ABSTRACT
The use of computers by estimators has grown steadily since the early 1980s, when stand-alone computers were introduced to the desks of estimators. It has been difficult to measure the improvements that computers have brought to estimating performance. This is probably because the benefits come from additional facilities that manual systems could not provide. For example, quantities or rates can be quickly changed at any time with a computer system. Summaries can be produced by using sort codes representing elements or sub-contract packages.
