Est$Pro User Manual

Contents
1.Introduction
2.Description of the Program
3.Program Installation
4.Program Removal
5.Setting Defaults
6.Estimating Process Equipment Prices
7.Manipulating Priced Equipment Files
8.Preparing TIC Process Unit Estimates
9.Tank Farm Estimating
10.Offsites Factored Estimating
11.Building Estimating
12.Turbine/Generator and Cogeneration Estimating
13.Exporting Estimates to Microsoft Excel
14.Other Estimating Tools
15.Common Questions & Problem Solving

Introduction
This manual was written to help users understand the full capabilities of the Est$Pro program. The program was designed to be used essentially without a
manual, and many users in the past have been able to get up and running quickly without ever even consulting a manual. However, the publisher recognizes the
need for answers to common questions and explanations of how the program performs its calculations, thus this manual was created and can be easily printed
in hardcopy form by the user from Microsoft Word. If you are reading this manual, then you have obviously located the MANUAL.DOC file which the installation
program installed into the Est$Pro application subdirectory. We will examine these topics, in the order listed:
Program description
Program installation
Program removal
Setting defaults
Estimating process equipment prices
Priced equipment file manipulation
Factored T.I.C. estimates
Tank farm estimates
Building estimates
Power generation / cogeneration estimates
Exporting estimates to Microsoft Excel
Other Est$Pro estimating tools
Common questions and problem solving

Description of the Program

Est$Pro was developed to serve a specific purpose: rapid conceptual cost estimating of process plants and equipment. It began life as a FORTRAN program,
running on a mainframe computer back in 1981. The program was originally called EQ and then EQWin, but due to conflicts with another program of the same
name, the title was changed to Est$Pro in 1996. Today it is designed to run on a desktop computer under Microsoft Windows, and while it has been greatly
enhanced and simplified, it still serves that same original purpose.
In the world of EPC contractors, process engineering firms, petrochem consult-ants, and operating companies there has always been a need for quick capital
cost esti-mates. Quite often, cost-versus-capacity estimates are not good enough or do not have enough accuracy for particular purposes. Very frequently the
estimator, consultant, engi-neer, or project manager will have nothing more than a sized equipment list, P&ID's, and a knowledge of where the plant is to be
constructed. Armed with this information, a little common sense, a few hours, and the Est$Pro program, the technical user can produce an objective cost
estimate with probable accuracy of +30% to -15%. Of course, there are too many factors involved to guarantee this kind of accuracy for every estimate, but this
is the typical range of accuracy expected from this methodology.
Many users may be familiar with Questimate or ICARUS 2000 (Now Kbase), two fine products of Aspen Tech. The publisher uses them on a daily basis, heartily
endorses both of these programs, and encourages you to call them at 281-584-1945 if you have not been exposed to their software before. However Est$Pro is
very different from these programs as is explained below.
Like Est$Pro, Questimate will estimate process equipment prices. It will also es-timate the cost of purchasing and installing bulk materials that the user defines.
How-ever, the user is responsible for defining how many yards of concrete are in the founda-tion under each piece of equipment, how many feet of pipe (not to
mention valves and fittings) are connected to that equipment, and so on. In short, the user must conceptualize or have a takeoff of all of the bulk materials
associated with each equipment item. Once he does that, Questimate does an admirable job of providing the estimator with the man-hours and material costs.
But again, the user is required to spend a lot of time conceptu-alizing and inputting these quantities. The cost of the program is several thousand dollars per
year for each copy (and it is well worth it in my opinion).
In contrast, ICARUS2000 or Kbase conceptualizes everything for you-right down to the last nut and bolt. Based on built-in P&ID's for different equipment types
(example: one type is a distillation column with full instrumentation), it will go through the very steps an engineer would to design every bulk associated with
each equipment item. Obviously, in order for it to do this, it requires extensive user input. For instance, in order for it to de-sign a foundation under a column, it
would not only need to know all about the column, but it would need the allowable bearing pressure of the soil, the design wind speed, whether piles are
required, and if so what type, etc. It is an extremely powerful program, but it requires substantial user input and the cost is prohibitive for small companies (a license agreement runs well over $10,000 per year per seat). Again, for more information on these programs, call the phone number listed above.
So as you can see, Est$Pro fits a niche not really covered by the other programs. The user can get total installed cost estimates with a minimum of input and a
minor in-vestment in software and hardware.
Simply put, Est$Pro prices process equipment then applies factors to the priced equipment to account for the bulk materials and installation costs. This is a
time-proven method first promulgated by Lang in the late 1940's. Kenneth Guthrie expanded upon this method in the late 60's and early 70's, publishing a
wonderful book containing a wealth of information on estimating, scheduling, and cost engineering. Unfortunately that book is now long out of print. (If you can
find a used copy somewhere, it is still useful thirty years after the publication date. The title is Process Plant Estimating, Evaluation and Control.) The
methodology Lang established and Guthrie refined holds true today, although the factors have changed somewhat. Many engineers and estimators commonly
use factors to go from bare equipment cost to total installed plant cost-expe-rience or published data might show that the TIC (total installed cost) of a pump is
3.5 times the cost of the bare pump. However, they lack a way to objectively modify the cost to account for variances in wage rates, productivities, other sitespecific conditions. And what if the pump is made of stainless steel-is 3.5 still the correct multiplier?
This is the market at which Est$Pro is aimed. It provides a systematic method of factored estimating in addition to its equipment pricing capabilities. The user
has control over location factors, unit prices, overheads, and other project-specific costing informa-tion which simple multipliers cannot handle.
In addition to process plant estimating, Est$Pro provides a separate tank farm es-timating module, reflecting the fact that tank farm costs are rarely a function of
bare erected tank pricing. It provides a quick and simple building cost estimator, based on typical $/SF rates. And it also contains a module for quickly
estimating the cost of gas-fired turbine generators and cogeneration facilities.
Finally the program also comes with a host of other utilities which the estimator will find useful in his daily work: arisk analysis program, a curve fitting program,
a pro-gram to establish overall average wage rates when only a few craft journeyman wage rates are available, a program to estimate the effects on productivity
of extended work-weeks, and many others as well. The user is encouraged to familiarize himself with each of them so that he knows what estimating tools he
has at his disposal inside the Est$Pro program.

Program Installation
The program comes on a CD-ROM. To begin the installation you must have a computer running Microsoft Windows. It is recommended that you be using a
Pentium processor and have a minimum of 16 megabytes of RAM. You should have your monitor set for 256 colors. While the program is designed for screens
sized 640 x 480, it will work equally well at 800 x 600, however, in the latter case, it will not fill the entire screen.
The program can be installed on any hard drive, but it is recommended that it be installed on the C: hard disk drive in the C:\EST$PRO subdirectory. (Note: if
after in-stallation, you are having trouble getting the program to execute, try using the uninstall feature of Windows, uninstall Est$Pro (as described below), then
reinstall it in the C:\EST$PRO subdirectory.) The total program takes less than ten megabytes of hard drive space, so make sure that you have at least this
much room on your C: drive before beginning the installation.
From Windows, insert the first diskette into your floppy drive and RUN SETUP. When the program prompts you for where to place the program, you may let it
default to C:\Program Files\EST$PRO\ or enter another directory where it is to be located. This will install the program for you and create a new program group
(or window) containing the Est$Pro icon. It will also add the program to your Start Menu. The user may prefer to move the icon to an existing group and delete
the new window created by the program, but this manual will not address the steps involved in doing so. Consult your Windows user's manual for instructions on
how to relocate an icon and delete a program group or folder.
The installation puts files in two places. Most of the files are placed into the pro-gram subdirectory, but some .DLL and .OCX files used by Windows are placed
into the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM subdirectory.
At this point, you should store away your original Est$Pro CD in a safe place. To execute the program you can either click on the program icon or from Windows
use the RUN command to RUN pathname\EST$PRO.EXE. This will bring up the main menu for Est$Pro.
One important item should be observed here: always execute Est$Pro with your computer in the all-caps mode.

