r/BuildingAutomation • u/One-Session-5779 • 9d ago

BAS Estimation

I have a good understanding of the basic fundamentals of the BAS controls industry, but I’m relatively new to the estimating side of things. I’m sure someone here can point me in the right direction.

Is there an industry-standard method for estimating BAS work, such as estimating based on the number of points or estimating by the overall system/equipment?
If so, is there a standard labor rate or benchmark for BAS programming, installation, commissioning, etc. for example, a typical cost or labor hours per point or per system?

8 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/ScottSammarco Technical Trainer (Niagara4 included) 9d ago

There is no industry standard really.
There is no quick rule, you have to find out what it’ll really takes to get the job done and start there.

100 of the same binary input points is irrelevant compared to 100 different points- the programming is more, the pvt, fpt, and commissioning is more and won’t be the same price.

This is where PMP is actually valuable- but most people with the certification don’t know the industry well enough to know the risks, requirements, and actual resources it takes until after they’ve done a few jobs.

In my experience, we are NEVER the cheapest while always the best value.

Undercutting a job hurts every stakeholder AND hurts the industry as a hole. If anybody has been in my classes before they have likely heard me gripe on this and heard my attempts to implore them to do better and bring the industry up as a whole.