ABSTRACT
There was a time when the unit costs of labour and plant were calculated from first principles, the assumption being that the company employed operatives in sufficient numbers to carry out the work and provided its own plant. A more realistic approach today would be to find the current market rates paid for labour near the site and look at the market prices for plant hire. This information is readily available as feedback from current jobs, while plant hire rates can be obtained from plant specialists. Another change has come with computers. The importance of establishing accurate rates for labour, materials and plant, before pricing the bill of quantities, has reduced because computer programs allow the estimator to change unit rates for resources at any stage of the tender period.