Program Removal
Assuming that you have used the installation program shipped with the program, you should be able to remove the program from your computer completely by
following these steps.
1. Go to the Windows Control Panel
2. Select Add/Remove Programs
3. Select Est$Pro
4. Follow the steps shown to delete the program
Note that you should be extremely careful in deleting programs which are stored in the \Windows\System subdirectory. Quite often these .OCX and .DLL files
are used by several different programs-not just Est$Pro. Therefore, when the removal process alerts you that perhaps these should not be erased, take heed!
The same thing can be accomplished by simply erasing everything in the program application subdirectory, however this might also erase some project files that
you, the user, have created.

Setting Defaults
The first time you attempt to execute the program, it should prompt you to set certain program defaults. On the main menu there is a gray button which says
SET DEFAULTS. While most of the defaults will not require immediate modification or adjustment, you should always at least set the user name.
When the Set Defaults screen appears, you are shown a menu of choices. The following items can be modified by the user and are discussed one at a time
below.
User Name. Simply input your name or initials so future reports produced by Est$Pro will reflect this. This information is saved in a file named USER.SET in the
application subdirectory.
Nelson Index. Oil & Gas Journal contains a feature called the Nelson-Farrar Indexes. The indexes needed for updating Est$Pro are published in the first issue of
the magazine in the following months: January, April, July, and October. The sheet you should look for is entitled Itemized Refining Cost Indexes. There are four
specific indexes which the program uses. These include: Exchangers--Carbon Steel; Tanks and Pressure Vessels; Pumps, Compressors, etc.; and the NelsonFarrar Refinery (Inflation Index). Examining the October 7, 2002 issue shows that these values are 727.6, 791.3, 1518.6, and 1629.6 respectively. The user
should make sure to update these quarterly to assure the most accurate costs possible. This information is saved in a file named NELSON.SET in the
application subdirectory.
Location Indexes. Because Est$Pro gives the user the ability to estimate project costs for specific locations, the program allows the user to save cost
information for sixteen pre-defined locations. As initially installed, the program may only have the index for Houston, Texas included, but other locations are
easily added. For each new location added, the user must supply: the name of the location, the open shop wage rate, the union shop wage rate, a labor
productivity, and a mate-rial cost index. In addition the user can indicate that the wage rates are all-in rates as opposed to bare wage rates. This information is
saved in a file named LOCATION.SET in the application subdirectory. Because the program uses Houston as the basis for many calculations, the first location in
this file must be Houston.
Wage Rates. Normally the open shop and union wage rates should be just the average bare wage the construction worker earns. Other markups on top of labor
are added in the field indirect cost category. However, it is quite common to estimate nowadays (particularly on overseas projects) using all-in wage rates which
include all burdens, field indirects, and even construction equipment. Thus the user may always elect to use this option, though it is most commonly used for
Third World locations. You must be sure to check the all-in wage rate box if doing so. [A separate utility dis-cussed elsewhere in this manual assists the user in
establishing average wage rates from limited information.]
Material Cost Index. This is simply an indicator which allows the user to index costs against Est$Pro's internal base U. S. Gulf Coast (USGC) ma-terial costs. If
overall material cost at the location you are adding is say 5% higher, then you should input a value of 1.05. If 10% less than USGC, then you should input .90.
Productivity Index. This is an indicator of how productive labor is at the user-input location. The user should remember here that better productiv-ity is greater
than 1.0 and poorer productivity is less than 1.0. Think of it this way: if USGC is 1.0 and workers at your location are only half as pro-ductive, then their
productivity index should be 0.5.
Plate Cost Index. This index is used in estimating the cost of pressure vessels. What the user inputs is the cost per pound for various plate materials. The program uses the relative price of metallurgies versus carbon steel to establish vessel prices, so it is more important to have the relative prices of various metal
plate materials correct than it is to have the absolute cost per pound correct. Note that this is for raw plate--not fabricated vessels. This plate cost index is only
one step in determining the actual cost of a vessel, and even though the material index for a given material might be twice that of carbon steel, the actual
fabricated vessel might only cost 20% more than an identical carbon steel vessel. This information is saved in a file named PLATE.SET in the application
subdirectory.
Tube Cost Index. This index is used in estimating shell and tube exchangers. This is different from the Plate Cost Index in that the user is actually inputting
relative costs instead of costs per pound. Here the user inputs the relative cost of various welded and seamless tube materials. Note that this is for bare tubing
as supplied to an exchanger manufacturer--not for fabricated exchangers. This tub-ing cost index is only one step in determining the actual cost of an
exchanger, and even though the tubing cost index might be six times that of carbon steel, the ac-tual fabricated exchanger might only cost 30% more than an
identical carbon steel exchanger. This information is saved in a file named TUBE.SET in the applica-tion subdirectory.
Equipment Multipliers. In factored process plant estimating, once process equip-ment is priced, various multipliers (sometimes called Lang or Guthrie factors)
are applied to the equipment pricing to account for other items making up the total in-stalled cost. This includes piping, foundations, electrical, and other bulks,
along with the actual cost of setting/erecting the individual pieces of process equipment. These multipliers allow the user to fine-tune Est$Pro to give results
reflecting his own project histories. These are direct cost multipliers--indirects and overheads are established elsewhere in the program.
For instance, if a user had historical information that (on a USGC basis) structural steel materials associated with a common-sized carbon steel vertical vessel
averaged 12% of the vessel cost, then he could enter .12 as the structural material factor. Because there is a fixed relationship between manhours and mate-rial
costs on a USGC basis, the program will automatically compute the structural labor factor. The logic behind this is that multiplying the equipment cost by a
factor, such as the .12 above, actually yields the equivalent of a quantity. Thus, if the carbon steel price of a vessel was $50K, then the steel material cost would
be $6K. In today's USGC marketplace, this equates to roughly three tons of steel. If it takes 25 manhours per ton to erect steel on average, then for the
structural steel associated with this vessel it would require a total of 75 manhours. At $12.50 per manhour (bare wage rate) this equals $937.50. Back-dividing
this by the $50K cost of the vessel would yield a factor of .019. Thus, if you input .12 as the structural steel material factor, the program would produce a
structural steel labor factor of around .02.
These factors vary of course from equipment type to equipment type. The user wishing to change any of the default factors may select the type of equipment he
wishes to modify, see what the current settings are, then make any changes he wishes for use in all future estimates. Later in this manual there is a more
exten-sive discussion of how factoring applies.
Actually the program goes one step further than actually using these fac-tors without adjustment. The factors saved in the GUTHRIE.SET file would apply to
average sized equipment. The program adjusts this for equipment which is smaller or larger than average. As an example, the program assumes that an average
sized vertical vessel costs around $16,000. If a single factor were applied constantly, then a $32,000 vessel would have twice as much instrument cost
associated with it. However, we know that the instrumentation cost doesn't change that much as vessel size changes. Therefore the program fine-tunes the
factors based on the size or capacity of each equipment item as compared to an established average size built into the program. On one hand, this prevents the
user from knowing exactly the factors that will be used, but on the other hand, it makes the estimate more accurate.
Unit Labor & Material Costs. In the section above, mention was made of a fixed relationship between labor and material costs on a USGC basis. This is where
the user can change that relationship. This is in essence where the user establishes unit prices from which the program back-calculates quantities. While the
equip-ment multipliers mentioned above produce a factor for producing total direct costs on a major account basis, the unit labor and material costs the user
inputs here are used for calculating quantities and splitting the labor and material costs.
The user is encouraged to modify these on a project by project basis. For instance, the default piping values may be 2.0 manhours per foot of pipe and $70 in
material cost per foot of pipe, but if the user is estimating a small project with low pressure, small diameter piping, he might want to change these values to 1.2
manhours and $35 respectively. This information is saved in a file named UNITCOST.SET in the application subdirectory.

