Tech Blog - Candy and COVID-19

Candy has been known primarily as an estimating system, but it is so much more than that! The solution allows for an integrated approach to project control in the construction industry, and with new guidelines for getting construction sites to restart with safe working practices on site, we’ve put together three simple examples of where Candy can be used to help manage the situation.

1. The use of Cost Worksheets to assess and analyse the effects on reduced productivity

Screenshot 1a

The above screenshot 1a is the Bill of Quantities, showing a Foundation Concrete item 2.1/L. Using the Estimator’s original Net worksheet, it calculates a usage requirement of 5626.97 hours for the Resource 2211 Labourer, based on the Estimator’s original productivity for the Placing Gang (G+6) of 25 m3/day.

Screenshot 1b

The above screenshot 1b is the Bill of Quantities, showing the same Foundation Concrete item 2.1/L. The Estimator’s original Net worksheet has been adapted and stored as a Cost Worksheet, and it calculates a revised usage requirement of 6679.97 hours for the Resource 2211 Labourer, based on the reduced productivity for the Placing Gang (G+6) of 20 m3/day due to the new guidelines.

Screenshot 1c

The above screenshot 1c is the Bill of Quantities, showing the same Foundation Concrete item 2.1/L. The Estimator’s original Net worksheet has been adapted and stored as a Cost Worksheet, using a smaller Placing Gang (G+4), which can work more productively in restricted working spaces. This calculates a revised usage requirement of 5802.47 hours for the Resource 2211 Labourer, based on the reduced productivity for the Placing Gang (G+4) of 16 m3/day, mitigating the projected additional labourer usage requirement from the screenshot 1b above.

The above steps assume that the hourly rate for the Labourer remains at 18.00/hour, but using the Resource Cost Rate it would also be possible to assess the effects of the rate increasing due to increased travel time to work for example, which might have to be incorporated into the Labourer’s rate.

The two sets of Resource Usages and Costs (Net and Cost) can be included on the same Bill of Quantities layout but are shown on separate documents in the above screenshots due to space.

None of the Material usages and costs are affected by these changes, which leads to the 2nd example.

2. The use of the link between the Estimate and Candy Planning to assess and analyse the effects on material delivery dates

Screenshot 2a

The above screenshot 2a shows the Bill of Quantities in the top half of the screen, displaying the same Foundation Concrete item 2.1/L that was referred to in example 1 above. Using the Estimator’s original Net worksheet, it calculates a usage requirement of 1900.04 m3 for the Resource 51413, 19mm Aggregate. This bill item 2.1/L is linked to 3 activities in the tender program, which is displayed in the bottom half of the screen. This link calculates the weekly requirement for this resource.

Screenshot 2b

The above screenshot 2b shows the result of extending the durations of the 3 activities to which the Foundation Concrete item 2.1/L is linked, to reflect the less productive working of the Placing Gang. The usage requirement of 1900.04 m3 for the Resource 51413, 19mm Aggregate is unchanged, however the resource requirement is spread over a longer timescale (9 weeks against the original of 6 weeks). This has the effect of reducing the weekly requirement for this resource, taking pressure of the supply chain to deliver.

3. The use of Candy Indirect Costs to assess and analyse the effects on preliminaries

Screenshot 3a

The above screenshot 3a is the Indirect Costs Bill, highlighting a Project Manager Price Code a1101. In the static situation, prior to work commencing on site, the To-Date and Variance columns are empty, and the three amount columns, Net Remaining, Net Total and Cost Remaining are all displaying the same value.

Screenshot 3b

The above screenshot 3b is the Indirect Costs Bill, highlighting a Project Manager Price Code a1101. Using the mouse it is possible to extend the duration of the Project Manager, or indeed any other time related Indirect Costs item which is affected by the new guidelines, and it will affect the values generated by the duration of the bar.

Screenshot 3c

The above screenshot 3c is the Indirect Costs Bill, highlighting a Project Manager Price Code a1101. In Candy Valuations, once work has commenced on site, the columns display the following values for the Project Manager:

Net Allowable To-Date: 702.00

Net Allowable Remaining: 25,867.50

Net Allowable Total: 26,569.50

Cost Amount Remaining: 27,300.84

Variance Amount Remaining: -1,433.33