This requires a Material Take Off (MTO) for all the materials used in the hull construction. The estimators are each allocated their own section of the hull, usually by frame numbers, to produce this MTO and include everything from the main plates, longitudinal main girders, and bulkheads right down to the smallest stiffener.
Blasting, painting, and any insulation or fireproofing is added, and the cost of the total steel plate and steel section is then estimated.
Welding and NDT (Non Destructive Testing)
There are two basic welds used in welding plates and structural members, fillet and full penetrating welding, and also numerous other methods of welding depending on the client’s preference and specifications. These have their own costs for consumables such as the stick rods, rolls of wire, and shielding gas.
The length of these welds are estimated along with the man-hours for manual/automatic welding and the associated stress relieving heat treatment and NDT, including radiography where the full penetrating welds are subjected to x-ray are costed.
Assembly of all the fabricated sections will normally be carried out in the dry-dock or on slipways; and there will be standard costs worked out by tonnage of materials for these operations, i.e. use of cranes and opening and closing the dock gates.