Field Indirects. The user is allowed to input percentages of bare labor rates to add into estimates for the cost of field indirects. The following categories are provided: burdens and benefits, construction equipment, supervision, small tools and expendable supplies, temporary facilities, and miscellaneous field indirects.
Typically these costs should run between 90% and 140% of the bare cost of direct labor on a USGC project. This information is saved in a file named
FLDINDS.SET in the application subdirectory.
Home Office. The user is also allowed to establish a typical split of home office manhours as well as a departmental wage rates. On factored estimates home office costs are often estimated as a percentage of total project cost, and Est$Pro allows the user to input this percentage each time he performs a factored
estimate. Est$Pro also will calculate the home office cost for you if ask it to do so. It uses an algorithm based on the ratio of material costs to total costs, along
with other historical information to calculate the total home office cost.
However, by changing the default values here, the user may set what per-centage of home office costs would go to process design, what percentage would go to
procurement, etc. It also allows the user to set all-in home office rates on a department-by-department basis. Typically home office costs include all markup plus
profit on home office labor. [Fee on construction is included elsewhere.] Information on percentages and rates is saved in a file named HOMEOFF-.SET in the
application subdirectory.
Cost vs. Capacity Values. One of the utilities included with Est$Pro is a program which allows the user to quickly get rough order of magnitude costs of different
process units based upon capacities. The user can in essence input his own equa-tions of cost as a function of capacity here by providing the following information: the name of the process, the size (capacity) of a base process unit, the capac-ity units (BPSD, Tons/Day, etc.), the cost of the base process unit, the
Nelson Re-finery (Inflation) Index correlating to the cost, and finally a power factor or expo-nent. We've all heard of the six-tenths rule for scaling process unit
costs for vari-ous other sizes. However, studies have shown that the exponent for all units is not necessarily 0.6. If the user has say three data points based on
historical infor-mation which indicate that the exponent for a particular type of process unit is 0.72, then he can input that here. (The curve fitting utility in
Est$Pro can help establish these exponents.)
Thereafter the program will use the new values in calculating process unit costs from capacities. Assume that a user input the following values for a Crude Unit:
base size = 10, capacity units = KBPSD, base cost = 5,000,000, Nelson In-dex = 1250, and power factor = 0.65. Now, suppose later that the user wants to
estimate a 10 KBPSD unit when the Nelson Index has increased to 1310. The program would calculate a cost of (1310/1250) * (10MM / 5MM) ^ 0.65 = $8.22
million. This information used to calculate process unit costs is saved in a file named COSTCAP.SET in the application subdirectory.
Equipment Cost Indexes. After using the program to price equipment and com-paring the results with actual purchase orders or vendor quotes, the user may find
that his own experiences show that certain equipment costs should be indexed down or up to decrease or increase respectively the costs generated by the program. This allows the user to apply a percentage multiplier to the internally gen-erated prices. If the user inputs an index of 150 for shell and tube exchangers,
once he exits the program and returns, all shell and tube exchangers will be priced 50% higher than before. Similarly, if the user inputs an index of 75, the price
will be 25% lower. The default value for all items is 100. This information is saved in a file named EQINDEX.SET in the application subdirectory
As you may have noticed in the paragraphs above, all information saved in the various .SET files is kept in the application subdirectory-in other words, the
subdirectory where you installed the Est$Pro program. Because the user may spend a lot of time customizing these files to the way his company does
business or based upon his own historical information/experiences, he may want to make sure that he has backup copies of each one of these files. Normally, if
the user makes any changes to a .SET file, the previous .SET file should be saved with a .BAK extension, so that if the user saved a new GUTHRIE.SET, then
the previous version should be saved as GUTHRIE.BAK, and to restore the old version, the user would only have to rename GUTHRIE.BAK to GUTHRIE.SET.
However, installing a new version of the program will sometimes overwrite one or more of the .SET files with the default files shipped with the program upgrade,
and in this case no backups are made. Therefore, before installing any new version of the program, the user should always save his .SET files into another
subdirectory or as .BAK files. After installation of the new version of the program, the user can restore his current .SET files. In certain rare cases, an upgrade to
the program will require a new format for one or more of these .SET files. In this case, the users will be notified, and unfortunately, the old .SET files will no
longer be useable with the program.

