Principal EPC Estimator

Company Overview

CB&I® is the world's leading designer and builder of storage facilities, tanks and terminals. With more than 60,000 structures completed throughout our 130-year history, we have the global expertise and strategically-located operations to provide customers world-class storage solutions for even the most complex energy infrastructure projects.

Overview

The Principal EPC Estimator is responsible for handling medium and small EPC estimates with no supervision or large (>$100MM) estimates with minimal supervision and guidance from the Estimating Manager. The Principal EPC Estimator is often tasked with leading functional teams or overseeing projects and is recognized as a subject matter expert in the field of estimating. Accordingly, this role requires a high level of proficiency in estimating practices, as well as a broad and thorough knowledge of the discipline. This employee routinely interacts with leaders in Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Fabrication to develop a fully priced EPC estimate and is responsible for presenting the basis of estimate to the Management team.

This person has the capability to perform most discipline estimates, producing a complete estimate for all required work from basic takeoffs through final cost (all materials, fabrication, subcontracts, construction, localization, and indirect) for all work required for a project. They organize and plan the estimating effort, including the leading of discipline estimators, and take responsibility for the complete cost estimate. They can produce detailed takeoffs as well as developing both conceptual and budget estimates.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer Open Book Estimate reviews
• Accountable for managing precontract budgets of up to $250K
• Responsible for preparing estimates for commercial proposals by working with operations, engineering, supply chain, and fabrication groups
• Develops the estimate based on estimating standards, closeout data, and the scope of work
• Develop estimating tools, procedures, standards, guidelines, and work instructions.
• Evaluate new estimating techniques and software and provide a recommendation to leadership
• Establish and maintain estimating databases of pricing structures to be applied to estimates
• Practically applies and maintains benchmark data for estimates and produces high-quality estimating documentation for forward standardization
• Analyzes scope documents, including specifications, drawings, bills of material, historical data, and calculates project costs using labor and material pricing schedules
• Develop the preparation of estimates ensuring all aspects of activity scope are understood and priced, including areas of technical uncertainty and incomplete design
• Develop the preparation of cost estimates applying advanced principles and concepts in a comprehensive and accurate manner for complex facilities and balance of plant scope
• Provide cost effective solutions to differentiate from our competition
• Prepares the estimate by the work breakdown structure and chart of accounts
• Responsible for preparing conceptual and definitive total installed cost estimates
• Conducts precontract kickoff meetings with project managers and business line management to plan bid strategy and ascertain methods of performance based on the scope of work
• Capable of quickly evaluating and validating quantities provided by engineering, summarizing, and distributing to the supply chain team in a format appropriate for vendors and subcontractors
• Assists in obtaining firm quotes for material suppliers, equipment, and subcontractors
• Obtains review and input from Legal, Tax, Insurance, Finance, and other corporate support groups
• Travel to project site or regional office to support the completion of the estimate
• Collaborates with other functions during estimate creation to ensure overall accuracy
• Has the ability to recommend cost-reduction options
• Performs risk analysis and leads risk register workshops
• Holding precontract team accountable to the agreed precontract schedule and reporting to management when the deliverables are not arriving on schedule providing delays to the reviews
  
  

• BS in Engineering, Construction Management, or equivalent experience
• 15+ years of relevant experience, with 10+ years in an Estimating role
• Demonstrate prior experience estimating large, complex projects > $100MM USD
• Demonstrate skills and experience in more than two major disciplines of EPC estimating and coordination with technical personnel in performing all levels and types of estimating scope quantification, pricing, and analysis of escalation and contingency.
• Proficiency with MS Office product suite, with expertise in Excel
• Experience with VBA and Power BI programming is valued
• Strong critical thinking, analytical, and organizational skills
• Strong understanding of construction processes
• Strong engineering and construction industry experience on major projects, both in field and large fabrication workshop
• Ability to operate independently with minimal supervision
• Understands relationships between work processes and the cost to our business
• Experience both on client side and as a subcontractor, understands schedules of rates, progress claims and change management
  
  

• Strong understanding of construction projects and some experience in engineering, procurement, fabrication, and/or construction
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal
• Technical proficiency with typical software
• Fully understands and comprehends project requirements and has a knowledge of how to meet them.
• Understands sureties, financial instruments, liquidated damages, and project cash flow
• Identifies and addresses technical inconsistencies and contract scope changes
• Knowledge of products and markets served by CB&I
• Proactively identifies and solves complex problems
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to multi-task to meet competing deadlines
• Proactively embraces and promotes the company’s values and culture