Granlund Saimaa Oy

The exact quantities of equipment were needed in each supply package area.

The contractor needed electronic bill of quantities - the designer was asked for help

The renovation project for LUT has been performed as a design and build project contract in many different stages. The project will be completed by the end of this year. Granlund Saimaa Oy with more than 40 design professionals has been responsible for designing the building engineering. Granlund Saimaa is part of the Granlund Group, which, with 800 experts, is Finland’s leading provider of building services design. Quattroservices Kaakkois-Suomi Oy has been responsible for the electrical contract works of this phase of the project.

The construction stage 1 – Renovation of the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) is moving towards its end. The Design and Build Project contract, started in 2016 and performed in many stages has been a major effort for all parties. Granlund Saimaa, responsible for the design of heating, plumbing and air conditioning and the electrical and building automation was in a new situation when the company, responsible for the electrical contract of the project needed help in preparing the bill of quantities.

"The plans contain so many systems that the calculation of the devices for an individual system from the black and white plane figures on paper is almost impossible," says the designer Jani Kiesi. "For equipment purchases, the exact quantities of equipment were needed in each supply package area, so that after discussions we decided for the electronic preparation of the bill of quantities. The contractor had no earlier experience in this area, so confidence was needed. Discussions were held, among other things, about the calculated quantities and the liability issues regarding the accuracy of orders concerning the quantities and types of equipment.“

An electronic bill of quantities as a method is not a new thing anyway. Tools for its application have been available for years, and the advantages are strong. ”There is nothing unclear as regards the piece goods. The preparation of the electronic bill of quantities is extremely fast and accurate," says Jani Kiesi. “Somebody may be concerned about the accuracy of the calculation of metre goods but even in this case the electronic calculation is absolutely good.“

According to Kiesi, one hindrance for the electronic calculation to become general is related to the customer.
"If the customer would provide ready-made electronic bills of quantities, the contractors would definitely put these into use," says Kiesi.

In the design process of the electricity system of LUT, the software CADMATIC Electrical was used, which has, according to Kiesi, excellent features for the bill of quantities. ”We have used in the specification of the bill of quantities the supply packages and CADMATIC Electrical restriction operations defined by the customer”, says Jani Kiesi. “The final result was fine."