CASE STUDY

Cost Estimation for Brownfield Projects & Project Bidding

INDUSTRY
Oil & Gas
LOCATION
World Wide
BUSINESS
EPC
Challenge

A large international EPC wanted to improve accuracy and reduce the time its workforce spent working with engineering drawings in order to optimize its cost-estimation process. Improper cost estimation leads to cost overrun, delayed schedules and scope-creep. Low win rates on lump sum project bids may also occur due to contingencies added with uncertain estimates.

Solution

Using DataSeer, the estimation team extracted information (counts, attributes, connectivity) about valves, instruments and line numbers from P&ID images in brownfield engineering projects or during bid phases, where CAD source formats are not available. Beyond P&IDs, the team also processed PDFs of mechanical equipment schematics, plot plant layouts, process flow diagrams & electrical single line diagrams.

Results

The tool reduced effort from weeks to a few days, with 85+% efficiency gains typical. This results in not only higher margins from profitable projects but also higher bid win rates.