Estimating Process Equipment Prices

The nucleus of Est$Pro's estimating system is process equipment pricing. Built into the program are pricing parameters for many common items of process
equipment found in refinery and petrochemical plants. Obviously there are limits to the types of equipment the program can price, and there are also size
limitations. For example, it can't price a 2,000 horsepower multistage pump. Some items will require manual pricing for use in factored estimates.
The user should remember that the program will compute average prices for process equipment. The more items of equipment priced for an estimate, the more
accurate is the total equipment pricing. Consider that the actual price of a specific piece of equipment depends on hundreds of variables, including market
conditions.
Each time the user selects Estimate Individual Pieces of Equipment from the main menu he is given the chance to open an existing file of priced equipment.
This file also stores the input values used for an estimation. If the user had only partially priced an equipment list and wanted to finish or add more items to it, he
could input the name of the file under which he saved his previous work. The program would then retrieve it and the user could continue to add equipment items
to it. The user can also retrieve the input values for any of the priced equipment. It should be noted that as the user prices a particular piece of equipment, he
can get immediate feedback as to the price of that item. He can then elect to save that piece to his equipment file or to continue without saving. He can even
type in his own price to override the program-generated price before saving. Then each time the user finishes a pricing session, he is given the option to save his
priced equipment list to file. There will be more discussion on manipulating these files later in the manual.
After making a decision on whether to load an existing priced equipment file, the user is taken to the process equipment pricing menu. This menu lists all the
types of equipment that the user can price with Est$Pro. Items which can't be priced with Est$Pro must be manually input by the user, and this manual will
discuss that further below.
Next we will examine some of the common equipment types which Est$Pro can price. Note that for each item estimated the program produces an estimated
cost, an estimated base carbon steel cost, and an estimated weight.
Fired Furnaces & Heaters. The program can price fired heaters and furnaces-both vertical cylindrical (limited to 100 MM Btu/hr) and cabin-type. The user is
required to input the heater type, the absorbed duty in millions of Btu's per hour, the tube metallurgy, the tubing design pressure, and whether the heater is dual
fired (gas and oil).
Shell & Tube Exchangers. The program can price common TEMA shell and tube exchangers. The main pricing parameter is square footage of bare tube area,
but in many cases the user may not have that provided. So the program provides a rough sizing utility which estimates square footage based on process data.
This sizing utility will estimate the number of shells and the square footage of each required. Other sizing parameters required are tube pressure and metallurgy
and shell pressure and metallurgy. Other information which increases the accuracy includes tube diameter, shell diameter, expansion joints, and tubing length.
The program will estimate each of these latter items if they are not provided by the user. The user is also asked whether the tubes are required to be seamless.
Pricing for this module is based partially on plate and tubing indexes established by the user in the SET DEFAULTS module of the program.
Double Pipe & Specialty Exchangers. The program will price common double pipe, multi-tube hairpin, spiral plate, and plate and frame exchangers. Required
user input includes exchanger type, metallurgy, tube pressure and square footage of tube area.
Air Coolers. The program can price common air cooled heat exchangers. The user is required to input tube area (either bare or extended), tubing material, and
tubing pressure. If available, the user may input the number of fans, but the program will estimate this if it is not input by the user.
Cooling Towers. The program can price both packaged and field-erected cooling towers. Required user input includes flow rate in gallons per minute, the
approach temperature, and the temperature range. Explanations of these parameters is included in the help screen at the cooling tower pricing screen.
Process Vessels. The program recognizes packed columns, trayed columns, and both horizontal and vertical pressure vessels. The program can also estimate
spherical vessels. [This module should not be used for pricing storage tanks. The separate tank estimating module is specifically designed to estimate both
atmospheric and pressurized tanks.] The major parameter used for pricing is vessel weight, therefore for each vessel the user must either input the actual
weight, the wall thickness and size, or the actual design conditions. The program will separately estimate the cost of trays or packing then roll it into the total
estimated price for the vessel.
If the user has design information, the program will estimate the wall thickness of the vessel based on builtin stress tables (or user-input allowable stress
values), then calculate the weight. For this, the user must provide the metallurgy, the diameter, the tangent-to-tangent length, the design pressure, the design
temperature, and a corrosion allowance. The program also needs to know if the vessel is to be designed for vacuum service. For vessels having sections with
two different diameters, the program does allow the user to input two different diameters and the corresponding lengths. Note: the program assumes that the first
diameter input is for the lower section of the vessel.
Obviously if the user can input the weight or wall thickness, then the pro-gram does not need pressure, temperature, stress, etc.
The program also allows the user to specify a lining or cladding material. For simplicity of the program, no control over cladding thickness is allowed, however
the user is allowed to specify a percentage of the vessel which must be lined for use in those cases where the lining does not cover the entire vessel.
The program has several common tray and packing types from which the user may select. The user also must specify metallurgy. Pricing for vessels is partially
based on the plate index set by the user in the SET DEFAULTS module of the program. For trayed columns the user must input the tray count and for packing
the user must input the height of the packed section.
Finally, the program allows the user to add a fixed percentage of total costs for internals. This would be to cover items such as demisting pads or even external
boots.
One other item that should be mentioned here is that the program differentiates between reactors and other pressure vessels. Therefore if the vessel being
estimated is a reactor, then the user should make certain to check the reactor box.
Another area where users should exercise caution is in their input of dimensions. Diameters should be input in inches and lengths/heights should be in-put in
feet.
Centrifugal Pumps. The program will price single stage, double stage, and multistage centrifugal pumps. The primary pricing parameter is horsepower, so the
user must input one of the following: (1) horsepower, (2) flow rate in gallons per minute and differential pressure in pounds per square inch, or (3) the flow rate,
the differential head in feet, and the specific gravity of the fluid being pumped. For items 2 and 3 above the program uses an algorithm to estimate the
horsepower. It is incumbent upon the user to select the type of pump (single stage, etc.) because quite often an equipment list will be silent on this issue.
Other required information for pumps is the metallurgy, the driver type (motor or steam turbine), whether there is a mechanical seal, and a choice of ANSI or API
610 design.
Reciprocating Pumps. Currently the program will only price plunger type pumps under this module. Future issues of the program will add other types (simplex,

duplex, etc.). Required input from the user includes the same information as for centrifugal pumps above.
Flares & Stacks. The program will also estimate the cost of the following: simple stacks, derrick flares, guyed flares, ground flares, and free standing flares.
Each requires the user to input diameter, height, and a choice of carbon steel or stainless steel.
Compressors. The program will estimate the following compressor types: centrifugal process compressors, reciprocating process compressors, large internal
gas engine compressors, small packaged air compressors, and plant air compressors. The cost basis is iron or carbon steel. The user in most cases has the
choice of motor or turbine drivers. Though this varies from type to type, the user usually must input driver brake horsepower, flow rate in cubic feet per minute,
and dis-charge pressure in pounds per square inch.
Boilers. The program will estimate the following types of boilers: both small and large packaged boilers, as well as large field erected boilers. In most cases the
user will be required to input the duty in thousands of pounds of steam produced per hour, along with the design pressure.
Blowers & Fans. The program will also estimate the following types of motor-driven blowers: centrifugal fans, propeller-type fans, and general purpose blowers.
The usual requirements are air flow at the inlet in cubic feet per minute and dis-charge pressure in pounds per square inch. If the user can provide horsepower,
then the program will use this value, otherwise it will calculate horsepower based on the other parameters.
Packaged/Skidded Units. The program obviously cannot estimate every conceivable type of skid which the user might encounter, but it does have a way to price
skids. If the user can price the bare equipment which will be included on the skid and categorize the equipment cost into three categories, then Est$Pro can
convert the bare prices into a total skid package. To use this feature, the user would get a list of the equipment which will be included on each individual skid. He
would then price each of these equipment items and write down the prices (he would not save these items to the priced equipment file, because this would
create double-dipping). After pricing all of the equipment items on a particular skid, he would get a subtotal of equipment in these three categories: heat
exchange equipment, rotating equipment, and pressure vessels. Next, from the equipment pricing menu, he would select Packaged/Skidded Units. This would
bring up a form that allows the user to input tag number, description, and the three categories of bare equipment cost. From that, the program will calculate a
total fabricated skid price. The user has the option of then saving this price to his priced equipment file.
The algorithm used to produce a total fabricated skid price from bare equipment prices of the items on the skid is based upon a study of hundreds of skids for
which pricing was available. Obviously individual skids can vary widely. For instance, if the user was confronted with a skid that had only one small vessel
mounted on it and no other equipment items, but had ten 12-inch stainless steel valves, then the program is not going to produce an accurate price. However, it
will produce a reasonable cost for most skids containing several equipment items. User discretion is strongly advised.
If the user wishes to simply input a known plug price for a packaged unit, he should select Packaged/Skidded Units from the main equipment pricing menu, then
simply type in the tag number, description, quantity, and pricing manually. Clicking on Save/Continue will save the item to the priced equipment file.
In fact, this shortcut technique will work for any type of equipment where a price is available and the program does not need to calculate the purchase price. One
caveat to remember when doing this: for equipment items which require a selection of equipment type (for instance, the Process Vessels selection requires the
user to select between horizontal vessel, vertical vessel, trayed column, etc.), the user should always make sure to select the correct equipment type in addition
to the information noted above. This assures that the equipment is categorized properly and that the correct factors are applied. For most equipment types, the
user will also have to input an equivalent carbon steel price.
So typically the user would price all the equipment included on his sized equipment list during one or more Est$Pro sessions. All equipment which he chooses
to save gets saved to a priced equipment file along with the input values, and this will be discussed in more detail in the next section of this manual.
It should be noted that the maximum number of items which can be saved to a priced equipment file is two hundred. Note that if pumps P-101 A/B/C were input
as a single item with a quantity of three, this would count as a single item in the priced equipment file.
Also, please note: as a protective measure against power losses and program crashes, as the user prices equipment, the program saves all items priced during
that session to a file called TEMP.DAT, located in the application subdirectory. These saves are done every tenth entry, so that the most a user might loose in
the event of a crash is nine priced items.
Many times, after pricing all the equipment, the estimator may find that process engineers have changed certain pieces of equipment, or actual quotes may have
been received on other equipment items, or other items may have been added or deleted completely. The next section will explain how to change existing priced
equipment files.

