During 2008, a Special Interest Group was formed out of cost engineers from the process industry representatives to pick-up the challenge to establish a globally accepted standard for labor productivity norms for the industry. In February 2009, the Dutch Association of Cost Engineers (DACE) published a CD-ROM that provides guidance in the use of labor productivity norms for many of the disciplines which are involved in the construction and maintenance of industrial production facilities.

1. Cost Engineering Knowledgebases

2. Cost Engineering Knowledgebases
> Cost Engineering Knowledgebases contain the
cost assemblies based on DACE
> Each assembly is built up of details for material,
labour and rental
> Multi‐disciplinary (piping, E&I, Equipment, Civil,
etc.)
> Allows for fast estimating, while maintaining the
details
> Based on detailed data qualifications
> Quick‐reference card
>www.costengineering.eu

3. Cost Assembly
www.costengineering.eu

4. Unit-Rate
> General description
> Direct hours
> Activity
> Rate
> Productivity
> Indirect
>www.costengineering.eu

5. DACE
Publication
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6. Standardisation of “Labour norms”
> Initiative of the DACE workgroup
> Improve communication between
involved parties
> Avoid discussion by definitions
> Evolved from Linde’s dataset
www.costengineering.eu

7. Data Qualifications
> Direct labour norms: activity description
> Only hours, no pricing or rates
> Definition of indirect costs
> Composition of labour rates
> Applicable factors
> Europe
www.costengineering.eu

8. Data Qualifications

9. Construction of the hourly rate
The hourly rate included:
> The direct costs of the relevant staff till the range or
position of the cooperating foreman, including payroll
tax, social security, holiday pay, holidays, ATV days as
well as health insurance, accident and pension
insurance, profit, bonuses, transport costs, travel time,
normal travel expenses commuter traffic and all further
indirect costs.
> The costs for the use of normal hand tools and
protective clothing.
> The costs for the use personal safety, such as safety
shoes, helmets, safety glass, gloves and work clothing

10. Productivity / efficiency

11. Productivity
Definition
> Labour productivity is a relative measure for the labour
efficiency against a norm has been established based on
experience. It is a common misconception that labour
productivity really means “working hard”.
> Labour productivity is a function based on a number of specific
variables such as the organisation, the equipment and the
motivation of the people involved.

12. Productivity / efficiency, Bedaux

13. Productivity
Specific site conditions
> Material costs have a tendency to be 5‐10% higher on a
renovation project than in greenfield development.
> Man hours can be 10‐50% higher and detail engineering can be
about 50% higher.
> The unexpected cost is also in need of a much higher
percentage.

14. Cost Engineering
Knowledgebases
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