"With precision and patience, I create estimates that my clients can feel confident about"

In the coastal town of Ängelholm in southern Sweden, Thomas Dahl has been running the consulting company Atelax since 2016. He offers services in project management and cost estimation for construction projects. A good combination, according to Thomas, who enjoys variety.

Thomas is a civil engineer in construction and has a large network after many years in the industry. Despite tougher times, the projects keep coming in, and many satisfied customers return.

"I often receive estimation assignments from medium-sized construction companies. Sometimes I manage construction projects, from building permits to move-in. Other times, I'm hired specifically for the quantity surveying," says Thomas.

How Thomas Uses Geometra

When Thomas receives an assignment, he starts by reading and reviewing all the documents related to the construction part. This is important to get an overall understanding of the project, including framework and room descriptions and sound and fire requirements.

Then, the quantity surveying begins. He gathers all the necessary structural (K) and architectural (A) drawings. Thomas always starts with the structural drawings to get the framework.

“It’s swift to calculate areas in Geometra when the floor plans are the same, such as in an apartment building. In these cases, I can complete the quantity takeoff for a building in a week. Standard size, 4-5 stories, between 5,000-10,000 gross floor area (BTA).”

Thomas also works in other quantity surveying software when required by the client. However, he likes to highlight Geometra as a great tool.

“You get a lot of measurement data with few steps in Geometra. The reduction tool is excellent. Reductions are automatically calculated on the selected area, so you don’t need to measure the reduced areas. It saves a lot of time. The interface provides a great overview of your projects.”

Working solo on more significant projects can be challenging; many challenges depend on how the documents are presented.

“Often, you have to figure out the construction details with the client. That can be tricky. The most important thing is to include everything in your estimate and not miss anything, which can be demanding in large projects—interior walls, facades, roofs, framework, and windows. Materials can always change during the project. The key is to establish a solid foundation.”

FinalizingEstimates in Bidcon Bygg

Thomasoften uses Bidcon Bygg to compile and finalize his estimate once he hasextracted all the quantities from Geometra. To make the matching between theprograms easier, he maps the project’s construction elements in Geometraaccording to the same structure used in Bidcon. This helps sort all quantitiescorrectly and makes the export from Geometra more accurate.

“BidconBygg contains most of what you need for your net estimate. There are manyconstruction elements, which is helpful when you don’t have everything figuredout from the start,” Thomas concludes.

3 Quick Questions for Thomas:

1. What would be your dream project to work on if there were no limitations in terms of time or budget?

- It's not a specific project, but it would be exciting to develop and create various concepts for projects on my own, based on my knowledge of estimation, project management, project development, and property management.

2. Have you ever seen a construction drawing that made you think: "This could never work in reality"?

- The documents in the tender materials are usually good, but I’m sometimes surprised by the number of cost-driving solutions that could have been just as good in a simpler way.

3. What is the most impressive construction technique or material innovation that deserves more attention?

- Right now, I am very interested in masonry structures, especially brick, with its fantastic possibilities for creating buildings with beautiful facades.

Projects where Atelax has been contracted:

Thomas prepared an estimate in the early stages for the developer Mariastaden Projekt and then acted as their project manager during the production, from building permits to move-in.

Brf Daggkåpan in Halmstad

The project included 18 townhouses in a cooperative housing form, Brf Daggkåpan in Halmstad. Completed in the summer of 2023.

Brf Vikhems Gård in Staffanstorp

A project in Staffanstorp, an apartment building with 33 units in cooperative housing form, Brf Vikhems Gård. Completed in spring 2023.

Want to know more about Atelax?

Visit atelax.se

‍

‍

‍