Estimating Process Equipment Prices

The nucleus of Est$Pro's estimating system is process equipment pricing. Built into the program are pricing parameters for many common items of process
equipment found in refinery and petrochemical plants. Obviously there are limits to the types of equipment the program can price, and there are also size
limitations. For example, it can't price a 2,000 horsepower multistage pump. Some items will require manual pricing for use in factored estimates.
The user should remember that the program will compute average prices for process equipment. The more items of equipment priced for an estimate, the more
accurate is the total equipment pricing. Consider that the actual price of a specific piece of equipment depends on hundreds of variables, including market
conditions.
Each time the user selects Estimate Individual Pieces of Equipment from the main menu he is given the chance to open an existing file of priced equipment.
This file also stores the input values used for an estimation. If the user had only partially priced an equipment list and wanted to finish or add more items to it, he
could input the name of the file under which he saved his previous work. The program would then retrieve it and the user could continue to add equipment items
to it. The user can also retrieve the input values for any of the priced equipment. It should be noted that as the user prices a particular piece of equipment, he
can get immediate feedback as to the price of that item. He can then elect to save that piece to his equipment file or to continue without saving. He can even
type in his own price to override the program-generated price before saving. Then each time the user finishes a pricing session, he is given the option to save his
priced equipment list to file. There will be more discussion on manipulating these files later in the manual.
After making a decision on whether to load an existing priced equipment file, the user is taken to the process equipment pricing menu. This menu lists all the
types of equipment that the user can price with Est$Pro. Items which can't be priced with Est$Pro must be manually input by the user, and this manual will
discuss that further below.
Next we will examine some of the common equipment types which Est$Pro can price. Note that for each item estimated the program produces an estimated
cost, an estimated base carbon steel cost, and an estimated weight.
Fired Furnaces & Heaters. The program can price fired heaters and furnaces-both vertical cylindrical (limited to 100 MM Btu/hr) and cabin-type. The user is
required to input the heater type, the absorbed duty in millions of Btu's per hour, the tube metallurgy, the tubing design pressure, and whether the heater is dual
fired (gas and oil).
Shell & Tube Exchangers. The program can price common TEMA shell and tube exchangers. The main pricing parameter is square footage of bare tube area,
but in many cases the user may not have that provided. So the program provides a rough sizing utility which estimates square footage based on process data.
This sizing utility will estimate the number of shells and the square footage of each required. Other sizing parameters required are tube pressure and metallurgy
and shell pressure and metallurgy. Other information which increases the accuracy includes tube diameter, shell diameter, expansion joints, and tubing length.
The program will estimate each of these latter items if they are not provided by the user. The user is also asked whether the tubes are required to be seamless.
Pricing for this module is based partially on plate and tubing indexes established by the user in the SET DEFAULTS module of the program.
Double Pipe & Specialty Exchangers. The program will price common double pipe, multi-tube hairpin, spiral plate, and plate and frame exchangers. Required
user input includes exchanger type, metallurgy, tube pressure and square footage of tube area.
Air Coolers. The program can price common air cooled heat exchangers. The user is required to input tube area (either bare or extended), tubing material, and
tubing pressure. If available, the user may input the number of fans, but the program will estimate this if it is not input by the user.
Cooling Towers. The program can price both packaged and field-erected cooling towers. Required user input includes flow rate in gallons per minute, the
approach temperature, and the temperature range. Explanations of these parameters is included in the help screen at the cooling tower pricing screen.
Process Vessels. The program recognizes packed columns, trayed columns, and both horizontal and vertical pressure vessels. The program can also estimate
spherical vessels. [This module should not be used for pricing storage tanks. The separate tank estimating module is specifically designed to estimate both
atmospheric and pressurized tanks.] The major parameter used for pricing is vessel weight, therefore for each vessel the user must either input the actual
weight, the wall thickness and size, or the actual design conditions. The program will separately estimate the cost of trays or packing then roll it into the total
estimated price for the vessel.
If the user has design information, the program will estimate the wall thickness of the vessel based on builtin stress tables (or user-input allowable stress
values), then calculate the weight. For this, the user must provide the metallurgy, the diameter, the tangent-to-tangent length, the design pressure, the design
temperature, and a corrosion allowance. The program also needs to know if the vessel is to be designed for vacuum service. For vessels having sections with
two different diameters, the program does allow the user to input two different diameters and the corresponding lengths. Note: the program assumes that the first
diameter input is for the lower section of the vessel.
Obviously if the user can input the weight or wall thickness, then the pro-gram does not need pressure, temperature, stress, etc.
The program also allows the user to specify a lining or cladding material. For simplicity of the program, no control over cladding thickness is allowed, however
the user is allowed to specify a percentage of the vessel which must be lined for use in those cases where the lining does not cover the entire vessel.
The program has several common tray and packing types from which the user may select. The user also must specify metallurgy. Pricing for vessels is partially
based on the plate index set by the user in the SET DEFAULTS module of the program. For trayed columns the user must input the tray count and for packing
the user must input the height of the packed section.
Finally, the program allows the user to add a fixed percentage of total costs for internals. This would be to cover items such as demisting pads or even external
boots.
One other item that should be mentioned here is that the program differentiates between reactors and other pressure vessels. Therefore if the vessel being
estimated is a reactor, then the user should make certain to check the reactor box.
Another area where users should exercise caution is in their input of dimensions. Diameters should be input in inches and lengths/heights should be in-put in
feet.
Centrifugal Pumps. The program will price single stage, double stage, and multistage centrifugal pumps. The primary pricing parameter is horsepower, so the
user must input one of the following: (1) horsepower, (2) flow rate in gallons per minute and differential pressure in pounds per square inch, or (3) the flow rate,
the differential head in feet, and the specific gravity of the fluid being pumped. For items 2 and 3 above the program uses an algorithm to estimate the
horsepower. It is incumbent upon the user to select the type of pump (single stage, etc.) because quite often an equipment list will be silent on this issue.
Other required information for pumps is the metallurgy, the driver type (motor or steam turbine), whether there is a mechanical seal, and a choice of ANSI or API
610 design.
Reciprocating Pumps. Currently the program will only price plunger type pumps under this module. Future issues of the program will add other types (simplex,

