Estimators' tasks and computer-aided estimating systems: A survey of fcec member companies

A survey of the members of the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors confirms the importance of estimators' experience and expertise within the estimating and tendering process. Some 56 % of the respondents surveyed currently used some form of computer-aided estimating. The benefits of these systems are limited primarily to the arithmetic functions relating to an estimator's tasks. The use of expert systems would appear to offer a route for improving existing computer-aided estimating systems.