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Bill of Materials

Review statistics and estimated cost of your structure, including historical cost estimates



Overview

The SkyCiv bill of materials app allows users to calculate the material and cost breakdown of their S3D models. Cost estimates are developed from user provided section and material costs that can be edited at any time. This app can estimate the bill of materials, structure cost, historical progress and report on these estimates via CSV and PDF!

A screenshot of SkyCiv's bill of materials app, showing the cost breakdown of a steel structure

Installation

This functionality can be toggled with a single click! To install this app, simply visit your Account Settings and toggle on the Bill of Materials App.

Table Summaries

The app will provide in table format your project’s bill of materials in two cost breakdown variations. The complex breakdown approximates the cost of all plates and members grouped by length, section and material – this would be with the “Combine Lengths” option turned OFF. The simplified version groups members by section and material only – this is with the “Combine Lengths” option turned ON.  These differing breakdowns can be toggled between by the user. Below shows the visual difference between the simplified and complex cost breakdown.

bill-of-material-table-combined-lengthExample of a Simplified (Combined Length) Bill of Materials and Cost Estimate

These tables can be exported to CSV or PDF at anytime so you can export these bill of materials as you need them.

Graphical Representation

An interactive graphical pie chart representation of the cost breakdown is shown above the tabular version. The chart shows a concise display of the model cost and is able to be toggled between 4 modes:

bill-of-material-sections-chart

Sections: Breakdown of the cost based on specific section names inputted by the user. A complex and simplified version is also implemented to accommodate for both grouping styles.
Materials: Breakdown of the cost based on material usage per volume in the users S3D model.
Cost: Similar to sections, however, provides an overall cost estimate.
History: Provides a graphical representation of the cost fluctuations in the users previous revisions and current S3D model.

While viewing the Bill of Materials pie chart, hover your mouse over each section to see the pertaining member as well as its portion of the total price.

Cost Schedule Table

In order to use SkyCiv bill of material app, a saved model and valid cost schedule table is required. To create a cost table ensure you have completed the following steps:

  1. Section/Material Name: This will link the cost per unit number to names of sections and/or materials in the bill of materials. You can enter partial names, for instance HSS16 will pickup and apply the unit cost to any sections containing “HSS16” in the section name.
  2. Measurement Units: You can apply costs by weight, volume and member length.
  3. Cost per Unit: This is the figure that will be used to estimate the cost for that particular item in the below Bill of Materials. The unit is based on what is selected under Measurement Units (Length, Volume or Weight)
  4. Select the required currency and material/section supplier. This step is optional and not required to gain a cost breakdown of your S3D model.

An example of a valid cost table is shown below.

schedule-cost-table-bill-of-materials-app-skyciv

Note: The order of these tables matters. For instance, in the above example if you have a W12x72 Steel Section Shape, the cost per unit that is applied will be the last relevant row (W12x72, Length) for this section. For this reason, we recommend keeping your material (volume) names at the top of the table.

Historical Cost

Since SkyCiv keeps a record of your previous models for Revision Control – we can scan through your previous models and get a record of your progress during the design phase. You can now show your clients estimates of the amount saved by your designs! Don’t worry about skewing your graph, the Bill of Materials app will only select and include the revisions in which there was a cost change to the overall Bill of Materials.

bill of materials historical data

The above example displays a tracked history of the engineers who have made changes to the model and helped optimized the design to save the client on their design. You can even export this report in PDF format:

Verification

Verification tests were conducted on 3 separate models, to assess the validity of the software. These tests are outlined in the tables below:

Test 1 – Doha Bridge Model

Section Name SkyCiv Calculations ($) Hand Calculations ($)
152×152 UC 23 323 323
100x50x10 CH 6 6
127×76 UB 13 2 1.80
125x65x15 CH 10 9.70
Plate 1 8 7.80
Total 349 348.30

Test 2 – Andamio Milton Project

Test 2.1 – Costing by Individual Member Length

Section Name Pricing ($) Unit SkyCiv Calculations
($)
Hand Calculations
($)
Plate 1 100.00 Volume 2.00 2.00
HS 100 x 100 5.00 Length 8.00 0.75
HS 100 x 100 10.00 Length 60.00 60.00
HS 100 x 100 5.00 Length 18.00 17.50
HS 100 x 100 10.00 Length 80.00 80.00
HS 100 x 100 5.00 Length 117.00 117.60
Total 284.00 284.60

Test 2.2 – Costing for Combined Lengths

Section Name Pricing ($) Unit SkyCiv Calculations
($)
Hand Calculations
($)
Plate 1 100.00 Volume 2.00 2.00
HS 100 x 100 5.00 Length 282.00 282.00
Total 284.00 284.00

Test 3 – Doha Bridge Model

Test 3.1 – Testing Material Name by Volume

Structural Steel was given a cost of $100 per cubic meter.

Section Name SkyCiv Calculations ($) Hand Calculations ($)
152×152 UC 23 9.00 9.10
100x50x10 CH 6.00 6.00
127×76 UB 13 2.00 1.80
125x65x15 CH 10.00 9.70
Plate 1 8.00 7.80
Total 35.00 34.40

Test 3.2 – Testing Material Name by Length

Structural Steel was given a cost of $10 per meter

Section Name SkyCiv Calculations ($) Hand Calculations ($)
152×152 UC 23 323.00 323.00
100x50x10 CH 480.00 480.00
127×76 UB 13 129.00 129.00
125x65x15 CH 527.00 527.00
Plate 1
Total 1459.00 1459.00

Test 3.3 – Testing Section Name Over-Ride

Structural Steel was given a cost of $100 per cubic meter.

Section 152×152 UC 23 was given a section cost of $10 per m.

Section Name SkyCiv Calculations ($) Hand Calculations ($)
152×152 UC 23 323 323
100x50x10 CH 6 6
127×76 UB 13 2 1.80
125x65x15 CH 10 9.70
Plate 1 8 7.80
Total 349 348.30

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