duplex, etc.). Required input from the user includes the same information as for centrifugal pumps above.
Flares & Stacks. The program will also estimate the cost of the following: simple stacks, derrick flares, guyed flares, ground flares, and free standing flares.
Each requires the user to input diameter, height, and a choice of carbon steel or stainless steel.
Compressors. The program will estimate the following compressor types: centrifugal process compressors, reciprocating process compressors, large internal
gas engine compressors, small packaged air compressors, and plant air compressors. The cost basis is iron or carbon steel. The user in most cases has the
choice of motor or turbine drivers. Though this varies from type to type, the user usually must input driver brake horsepower, flow rate in cubic feet per minute,
and dis-charge pressure in pounds per square inch.
Boilers. The program will estimate the following types of boilers: both small and large packaged boilers, as well as large field erected boilers. In most cases the
user will be required to input the duty in thousands of pounds of steam produced per hour, along with the design pressure.
Blowers & Fans. The program will also estimate the following types of motor-driven blowers: centrifugal fans, propeller-type fans, and general purpose blowers.
The usual requirements are air flow at the inlet in cubic feet per minute and dis-charge pressure in pounds per square inch. If the user can provide horsepower,
then the program will use this value, otherwise it will calculate horsepower based on the other parameters.
Packaged/Skidded Units. The program obviously cannot estimate every conceivable type of skid which the user might encounter, but it does have a way to price
skids. If the user can price the bare equipment which will be included on the skid and categorize the equipment cost into three categories, then Est$Pro can
convert the bare prices into a total skid package. To use this feature, the user would get a list of the equipment which will be included on each individual skid. He
would then price each of these equipment items and write down the prices (he would not save these items to the priced equipment file, because this would
create double-dipping). After pricing all of the equipment items on a particular skid, he would get a subtotal of equipment in these three categories: heat
exchange equipment, rotating equipment, and pressure vessels. Next, from the equipment pricing menu, he would select Packaged/Skidded Units. This would
bring up a form that allows the user to input tag number, description, and the three categories of bare equipment cost. From that, the program will calculate a
total fabricated skid price. The user has the option of then saving this price to his priced equipment file.
The algorithm used to produce a total fabricated skid price from bare equipment prices of the items on the skid is based upon a study of hundreds of skids for
which pricing was available. Obviously individual skids can vary widely. For instance, if the user was confronted with a skid that had only one small vessel
mounted on it and no other equipment items, but had ten 12-inch stainless steel valves, then the program is not going to produce an accurate price. However, it
will produce a reasonable cost for most skids containing several equipment items. User discretion is strongly advised.
If the user wishes to simply input a known plug price for a packaged unit, he should select Packaged/Skidded Units from the main equipment pricing menu, then
simply type in the tag number, description, quantity, and pricing manually. Clicking on Save/Continue will save the item to the priced equipment file.
In fact, this shortcut technique will work for any type of equipment where a price is available and the program does not need to calculate the purchase price. One
caveat to remember when doing this: for equipment items which require a selection of equipment type (for instance, the Process Vessels selection requires the
user to select between horizontal vessel, vertical vessel, trayed column, etc.), the user should always make sure to select the correct equipment type in addition
to the information noted above. This assures that the equipment is categorized properly and that the correct factors are applied. For most equipment types, the
user will also have to input an equivalent carbon steel price.
So typically the user would price all the equipment included on his sized equipment list during one or more Est$Pro sessions. All equipment which he chooses
to save gets saved to a priced equipment file along with the input values, and this will be discussed in more detail in the next section of this manual.
It should be noted that the maximum number of items which can be saved to a priced equipment file is two hundred. Note that if pumps P-101 A/B/C were input
as a single item with a quantity of three, this would count as a single item in the priced equipment file.
Also, please note: as a protective measure against power losses and program crashes, as the user prices equipment, the program saves all items priced during
that session to a file called TEMP.DAT, located in the application subdirectory. These saves are done every tenth entry, so that the most a user might loose in
the event of a crash is nine priced items.
Many times, after pricing all the equipment, the estimator may find that process engineers have changed certain pieces of equipment, or actual quotes may have
been received on other equipment items, or other items may have been added or deleted completely. The next section will explain how to change existing priced
equipment files.

Preparing TIC Process Unit Estimates

After equipment is priced and saved to a file, the user will probably want to execute a factored estimate and produce a TIC. From the main menu, a user would
select Process Unit Factored Estimating. You will immediately be taken to a screen which requires you to input project data. Project data consists of
information like the name of the project, the wage rate, whether or not to include area paving, the plot size, etc. This can be done by inputting the information
manually or by loading a previously created project data file. Project data files are saved with a .PRJ extension in a structured text format. Skilled users may be
able to modify these .PRJ files to suit their needs with a text editor.
When the project data screen appears, the user must choose whether to input the information manually or to load an existing project data file from disk. Each
time a project data screen is completed, whether by inputting the information manually or by loading a previously saved .PRJ file and then modifying it, the user
is given the option to save his data to a .PRJ file for later use.
The project data screen has four other tabs in addition to the one which first appears. They are arranged to group the project data logically. They should be
completed by the user in sequence. We will examine them in the order in which they appear below.
General Information. This tab allows the user to input the client, the project description (required), plot size (used for calculating underground piping and area
paving quantities), contingency, and other general data. The user may also select a location from the list of preset locations he has established under the Set
Location Factors option of the Set Defaults screen.
Labor and Material. If the user has selected a preset location, this tab gives the user the choice of using the preset location factors (wage rate, productivity, and
material cost index), otherwise he must input these items manually. This tab is where the user would input freight (4% is the default) and tax allowances (as a
percentage of total material costs). The user may also specify a percentage of labor cost to allow for overtime premium (the default is 3% for incidental
overtime).
Indirects/Fee. This tab allows the user to set home office costs or have Est$Pro calculate home costs based on historical information. It also allows the user to
override the built in preset field indirect percentages (as a percentage of direct labor cost). For locations where the wage rate is an allin rate, this option is
disabled. Finally this tab allows the user to set a construction fee, using one of three methods. Notice: fee on the home office portion of the contract is usually
included in the home office wage rates.
Other Costs. This final tab is where the user is allowed to define and input up to three additional costs above and beyond those produced by the program as part
of the factored estimate. This is where he might include an allowance for catalysts or for startup. This is where he could add in an allowance for piling or for site
clearing. It is entirely up to the user how he employs this option. The user also has three choices to make: whether to include underground sewers, whether to
include area paving, and whether to include the cost of a distributive control system (DCS). Finally, after completing the other tabs, but before clicking on the
Proceed with Estimate button, the user is allowed to save the project data from all four tabs into a .PRJ file which he can recall later. This is particularly useful
when the user will be estimating multiple cases of the same unit, or even different units at the same location. Recalling an existing project data (.PRJ) file and
then making minor modifications to it is much easier than filling it in manually.
The next step in preparing a factored estimate is loading the priced equipment file you wish to estimate. After clicking on the Proceed with Estimate button, the
user will see a screen which gives him four choices: he may load an existing priced equipment file (.DAT file) and use it for the factored estimate as is, he may
load an existing priced equipment file and make modifications to it before estimating, he may wish to manually input every item of equipment (useful if you want
a quick TIC estimate of just one or two pieces of equipment for which you already have prices), or he may simply input subtotals of equipment prices by class
(vertical vessels, centrifugal pumps, etc.). The first two selections will prompt the user for loading the existing file. The other selections will take the user to the
appropriate screens where he is further prompted to input the equipment cost information.
The program basically sorts equipment pricing into certain major categories of equipment before applying the multipliers for each specific equipment type. It then
applies user defined percentages and factors for adjusting the estimated cost to the user's specific project as discussed elsewhere in this manual. When
completed, the user is presented with an estimate summary screen.
From this summary screen the user may step through several screens of estimate details, asking for a hardcopy of each as he proceeds. Or from the first
screen he may get a printout of the entire estimate as well as a printout of the priced equipment list. It is recommended that the user always ask for these two
items. After viewing and/or printing the results, the user is returned to the main menu.

