CALCULATION OF VOLUMES:

METRIC COMPUTATIONS

Metric computations are problems of measuring lengths, areas, and volumes that require the
management of geometric formulas; the terms computation, cubing, and metering are equivalent words. Not
Despite its simplicity, metric computation requires knowledge of construction procedures.
and of an orderly and systematic work. The responsibility of the person in charge of the calculations is
a lot of importance, because this work can represent losses or gains for the owners or
contrasts. The measurement work can be carried out in 2 ways:

About the work or the plans, since the work must theoretically be the same as the plans, it could
to think that the criteria applied to the first form are valid for the other, but they are not.
it is thus and it happens that the risk of the accuracy required for measurement according to the work disappears in
the study of projects, where the criterion of the estimator prevails who must supplement with his knowledge and
experience the lack of information, which is characteristic in all projects.

Although each work has particularities that differentiate it from the others and necessitate a special study.
In each case, there may be some general principles that must be respected and that will serve as a guide.
for the completion of the work.

The purpose of the metric calculations within a work is:

• Establish the cost of a work or part of it.

• Determine the amount of material needed to carry out a project.

• Establish work volumes and partial costs for the purpose of payment for work progress.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR PERFORMING THE COMPUTATION.

1. Study the documentation. Through this operation, one gets a first idea about the progress of the computation.
the interpretation of a plan cannot be achieved if one does not have the vision of the whole work. The review of
The plans must be made in conjunction with the specifications document.

2. Respect the Plans. The measurement must correspond with the work; the computation will be carried out following the
instruction of plans and sheets. During the computation, errors and omissions are made evident
obtained from the drawing, from where it follows that the calculator is an effective collaborator of the project manager.

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3. Measure with accuracy. Within reasonable limits of tolerance, a degree of accuracy must be achieved.
the greater it will be the greater the item being studied. For example, it is not the same to disregard 1 m2 of
revoke, that 1 m2 of marble cladding. No matter how small its cost, it should not be disregarded.
the items that are part of a construction.

COMPUTING TECHNIQUES.

The work is divided into stages, each of which constitutes a budget item, this classification
Each item should be made with the criterion of separating all parts of different costs, not only to facilitate the
budget formation but also because it is a contract document, which serves as a list
indication of the executed works.

The work must be detailed in all its parts to facilitate its review, correction, and/or modification.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CARRYING OUT METRIC COMPUTATIONS.

• A comprehensive study of the plans and technical specifications of the project must be carried out.
related to each other the plans of Architecture, Structures, Sanitary and Electrical Installations, in the case
to be a civil construction (housing or multifamily building).

• Specify the area of studies or metric calculations and work that will be carried out.

• The order for preparing the metric calculations is essential, because it will give us the sequence in which we
the measurements or readings from the plans are taken, listing the pages on which they are written
quantities including the pertinent observations. All of this will give us the guidelines to conduct a check.
faster and able to find the errors if there are any.

A METHODOLOGY FOR MEASUREMENT.

Carrying out the metric calculations for a project requires a methodology that makes this activity
laborious, a simple and easy task to verify; since if there is a need to make any correction
due to a change in some scope, any computer understands the original notes of the calculations
metrics. For this, a small methodology is recommended to follow in order to organize the backup of
the computed quantities:

a. Analyze the specifications of the work to identify the descriptions of the items in the
interpretation of the plans.

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 b. Interpret and apply the regulation regarding its fundamental aspects, such as:

Scope of work or extent, so as to know what each item includes.

d. The marking of the plane is a valid mechanism, it consists of marking with colors, letters, numbers or
codes, where the corresponding invoice number is indicated where it was computed.

e. Maintain the construction sequence, in the measurement process, as well as they are
these rules are organized.

f. Recommendations for the scratching:

The marking will be done on the floor plans, except for some indications where another one is required.
down (details or cuts).

It will be marked with a line in the sense of the element. In those items where the element is
horizontal on the plane (beams) we can mark the edge of the element.

The items that appear in the plant in the form of areas (slabs, pavement bases, etc.) are divided into
possible in simple geometric figures and each area will be identified with a diagonal line and a
code.

Identify the different portions of an element with a small circle identified with the color
the code corresponding to each of the measurements, in sequential form, to be able to indicate it
in the items to be computed.

Create measurement sheets for each part, reflecting the clearest possible information on them.
using explanatory drawings or diagrams, mathematical operations, etc., in such a way
so that another person or the same computer can verify the measurement.

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COMMON ERRORS IN THE COMPUTATIONS OF A PROJECT

If the computations of a project have a 10% error, the budget will have at least a 10% error.
So, if costs are overestimated in a budget, it is very likely that the bid will be lost; if
On the contrary, they underestimate it, money will be lost.

That is why many authors consider the project budget department to be the heart of
a constructor, since it is the organ that pumps blood to the rest of the body.

But the task of obtaining the metric calculations is a prerequisite and just as important as that of
cost estimation.

