UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI
College of Construction Sciences & Engineering
Specialized Course 2 – Cost Engineering
MAJOR OUTPUT #1: COST ESTIMATION DATABASE
Background:
In the construction industry, it is crucial to have accurate and
up-to-date information on the prices of construction materials. This
information is necessary for project planning, budgeting, and decisionmaking. With the increasing complexity of construction projects and the
rising costs of materials, it is more important than ever to have a
reliable database that can quickly provide accurate material prices. The
use of technology, such as Excel spreadsheets, can greatly facilitate
the management of such databases. This activity is designed to guide
students in creating their own Excel database for construction materials
prices based on market research, with the added benefit of search and
filter features to make data management more efficient and effective.
Objective:
By the end of this activity, students will be able to create an
Excel database with search or filter features for construction materials
prices based on market research, including at least 50 materials for
each of the categories: architectural, structural, electrical, and
plumbing. Students will also be able to utilize the filter and search
features of Excel to easily navigate and search for specific prices
within their database.
Instruction:
1. Conduct market research to determine the current prices of
construction materials. Gather at least three quotations from
different suppliers for each material.
2. Tabulate the gathered quotations in the Excel spreadsheet, with
each row representing a specific material and each column
representing the price quoted by a different supplier. Include the
average of the three quotations as the material price for each
material.
3. Add a column for material categories to the left of the material
names. Use the general categorization of the material used in the
construction industry (i.e. lumber, reinforcing bars, concrete
hollow blocks)
4. For each category such as architectural, structural, electrical,
and plumbing, create a separate tab in the spreadsheet and list
the corresponding materials on each tab. Ensure that you have at
UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI
College of Construction Sciences & Engineering
Specialized Course 2 – Cost Engineering
least fifty materials for each of the categories: architectural,
structural, electrical, and plumbing to have a comprehensive and
useful database.
5. To make the database easier to navigate, use the filter feature of
Excel to filter your data based on specific criteria such as
supplier or material category.
6. Use the "Find & Select" button to search for a keyword or phrase
within your table, such as the name of a specific material, to
locate specific prices.
Guidance for Rating:
Completeness of Data – 50%
User-friendliness – 30%
Over-all appearance – 20%
Deadline of Submission: 22 April 2023 (3 weeks preparation)
Groupings:
Same groupings with the preparation of Work breakdown Structure
FAQs:
1. Does different in specification (i.e. size, length, volume) will be
treat as another entry? YES
2. Do we need to format the spreadsheet? YES, the interface of the
spreadsheet will also be graded. It should be user friendly, an
instruction on how to use the database will be helpful.
BONUS: If you have read this file, kindly submit in TBLHub your COR.
(+1 Quiz). Deadline April 5, 2023.