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estimator qualification and ethics
1 requirements
Capital project estimate submissions must be prepared by professional cost estimators
unaffiliated with the design team or the Construction Manager as Contractor (CMc). Certification
as a cost engineer by the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE), or as a
certified professional estimator by the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE), is
supporting evidence of an estimator's qualifications, although it is not required.
2 independent government estimate (IGE)
The FAR requires that an IGE be prepared for all contracts exceeding 0,000. When life-cycle
costing or other economic analyses are required to support a design decision, professional
estimators must establish construction cost estimates for all options if any one of them is
expected to have a first cost in excess of 0,000.
The final cost estimate submitted for the 100% construction documents phase is used as the basis
for the final IGE, which the contracting officer uses to determine whether an offeror's proposed
price is fair and reasonable and reflects an understanding of the project requirements.
A qualified Government employee whose major responsibility is creating or approving cost
estimates for GSA must sign and approve the IGE, which serves as the basis for commitment of
funds before the solicitation is issued
3 ethics
The standards of practice described in the Canons of Ethics published by the AACE and the
ASPE, and available on both their Web sites, apply to all estimating services.
4 due diligence expectations
GSA expects proper diligence in the preparation of estimates, which will grow steadily more
accurate as the design progresses. While the estimator may need to make many assumptions
in preparing the concept design estimate, once the construction documents phase has begun,
project estimating requirements P-120
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section 1.2
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