Schedules, cutting and pricing
Steel fixing time and price from tonnage
- where
- fixer-days
- steel to fix (t)
- output per fixer per day (t/day)
- programme days for the gang
- fixers in the gang
- price excluding VAT (£)
- day rate per fixer (£)
- sundries per tonne (£/t)
- overheads and profit (%)
- price per tonne (£/t)
Explain this equation
Turns a tonnage of steel into fixer-days, a programme length for the gang and a price for labour and sundries, using your own output and day rates.
T is the steel to fix and P what one fixer fixes in a day. Fd is the total fixer-days and Pd the working days for a gang of n. Dr is the day rate, Ms the sundries per tonne for wire, spacers and chairs, and mk the overheads and profit. C is the price and Ct the price per tonne.
Time is quantity divided by output rate. Labour cost is fixer-days times day rate; sundries scale with tonnage; overheads and profit are added as a percentage of the cost. Programme days are rounded up to whole days.
Sense check: 20 t at 1 t per fixer-day is 20 fixer-days, five days for four fixers. At £250 a day with £30/t sundries and 15 per cent added, that is £6440, or £322/t.
Watch out: small bars and links take far longer per tonne than heavy bars. Prices exclude VAT, and the domestic reverse charge usually applies under CIS.
Turns a tonnage into fixer-days, a programme duration and a labour-and-sundries price, using your own output rate and day rate.
Enter your values to see the result.
Good to know
Output varies hugely with the work: heavy bars in simple ground slabs and bases go in much faster per tonne than small bars in walls, columns, stairs and congested beams, where the same tonnage is many more pieces to handle and tie. Use your own records for similar work and price by element if the mix varies. Steel supply is usually priced separately per tonne. Most steel fixing for a contractor in CIS falls under the VAT domestic reverse charge, so the contractor accounts for the VAT.
Common mistake
Pricing all steel at one rate per tonne, when 8–12 mm bars and links take far longer per tonne than 20–32 mm bars.
Limits
Labour and sundries only, at a uniform output. Add craneage, supervision, travel, testing and any waiting time. Programme days are rounded up to whole days.
Sources
Results are calculations from the published methods and figures shown, and depend on the data you enter. Always work to the engineer’s drawings and bending schedules, BS 8666, BS EN 1992, BS EN 1090-2, BS 5531/the BCSA National Structural Steelwork Specification and manufacturers’ data. Lifting must be planned under LOLER by a competent person.