53 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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id: 2025-12-03T15:54:22-0500
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title: 2025-12-03 15:54:22
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tags:
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- status/draft
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- topic/estimating
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- topic/transparency
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daily: "[[2025-12-03]]"
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---
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# 2025-12-03 15:54:22
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## Excluding Vs. Ignoring Project Requirements
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%%
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A criticism of an observed lack of [[transparency]] in [[construction-estimating]].
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%%
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There is a distinct difference between _excluding_ and _ignoring_ requirements.
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If, before award, you communicate to the customer
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that your cost does not include respect for a requirement,
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_and they understand the implications of the omission,_
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you have _excluded_ that requirement.
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If your cost does not include respect for a requirement,
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but you have not
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(1) communicated the omission to the customer, _and_
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(2) made a reasonable effort to inform the customer
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of the implications of the requirement's omission,
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you are _ignoring_ that requirement.
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_Excluding_ requirements is common practice.
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_Ignoring_ requirements is unprofessional and irresponsible.
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Sometimes requirements are ignored out of convenience.
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If an estimator is confident a requirement won't be enforced,
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they may ignore it to lower the estimate and save time in closeout.
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More ethical estimators may have no desire to ignore requirements,
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but may nonetheless feel obligated to.
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If a contractor is confident their competitors will ignore a requirement,
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they may feel that the moral high road offers two losing options:
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* include it and appear overpriced
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* exclude it and appear to present coverage concerns
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The winning strategy, as always, is open communication with the customer.
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> [!important]
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> Given the same project documents and your proposal,
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> a reasonably experienced estimator employed by your customer
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> should be able to replicate your takeoff with confidence.
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