Significance and requirements of rate analysis

Significance of rate analysis in civil projects

1. Gives the unit rate of every item, which with the quantities gives the cost of the project.
2. Gives the consumption of materials, labour and equipment, for procurement and scheduling.
3. Provides a sound basis for tender evaluation, and for judging abnormally low or high bids.
4. Helps to price extra items and variations fairly.
5. Allows comparison of alternatives (materials, methods, mix proportions).
6. Helps in cost control during construction, and standardizes the rates in the government departments.

Requirements for rate analysis

1. Drawings and specifications of the item (to know the dimensions, quality and method).
2. Material rates: local market rates and the District Rate of the materials, with the transport (lead) and loading/unloading charges.
3. Labour rates: wages of skilled and unskilled labour from the District Rate, and the labour productivity.
4. Norms: the standard consumption of materials and labour per unit of work (DUDBC norms for building and sanitary work, Department of Roads norms for road work).
5. Equipment data: hire or running cost of machines, with their output.
6. Wastage allowances and conversion factors, such as dry volume of mortar and compaction factors.
7. Overhead, profit and tax: contractor's overhead and profit (15% in the DUDBC norms), VAT 13% and any royalty or insurance.
8. Site data: lead, lift, location and conditions of the work.