Issues related to insulation, measurement, and pricing of industrial pipelines
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Dear forum members, I know you are all experts in technology. I have a question regarding pricing that I need to ask in this post: when calculating insulation for industrial pipes, the workload is determined based on the length of the pipes in meters, and the insulation required for pipe elbows is also calculated using a formula multiplied by the number of elbows. I believe this is the correct way to calculate it (this has been the standard approach in previous projects without any disputes). But now the audit says that since the workload for the pipes is calculated based on their length in meters, the elbows are also included in that calculation. If insulating the elbows requires more work than insulating the pipes, then the insulation work for the elbows can be calculated separately, but the length of the elbows should be deducted from the total pipe length in meters. Given that the volume of work related to insulation for the elbows in this project is indeed substantial, I was wondering if the experts could provide some guidelines for measuring the insulation requirements, so that I can convince the auditors. Thank you.
In the industry, it is standard to calculate the volume of work as you mentioned: the insulation for pipes is calculated based on the length of the pipes, while the insulation for pipe elbows is calculated using a formula multiplied by the number of elbows. In this way, once construction is completed and the actual volume of work is settled between the two parties, it is sufficient to simply measure the length of the relevant pipes with a tape measure, count the number of elbows, and then multiply that by the unit price specified in the contract. It is also possible to follow the approach suggested by your auditors, which involves deducting the length of the elbows from the total pipe length; however, it is necessary to inform the construction team in the quotation request that the length of the straight sections of the pipes used in the calculations will be those after deducting the length of the elbows. This way, the unit price quoted by the construction team will naturally be higher than if the elbows were not deducted. Additionally, this method makes the settlement process more complicated after construction is complete – one must measure the pipe lengths and then check the standards for pipe fittings to deduct the length of the elbows. If there are many different types of elbows, things become even more complicated, and disputes over the amount to be deducted are likely to arise. I hope this helps.
Thank you; indeed, all disputes regarding settlements are caused by inadequate preliminary work!
Since the pipe insulation is calculated based on length, and an additional amount is also added for the elbows, isn’t that double-counting?