Mitchell Fly

6.00 AM

My alarm goes off, and a new day is upon me. I get myself ready for the day ensuring I have a good breakfast to prepare myself for a big day!

7.00 AM

I managed to land myself on one of the largest projects the estimating team are tendering for the business, so today I am making my way to our Joint Venture (JV) partner’s office in St. Kilda for some review meetings. I head to the train station to catch the express towards the city.

8.00 AM

After a short walk from South Yarra, I arrive at the office and meet up with my colleagues to discuss what we are presenting today. I check any emails that have come through from suppliers regarding the quotes we have requested, our partners regarding changes to designs or the proposal team regarding addendums from the client or agenda updates for the upcoming meeting.

8.30 AM

Our first meeting for the day kicks off in the meeting room with just the estimating team. We go through the development of the estimate for the project and where the biggest concerns are. This helps frame the position we put forward in the review meeting later and ensures each person in the team is on the same page.

9.00 AM

We make the actionable adjustments to our estimate, which involves me updating the procurement schedule quote comparisons to allow for additional items that have been missed or new quotes that have been received. I consult with some of the designers regarding the latest drawings in order to evaluate how complete the received quotes are and where we need to enquire about additional and changed scope with some suppliers.

10.00 AM

The review meeting kicks off with the Proposal Manager giving a rundown of what the latest developments are and any feedback from the client. This meeting involves each party discussing their progress since the last meeting and addressing any concerns from the wider JV.

10.15 AM

The design team present first, having completed their draft design of the project in a 3D model, the lead designer runs through from start to finish the sections of the design, what aspects are not shown and the key processes that are taking place. This is very important to myself and the Estimating team, as we need to know every single item required to be priced.

1.00 PM

With a lot to go through, we break for lunch and some fresh air!

1.30 PM

When we come back, it’s our turn to present our progress and relay to the consortium the key areas of focus going forward, in order to firm up our best offer to the client at submission time. I provide assistance to the other estimators with my knowledge of the project drawings, and talk about the method I have used to quantify the materials required. Following our presentation, we put forward our action items for other wider team members to ensure we have everything we need, as well as take on board the action items required of us to finalise the estimate.

3.00 PM

After presenting our status, the Operations partners have their chance to present their work, ideas and challenges to the consortium, in order for the relevant information to be shared among the parties required.

4.00 PM

As the meeting draws to a close, several action items are distributed among the team based on what was discussed and what was not covered. I get started on the most important of my action items, which involves contacting a supplier regarding a missed item from a previous request that requires a long lead time to quote. I follow this up in writing with an email with all the details required. I also need to forward some documents to the design company for them to perform a check of, to clarify some of the tricky aspects of the design that we require more information on in order to obtain quotes for.

5.00 PM

I make my way back to the train station to head home for the evening.

6.30 PM

It’s a Thursday, so after a quick dinner, it’s time to get ready for my basketball game.

9.45 PM

It’s time to relax now so I hop into bed and put on a Netflix series I’m watching to help me unwind. Tomorrow I head back to my office to get back to work with the revised program based on today’s reviews.