ASTM E2103/E2103M-13

4.3.1.1 Structuring costs on an elemental basis for economic evaluations (Guide E1185 and Practices E917, E964, E1057, E1074, E1121, and E1804) early in the design process helps reduce the cost of early financial analysis and can contribute to substantial design and operational savings before decisions have been made that limit options for potential savings.

4.3.2.1 Cost Modeling, Cost Planning, Estimating and Controlling Project Time and Cost During Planning, Design, and Construction—Use the bridge UNIFORMAT II classification to prepare budgets and to establish elemental cost plans before design begins. Project managers and project controls specialists use these cost plans against which to measure and control project cost, and quality, and to set design-to-cost targets.

4.3.2.2 Conducting Value Engineering Workshops—Conducting value engineering workshops (Practices E1699 and E2013). Use this classification as a checklist to ensure that alternatives for all elements of significant cost in the bridge project are analyzed in the creativity phase of the job plan. Also, use the elemental cost data to expedite the development of cost models for bridge systems.

4.3.2.3 Developing Initial Project Master Schedules—Since projects are essentially built element by element, UNIFORMAT II classifications are an appropriate basis for preparing construction schedules at the start of the design process. Project managers and project controls specialists use these time plans against which to measure and control project time (Practice E2691), and to set milestone target dates.

4.3.2.4 Performing Risk Analyses—Simulation (Guides E1369 and E2506) is one technique for developing probability distributions of bridge costs when evaluating the economic risk in undertaking a bridge project. Use individual elements and group elements in this classification for developing probability distributions of elemental costs. From these distributions, build up probability distributions of total costs to establish project contingencies (Practices E1946 and E2168) or to serve as inputs to an economic analysis.

4.3.2.5 Structuring Preliminary Project Descriptions During the Conceptual Design Phase—This classification facilitates the description of the scope of the project in a clear, concise, and logical sequence for presentation to the client; it provides the basis for the preparation of more detailed elemental estimates during the early concept and preliminary design phases, and it enhances communication between designers and clients by providing a clear statement of the designer’s intent.

4.3.2.6 Coding and Referencing Standard Details In Computer-Aided Design Systems—This classification allows a designer, for example, to reference an assembly according to this classification’s element designations and build up a database of standard details. This is particularly appropriate to design modeling and building information modeling (BIM) applications.

4.3.3.1 Recording and writing property condition assessment reports in a structured way, using UNIFORMAT II classifications, provides for a consistent, accessible, and searchable database of real property inventory.

4.3.4.1 Structuring cost manuals and recording construction, operating, and maintenance costs in a computer database. Having a cost manual or computer database in an elemental format assists the preparation of an economic analysis early in the design stage and at a reasonable cost.