Hours by activity
Labour hours by activity and trade — measured quantity × productivity (hours per m², m³, tonne or item).
Labour Estimating
Labour EstimatingServices
Labour hours and costs for contractors and subcontractors, built up from measured work quantities and agreed productivity rates — helping you plan crews and price labour realistically.
Need this ongoing? Get a dedicated estimator
Service 13
Typical inputs
Quantities or drawingsProductivity ratesCrew ratesProgramme constraints
Outputs
Labour estimateHours summaryCost breakdown
Formats
ExcelPDFYour template
How we estimate labour
See a Labour Estimate in 3D
Measured quantities are multiplied by agreed productivity rates to give labour hours by activity — then converted to crew-days and laid out on a programme, ready to price.
- Measured quantities from the takeoff or your BOQ are grouped into work packages — the starting point for every labour estimate.
- Each quantity is multiplied by an agreed productivity rate — hours per m³ or tonne — and a gang size is set for the work.
- Decking and blockwork follow, each with its own rate and gang, and the hours by activity build up beside the model.
- Roofing is priced per m² and windows and doors per item, completing the labour hours for every activity.
- Hours are converted to crew-days and laid out week by week, giving a labour histogram for planning crews.
- Hours are totalled and converted to man-days at an 8-hour day, ready to price with your wage rates.
| Item | Qty | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete 27.6 m³ × 2.00 hr/m³ | 55 | hr |
| Steel frame 6.6 t × 15.0 hr/t | 99 | hr |
| Decking 192 m² × 0.50 hr/m² | 96 | hr |
| Blockwork 248 m² × 1.10 hr/m² | 273 | hr |
| Roofing 104 m² × 0.50 hr/m² | 52 | hr |
| Windows & doors 19 nr × 3.00 hr/nr | 57 | hr |
| Programme peak crew 6 operatives | 4 | wk |
| Total labour 6 activities | 632 | hr |
| Man-days 632 hr ÷ 8 hr/day | 79 | days |
| Delivered as an Excel labour estimate by activity, formula-linked to the quantities | ||
Illustrative two-storey building and labour rates — sample figures, not a quotation.
Scope
What’s Included
The scope is confirmed with you before work starts, so you know exactly what will be measured and priced.
Agreed productivity
Productivity rates agreed with you and stated clearly.
Crew build-ups
Crew composition and hourly cost build-ups, using your wage rates or market rates agreed with you.
Plant allowances
Labour and plant allowances by work section.
Programme notes
Hours converted to crew-days, with access, sequencing or working-hour constraints noted as assumptions.
Option comparison
Alternative labour approaches compared on request.
Deliverables
What You Receive
- 01
Labour estimate in Excel by activity, formula-linked to the quantities
- 02
Hours and cost summary
- 03
Productivity and crew-rate assumptions
- 04
Supporting quantities, with marked-up drawings where we measure them
Ideal for
Who It’s For
- Subcontractors pricing labour
- Labour-only trade contractors
- Builders and contractors planning crews
- Project managers reviewing labour budgets
Dedicated estimator available
Need labour estimating every week? Get your own dedicated estimator.
Building up labour hours and crew costs for every tender? Add a dedicated estimator to your team who works with your productivity rates and methods, project after project.
- The same estimator on every project
- Works in your templates and formats
- Learns your rates, trades and standards
- Support arranged around your pipeline
How it works
Simple From Start to Finish
Send drawings
Share drawings, scope and deadline.
Scope review
We confirm deliverables and timeframe.
Takeoff & estimate
Quantities measured and organised.
Review & delivery
Checked, then delivered in your format.
Productivity rates are agreed with you. We can use your historical rates or proposed rates appropriate to the work and location, stated clearly in the estimate. Hourly labour costs work the same way: your own wage rates, or market rates agreed before pricing.
Yes. Estimates can show labour, material and plant separately so each can be reviewed on its own.
Yes — labour estimates can be prepared for a single trade or across the whole project.
Get support with labour estimating
Send your drawings and scope. Standard estimates are typically delivered within 48 hours; for larger or complex projects we confirm the delivery date after reviewing the scope, before any work begins.