Estimator in plumbing/HVAC – am I overthinking a recent loss?
I recently put together a plumbing and HVAC estimate and we ended up winning the job. The bid results were:
95k (us)
96k
96.5k
98k
99k
110k
120k
130k
So we were at the low end and secured the contract.
However, a recent project review meeting flagged that the field crews went significantly over budget on labour—around 300 extra hours. This is being translated into roughly a 30k loss on a 15% margin job, which puts us at about -15k overall.
What’s been sticking with me is that I’m questioning my role in this. Even though the issue came from execution in the field, I can’t help but feel responsible as the estimator.
At times, I’m wondering if I have the right level of resilience or judgement to keep progressing in this role.
Would appreciate feedback from others in estimating / project management—how do you separate estimating responsibility from field execution when things go off the rails?