the use of the following three ASTM standards that, taken together, provide the basic classification of elements needed to create a complete estimate, summary or analyses: E 1557, Classification for Building Elements and Related Sitework—UNIFORMAT I; E 2083, Classification for Building Construction Field Requirements and Office Overhead and Profit; and E 2168, Classification for Allowance, Contingency and Reserve Sums in Building Construction Estimating.
 
As an aid to using E 2514, Huxley notes that a simple spreadsheet adjunct is being prepared to accompany the standard. The adjunct, which the committee hopes to be able to make available later this year, will demonstrate the preparation of estimate, summary and analysis reports with manually entered input obtained from any available/applicable estimate source.

ASTM International standards are available for purchase from Customer Service (phone: 610/832-9585; https://www.astm.org/contact/) or at www.astm.org. For further technical information, contact Anthony Huxley, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada (phone: 613/258-9324; alhuxley@comnet.ca). Committee E06 will meet Oct. 28-31 at the October Committee Week in Tampa, Fla. For membership or meeting information, contact Steve Mawn, Technical Committee Operations, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9726; smawn@astm.org).

Release #7713