Estimating & Cost Management.
The number you sign should not be the number that surprises you later. APSI builds independent estimates from concept budgets through GMP validation and change order pricing review, so owners negotiate from knowledge, not from hope.
On the owner's side of the table.
An owner without an independent estimating capability is negotiating in the dark. APSI sits on your side of the table when the GMP comes in, when the change-order pricing lands, and when the engineer's estimate needs an honest second opinion before it goes to bid.
APSI has prepared independent estimates for federal courthouses, VA hospitals, port infrastructure, state correctional facilities, and specialized laboratory modernizations. Every estimate is bottoms-up from the drawings, priced against actual recent bids in the local market. Not RSMeans. Not a parametric model. The number reflects what the work actually costs to build in the place where it will be built.
Core Estimating Capabilities
Order-of-magnitude and parametric estimates at programming, with realistic contingency ranges and escalation calibrated to recent comparable bids. The budget set at programming should survive design development.
Estimates at each design milestone reconciled against the architect's estimate, with a trend log that catches scope creep before it becomes a budget problem at bid.
Federal-grade ICEs supporting fair-and-reasonable pricing determinations, GSA negotiations, and FAR Part 15 source selection. The documentation is written to withstand audit and procurement review, not just to support the award decision.
Line-by-line reconciliation of the GC's GMP against an independent estimate, with documented variances and a clear negotiation position before the owner signs anything.
Independent review of contractor change order pricing, productivity claims, and equitable adjustment requests. Most of what gets submitted overstates entitlement. We review it the way a federal contracting officer would.
VE workshops with quantified savings, not just a list of suggestions. Life-cycle cost analysis for ZNE, LEED, and renewable system trade-offs so the owner makes the right long-term decision, not just the lowest first-cost decision.
A repeatable, audit-ready playbook.
Detailed quantity takeoff from drawings, system by system. No parametric shortcuts. We model the actual building so the estimate reflects what is actually being priced.
Apply current local labor, material, equipment, and subcontractor pricing against recent comparable bids in the same market. The number reflects today's conditions in the place where the project will be built.
Reconcile against the architect's or contractor's estimate with documented variance analysis. Every scope gap, design assumption, and pricing difference is surfaced in writing before negotiations begin.
Sit at the table when the GMP or change order is being negotiated. The estimate is only as valuable as the person defending it. Our estimators know what the work costs because they have been pricing it for decades. They push back on indirect markups, unsupported productivity claims, and inflated general conditions until the number is defensible.
Where we've done this work.
Independent owner's cost estimates across the OCMI portfolio. Average bid variance tracked at +/-3% against actual contractor bids. Cost accuracy at this precision is rare and verifiable.
Independent owner's cost estimates used at mediation against a $5.1M Design-Build Entity claim. The DBE was awarded only 40% of the amount claimed. $3.1M saved on the strength of defensible bottoms-up pricing.
Continuous relationship since 1992. Ongoing estimating support across major waterfront and infrastructure work. Three decades of pricing data feeding our proprietary cost database.
Multiple federally-delivered courthouse projects. Estimating and cost validation under GSA delivery.
Independent cost estimating for highly specialized laboratory modernization under NIST IDIQ task orders. Lab estimating requires a level of mechanical, electrical, and containment systems knowledge that most estimating firms do not have. APSI does.
Cost intelligence integrated with program controls across the master plan.
Hire the team owners trust to fix it.
- · GSA OASIS SB Pool 1
- · GSA Schedule
- · Direct contract / IDIQ task orders
- 30-year proprietary cost database. Three decades of bottoms-up takeoffs and bid history across federal, ports, healthcare, education, and corrections work. A barrier to entry competitors cannot replicate.
- We push back on change order pricing the way a federal contracting officer would. That posture has saved owners millions across three decades of work, including $3.1M at SOCCCD mediation.
- Every estimate is built from drawings, not from RSMeans assumptions. Bottoms-up takeoffs priced against actual local market conditions. POLB OCMI estimates land within +/-3% of bid.
- Federal-grade ICE methodology applied across all clients. The documentation is written to defend the number, not just support it.
- Our estimators came up through scheduling and construction management. The cost numbers reflect how the work actually gets sequenced and built in the field.
Just received a GMP or change order that does not look right?
Send it to us. We will give you an independent read on whether the pricing is defensible and what a reasonable negotiation position looks like. No obligation.