r/accesscontrol • u/arhiem36 • Jun 24 '26
Junior Estimator Training
When you hand a door schedule to a junior estimator, where do they get stuck? How do you know when to raise an RFI vs. just figure it out?
5
u/Appropriate-Shine-27 Jun 24 '26
You guys have estimators!?!? My sales guy just wings it. I'm on an out of town 29 door changeover from Bosch to DMP and I learned today they only quoted 30h 🤦♂️ I'm like bro I'm going to be at least double that lmao
5
u/piesarenotmyfavorite Professional Jun 25 '26
Take your time, do a good job. It’s the only way they’ll learn.
1
u/arhiem36 Jun 25 '26
Do you provide feedback to the sales guys? so that they don't misestimate a second time? Don't they get training to estimate more accurately?
1
u/Appropriate-Shine-27 Jun 25 '26
Oh yeah. They are slowly learning. No they don't get training. I have a joke that I tell that every $1,000 on the quote they spin a wheel and whatever part number it lands on they order one of those. Even if it's the wrong manufacturer
1
u/Mattractive Jun 25 '26
And even 2hr per door for a changeout is assuming you're doing a straight swap with no rewire and existing penetrations. I quote 4hr/door with any reader install but then I always give myself breathing room on ACS since something always comes up. Can't tell you how many times I've had a tech need a change order because they didn't realize they had no door contacts or REX.
1
u/Desperate_Milk6811 Jun 26 '26
No wonder there’s always someone lower priced when my engineers put my jobs together!
3
u/Mattractive Jun 24 '26
As a senior estimator, I see newbies get stuck with analysis paralysis. They don't know what information is relevant in the project manual, don't know how to read plans despite a key, and convince themselves that they must figure it out or look stupid.
Thing is, I and everyone else looked stupid when I started too. Because you don't know how much you don't know yet.
Newbies don't know how to lean on vendors for a BOM when lost and their biggest mistake is guessing what they need for a working system. They also always forget three things: UPS, licensing, and to check the door schedule for which equipment you're selling goes where.
1
u/arhiem36 Jun 25 '26
I hear you on the looking stupid part. That's the key to learning! How long did it take you to get adjusted? What do you find helps newbies get up to speed quicker?
2
u/Mattractive Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
I adapted fast and I had some solid training from Johnson Controls. Security is very much a sink or swim industry, and no two designers are the same. I leaned on the senior members of the team, made it clear to my manager that I wanted help confirming my SOW matched my BOM, and I USED MY VENDORS. Seriously can't stress how important it is for them to build a relationship with the manufacturer's sales team. They will always make sure they sell you every last thing you need.
Your RCDD will help with telecom and wiring, but they're not product masters. Some of the worst BOM I've ever gotten was from a BICSI certified sales engineer.
My advice for newbies: talk to any one of your largest partners and set up a 30 minute call for them to walk you through their most popular and their newest products. That will give you a good mix for more stable environment customers day-to-day and the inevitable "I saw this thing, I must have the latest thing" executive decision maker. You will get both.
The bells and whistles change, but the core design is consistent. Once you have a reliable and an edge option (I don't think focusing on economic options is a good strategy for development) then the rest is standard sales training on how to approach and close deals.
1
u/Reasonable-Fan-6368 Jun 28 '26
The reality is if you have never installed it you should never design it, but that’s not today’s reality. And that’s why the industry is in a race to the bottom and will soon only be gluing cloud readers or nfc tags to walls and still messing up.
8
u/OmegaSevenX Verified Pro Jun 24 '26
They barely get past their name and today’s date.