Tank Farm Estimating

Recognizing that there are fundamental differences in process units and tank farms, Est$Pro takes a different approach to estimating tank farm costs. The steps
taken by the user are much the same as for process units, however everything is accessed from the Tank Farm Estimates selection on the main menu. Note
that the tank farm estimating module does not include the cost of pumps.
As with process units, the user is first given the option to load an existing file of priced tanks which he can then modify or add to. Priced tank files are saved with
a .TNK suffix. If he so chooses, the may load an existing priced file from disk. Next he is carried to the tank pricing screen. The user is given five types of tanks
from which to select: cone roof tanks, cone roof tanks with internal floating roofs, floating roof tanks, sphere tanks, and bullet-type tanks. The first three types
are atmospheric API 650 tanks and the latter two are essentially pressure vessels. For small atmospheric tanks the user is given the option of checking a box
which estimates the cost of bolted tanks shipped to the field unassembled. In the case of larger atmospheric tanks and all sphere tanks, the cost pro-duced will
be a field-erected cost. Bullets are assumed to be shop fabricated. The tank farm module will allow a maximum of 300 separate tanks. Note that input of a tank
as an A/B/C with a quantity of three would only count as one against this maximum input number.
The user must define the size by giving either physical dimensions or capacities. If the user inputs a capacity, the program will estimate the physical size
(diameter and height) of the tank using certain built-in algorithms. For pressurized tanks the user must also input one of these three items: the weight, the wall
thickness, or the design pressure. The program will then price the tank and give the user an opportunity to save the tank to a priced tank (.TNK) file. The
information saved for each tank includes (in the following order): tag number, service or description, tank type, estimated cost, estimated weight, quantity,
insulation, volume, surface area, diameter, and height.
Once all tanks are input, the user has the option of saving the tank to an existing file, saving it with a new file name, or not saving it at all (however the program
will save the information to a file named TEMP.TNK in this case). Note that the maximum number of entries in a .TNK file is one hundred. Multiple tanks entered
in a single entry (such as TK-101 A/B/C with a quantity of 3) count as only one entry.
Next, the user is allowed to review his priced tank file or continue on to the tank farm factored estimate. If the latter choice is made, it will take the priced tank
file and produce a TIC estimate. The first screen the user will see is the tabbed project data input screen as described in the Process Plant Factored Estimate
section above. Again, the user can input project information manually or recall a saved project information (.PRJ) file. If the user inputs the project data manually,
he is then given a chance to save it to a .PRJ file before continuing with the estimate.
After loading an existing project data file or manually completing each tab, the user then clicks on the Proceed With Estimate button, located on the Other
Costs tab. This will bring up a screen where the user inputs certain major parameters that will affect the tank farm cost. This includes whether the tanks are
diked and if so, what kind of dike. The user may input the length and height of the dike, but if left blank, then the program will estimate these based on built-in
algorithms. The user is given the option to input gunnite coatings and earth fill material pricing, depending upon the type of dike selected. The user is given the
option to input subcontract unit prices for paint and insulation, each on a $/square foot basis. The user may check a box indicating that a firewater loop with
monitors will be required. Finally the user may choose from several types of foundations including earth, concrete ring wall, and piled-slab. [The foundation type
applies only to atmospheric tanks--foundations for bullets and spheres are factored from the equipment price.]
When the user clicks on the INFO OKAY ESTIMATE button, a two page tank farm estimate is produced. The user may elect to get a hardcopy of this estimate.
One page presents an estimate summary, while the second page shows labor and material costs by major activity (piping, concrete, etc.). The user is also given
the estimated length and height of any dikes required. He may also get a printed listing of all tanks with size and price information. After finishing with a tank
farm estimate, the user is returned to the main menu.

Offsites Factored Estimating

This is not a very detailed method of obtaining offsite costs, but it is quick, and many times the user simply needs a "ballpark" figure for offsites. This is
accessed from the main menu by selecting OFFSITES FACTORED ESTIMATING.
The user is taken to a screen which has a space to input onsites or ISBL costs. Most of the major offsite or OSBL categories (steam, flare, cooling water, etc.)
are listed, along with boxes so that the user may select the offsites he wishes to include. Beside each OSBL category is a box containing a figure which is an
average percentage of onsite cost for this offsite category, based on historical information. The user may either use these figures unchanged, input his own
percentage directly, or scroll through the historical ranges built into the program.
To use this module, the user would first input estimated onsite total installed cost, check the required offsites, and set the percentage ranges for each offsite (if
the default values aren't acceptable). The program will display the cost of each offsite facility, plus a total OSBL cost. The user is given the option of a hardcopy
printout.

Building Estimating
This is not a fancy feature, but it does allow the user a consistent way to price many common types of refinery buildings. (Note that it will not price process
structures.) This is accessed from the main menu screen. The user will be presented with a building estimating screen which allows the user to select the
building type, input a square footage, and input an adjustment factor (in case he knows some reason the cost should vary from normal $/SF prices). If buildings
are priced using this or other methods and the user wishes to integrate their cost into an Est$Pro factored estimate, he must input them manually on the
OTHER COSTS tab of the project data input screen.

Turbine/Generator and Cogeneration Estimating

Like the building estimate module, this is not fancy, but it does give the user a consistent method for quickly estimating generator costs. The program can
estimate four types of generator facilities: diesel or gasoline emergency generators, simple stand-alone gas-fired turbine generators, complete simple cycle gasfired turbine generator facilities, and combined cycle facilities which include gas-fired turbine generators, a heat recovery boiler (HRSG), and a steam turbine
generator.
The first two types take little more user input than the kilowatt rating of the gen-erator and the number of generators required. The simple cycle estimate requires
the user to select certain options to include in the total cost. These options include water injection (and demineralizer), low NOx combustors, fuel gas
compressors, and fuel storage (for supplemental diesel firing). In addition, the combined cycle estimate requires the user to input the kilowatt rating and quantity
of steam turbine-generators, the pressure rating of the HSRG, and whether or not the steam turbine is of the condensing type.
This will only produce a U.S. Gulf Coast estimate, but with little effort, the user may adjust these costs to other locations.

Exporting Estimates to Microsoft Excel

This feature simply allows the user to import the results of a factored process plant estimate from Est$Pro into a Microsoft Excel 5.0 (or later) spreadsheet.
Each time the user produces a factored process unit estimate (tank farms estimates can't be exported at this time), the program automatically saves a file
named ESTRESLT.TXT in the application subdirectory. This file contains much of the information from the factored estimate details. This file is always saved with
the same name and in the same subdirectory. In fact, if the user wishes to avoid having this data overwritten when he produces subsequent estimates, he should
save ESTRESLT.TXT either to another subdirectory or with another name, because the next estimate produced will overwrite the previous data there. [This
technique is employed by Est$Pro to avoid hard drive clutter.]
The installation program puts an Excel spreadsheet named RESULTS.XLS into the application subdirectory. This spreadsheet is what is used to load the
ESTRESLT.TXT file into Excel.
Suppose you have just run a factored estimate and you wish to import it into Excel. Here is what you would do. First, open Excel. Once in Excel, go to the
application subdirectory (where Est$Pro is installed) and open the file RESULTS.XLS.When this spreadsheet appears, you will see a button which says GET
ESTIMATE. Clicking on this button will import the current ESTRESLT.TXT file from the application subdirectory into the spreadsheet template. From there, the
user may modify or alter the spreadsheet to fit his own needs, but he should take great caution to save it under a new name. Saving it under the same name will
overwrite the template. Of course if the user forgets, he can always re-copy the RESULTS.XLS template file from his installation diskettes, but this requires the
use of Microsoft's EXPAND.EXE program.
In cases where the user previously saved an older ESTRESLT.TXT file to another subdirectory or to a different file name, he should copy it back into the
application subdi-rectory and make sure it is renamed ESTRESLT.TXT before clicking on the GET ESTIMATE button, otherwise the proper file will not be
retrieved.
If you have problems, read this: the RESULTS.XLS spreadsheet contains a tab named "Module 1" which contains the macro that loads the information from
ESTRESLT.TXT into the spreadsheet. If you try to run this macro by pressing the "Get Estimate" button and the program tells you that it is unable to find the
ESTRESLT.TXT file, then you will may have to modify the macro.