Unfortunately, the preparation of the metric calculations has many complications to achieve.
It is terribly boring, it requires countless calculations, and the subtotals in the
sums are easily omitted or duplicated.

This is why we must keep in mind that as the quantification work becomes standardized, the
errors will decrease.

With that in mind, we have listed the most common mistakes to avoid and a recommended process.
for the quantification.

What are the metric computations for construction used for?

It is an activity that pursues three specific and different objectives in various stages of the work:

1. Determine the quantity of materials needed to carry out the construction.

2. That amount will later serve to establish the total cost of the project's construction and that of
each of its parts.

3. It is necessary to quantify the work concepts to establish the progress of the project for payment purposes.
executed work.

The first quantification of metric computations is the one carried out before the start of construction.
the work, on the plans and the rest of the documentation to calculate a final budget.

The most common mistakes are:

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 Not knowing the construction processes that will be used.

The ideal candidate for the quantification of a work is that person who has accumulated enough
experience both in the field and in the office and has a particular 'instinct' for making quantifications
correct.

The lack of knowledge of the construction process can lead to many significant errors in the
calculation of each concept that will later affect the budget.

2. Not studying the project and its documentation.

To have a clear view of the project's construction process, it is essential to study the entire
available project documentation.

Therefore, the minimum essential documents are:

Definitive work plans: Layouts, sections, facades.

Structural plans.

Detail plans.

Installation plans.

Specifications.

Work concepts of the budget to be quantified.

The study of the documentation also serves to detect discrepancies between the plans.
details and requirements of the project, and to be able to make early decisions about which document will have
prevalence for quantification.

3. Not knowing the units of measurement for each item.

For example:

The linear meter is used to measure: baseboards, edges, etc.

The square meter (m2) is used for floors, finishes, walls, ceilings, etc.

Volume measurement is used for earth movement, in concretes, sand, etc.

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 Weight measurement is used for steel and rolled profiles.

Unit elements are used for prefabricated elements, accessories, etc.

4. Do not measure accurately.

Within the reasonable limits of tolerance, a high degree of accuracy must be achieved, especially
when the material being quantified is very expensive.

For example, a 1 m2 error in the measurement of a painted finish is not the same as 1 m2 of a floor.
of marble.

Two or more people quantifying the same concept.

The arithmetic of spreadsheets must be done by a single person, as it has been proven that, when
work is done in pairs, for example, one dictating and the other doing operations, the amount increases
errors.

6. Not putting enough data in each spreadsheet.

Generators are an essential part of the construction contract and therefore must be well detailed,
constancy of all operations to facilitate their subsequent review, correction, and/or modification.

It is important in each quantification sheet to indicate in the column headings:

The reference plan,

The location of the element (Axes)

The name of the quantifier and the supervisor

The calculation date

The page number

In the accounts, the additive and deductive terms

In the same way, having good generators helps reduce the need to repeat operations and
measurements of elements between themselves.

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For example:

The area of the floors is equal to that of the ceilings within the same level if there are no differences in height.

7. Do not use the recommended order for measurements.

The usual technique for preparing quantity take-offs recommends following an orderly sequence:

Calculate the total covered area.

2. Calculate perimeters and areas for each space to use them in the tasks that require it.

3. Have a list or catalog of concepts to quantify.

4. Define the units of measurement that correspond to each concept, material, or construction unit.

5. Obtain information on the characteristics of the materials to be used: Dimension, weight, yield,
physical behavior, its packaging, form of marketing and delivery, delivery times, freight.

6. To have an updated technical and commercial brochure of the materials or to have the addresses located in
internet to facilitate your inquiry.

7. Break down the items that have been established, along with their sections, with detailed plans.
determined the materials that make up each one and their quantity in the corresponding units.

8. Not focusing on what is relevant

In preparing the metric calculations of the project, it is useful to use tools like the principle of
Pareto.

The Pareto principle observes that 20% of the effort generates 80% of the results.

When transferring this principle to the quantification of work, it can be said that all concepts or tasks to
quantifying are not equal in importance and more attention should be paid to the 20% of the measurements
what else can affect the final budget.

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 9. Do not use programs to make work easier

It is currently common to accept budgets with metric calculations prepared by digital processes.

The most common tool, but not the ideal one, is the Microsoft program, Excel, as it allows for the use of a large
number of formulas and macros to obtain the Volumes faster. The work is significantly reduced if
Only data such as length, width, and height are captured in each concept, which can save a lot of time.

But if you want to save more time and avoid input errors between several applications, it is advisable.
Investigate whether the program used for budgeting has any tools.
complementary for quantification.

For example, Opus has a manual quantifier that works by capturing length, width, height, and quantity.
They also have an application to quantify from AutoCAD.

The advantage of using already integrated applications and tools is that they update with every modification.
all the data without the need to recapture all the information.

10. Not getting trained

Finally, we can indicate that quite a few mistakes will be made in the preparation of the metric calculations.
If one is not well trained for this work, hence the importance of taking this course.

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