Other Estimating Tools

Est$Pro includes several other tools which are useful for the estimator. Following are short discussions of each of these utilities. Each of these is accessed
from the main menu by clicking on OTHER FUNCTIONS.
Capacity Cost Estimating. This module allows the user to quickly estimate the cost of process plants based upon their capacities. The program includes thirty
common refinery process units from which the user can select. The user selects the type of unit, inputs the capacity in the required units (BPSD, tons/day,
etc.), and the program produces a TIC estimate. The user can substitute his own process units and tailor the costs to reflect his own historical information (see
the sec-tion above on Setting Defaults).
Cash Flow Projections. Many times in conjunction with the preparation of an estimate, the estimator is asked to produce a cash flow projection. This module
helps the user spread cash flow over the course of the project. The user inputs the project duration and the project cost (divided into major categories), then the
program produces a month-by-month cost projection based on historical data from other process plants.
Curve Fitting. This module lets the user quickly fit his data to any of several common curves. The user is required to input a minimum of four data pairs in the
format {x,y}. The program will then show how well each of the built-in curve types fits the data. The user can look at graphs of each curve or he can input a data
point {x} and have the program show the calculated value of {y} using the selected curve. When the user is satisfied that he has selected the best curve type for
his data, he can then view the equation for the specific curve that fits his data best.
This is very useful in cases where the user is trying to establish a relationship between two data sets. An example would be where the user had quotes for each
of four different centrifugal compressors. He could enter the size (horsepower) of each compressor as the {x} variables and the corresponding cost for each
compressor as the {y} variables, then the program would help him select an equation which would produce compressor cost as a function of compressor size.
The value of having such an equation is that it could then be used to predict other compressor costs from sizes the user would input.
After inputting the minimum four data pairs, the user would be presented with a screen showing the various types of curves (straight line, power curve,
logarithmic curve, etc.) which would fit the data. A goodness of fit column shows how well each curve fits the specific data. The curve with the apparent best fit
over the user's data range is highlighted in red and pre-selected.
The user may then do one of three things. (1) He can input a test X value to have it produce a test Y value. You might do this if you had prices for four different
sizes of compressors, but need prices on three or four other sizes for which you didn't have prices. (2) He can input high and low X values as a range to produce
a graph of the selected equation. This could be useful in seeing how well the selected curve equation fits the user's data. (3) He can view the actual equation. He
could then copy it for use in future spreadsheets or manual calculations.
Dismantling. This module allows the user to quickly get an idea of the manhours required to dismantle a process plant. Primary user input includes how many
pieces of process equipment are in the unit and the average weight per piece of equipment. The program will produce manhours to dismantle the critical items,
including piping, structural steel, electrical gear, and instrumentation, for subsequent relocation. It is assumed that foundations and scrapped materials are left in
place. This is not a demolition estimator.
Equipment Remaining Life. Sometimes the estimator is called upon to perform evaluations of the value of existing process plants. A handy way to do this is to
price out all of the items in the plant using a program like Est$Pro then, based upon their age and expected useful life, depreciate them. This module helps in
the effort by producing a percent-good based on the Iowa Survivor Curves for Industrial Equipment. The user selects the equipment type, the program provides a
useful life for that type, the user inputs the actual service age of the equipment, and finally the program will produce a percent-good value. This percentage can
then be applied to the cost of the equipment (or the TIC of the equipment) to produce a depreciated value.
Field Manpower Projections. Often the estimator is asked for a field manpower projection in conjunction with an estimate he has prepared. This module allows
the user to input either total direct manhours or direct manhours by major account (pipe, civil, electrical, etc.). The user may also input the field construction
duration in months, or if not, the program will estimate this for him based on builtin algorithms. The program will then produce field direct manpower loading and
present it in two different ways: by major accounts and by individual crafts.
Field Average Wage Rate. More often than not the factored estimator uses the same average wage rate for all accounts. However this average is a function of not
only the mix of crafts, but of the mix of helpers/journeymen/foremen as well. This module allows the user to input as many craft wage rates as he has available,
then it estimates rates for the other crafts based on historical relationships, and finally it produces an overall average direct wage rate. One thing the user should
remember is that he inputs journeyman rates, but the program generates composite crew rates. So assume a user inputs journeyman rates for the pipefitter,
carpenter, and electrician crafts. Next he asks the program to compute composite crew rates. The rate which would show up in the pipefitter category will be
different from the value he input. This is because the actual average rate for the crew would be different from the journeyman rate.
Home Office Manhours. This module uses a different methodology from that employed in the factored estimating module to calculate the home office manhours
required for a project. This method is based upon the number of pieces of process equipment, the number of services, and the relationships between home office
manhours and the quantity of different equipment types. The user would input both services and equipment count, then the program would produce total home
office manhours. This is just a cross-check or another method to arrive at estimate home office manhours.
Labor Productivity. This module simply helps the user determine productivity loss and increased costs due to extended workweeks. It is based upon a U.S.
Department of Labor bulletin which presented a study of the subject. The user would input hours worked per day, days worked per week, and number of shifts
worked per day. The program makes its calculations based upon these parameters. It provides a total extra cost percentage for extended work weeks.
Pipe Estimating. This module can be used to quickly estimate field pipe spool fabrication and erection manhours. The user would input diameter, length, number
of valves and fittings, pressure, schedule, and metallurgy. The program will produce manhours by activity (welding, erection, testing, etc.). If the user needs to
estimate erection manhours only for pipe which is shop fabricated, than can be done also.
Risk Analysis. After an estimate is completed, the estimator is often faced with upper management asking for an analysis of recommended contingency. This
module allows the estimator to divide the estimate into logical cost components. For each component the estimator would provide the lowest and highest values
over which the cost of that portion could vary. The program then uses a Monte Carlo simulation with a triangular distribution to determine probabilities of various
outcomes. This is very useful in establishing contingency in an objective way. [Risk analysis users seeking a more powerful risk analysis tool are recommended
to examine @RISK, an add-in program for Microsoft Excel from Palisade Corporation.]
Skid Fabrication Cost. This is simply a free standing copy of the same skid fabrication estimating tool addressed earlier in this manual. It helps the user quickly
estimate the total fabricated cost (engineering, procurement, and fabrication) of process skids if the user can input the cost of the bare equipment which will be
required on the skid. As stated before, the Est$Pro program itself can be used to estimate these bare equipment costs.