Arquimedes

As well as the two new column features implemented in the program (for price banks and for bills of quantities), new columns have also been added in the Visible columns of the Decomposition tree option (double click with the mouse on the header of a database – price bank or bill of quantities) which are used in the newly implemented and improved features.

New column features have been implemented in the Column presentation field within the Visible columns of the Decomposition tree dialogue box of a price bank (double click with the left mouse button on the header of a price bank in the Decomposition tree window) and other existing options have been improved.

Some of these features have been adapted bearing in mind the options that have been selected in the Project type (Show > Configuration > Project type). These options are grouped in two categories: Project type (For Public Administration or For Private Promotion) and Price structure for the Job Execution Contract (New section implemented in the 2013.e version which contains the Budget price structure and Sale price structure options).

The features of the implemented or improved columns are:

• Price structure (new type)
  Displays the three complete price structures:
  • Quantity, Price, Cost and Amount
  • Sale quantity, Sale price and Sale amount
  • Study quantity, Study price and Study amount
• Offer preparation (new type)
  Includes new columns implemented in the 2013.e version. Whether or not these columns appear depends on the options selected in the Project type dialogue box.
• Offer or contract (new type which substitutes the Offer column presentation)
  Some of the columns it includes depend on the options selected in the Project type dialogue.
• Certifications
  Includes new columns implemented in the 2013.e version. Whether or not these columns appear depends on the options selected in the Project type dialogue box.
• Study or objective (new type)
• Execution (new type)
• Estimate (new type)
• Job control

Since previous versions, bills of quantities created in Arquimedes contemplated three complete price structures (budget, sale and study), although only two of them could be visualised; the one we now refer to as the Budget (quantity, price or amount) and either of the other two (Sale or Study). The price calculation method option (Show > Configuration) indicated if the decomposition referred to the sale price or the study price.

As of the 2013.e version, the three complete price structures, Budget (Quantity, Price and Amount), Sale (Sale quantity, Sale prices and Sale amount) and Study (Study quantity, Study price, Study amount) can be viewed at the same time and so, the previously mentioned, Calculation price method option, is no longer of any use and has been removed.

These three complete price structures share the same decomposition structure. Usually, job items and auxiliary prices will only have yield or a quantity in one of the three structures (usually the Budget structure), unless the concept has been imported from a price bank or another bill of quantities that already had one of the other price structures included in it. For a concept to have data in any of the other price structures the desired yield or quantity (sale or study quantity) must be introduced in it together with its corresponding price (sale or study price).

The three price structures allow for the project budget, study or objectives of the contractor and contract offer to be maintained in the same job, regardless of whether it is a public administration or private sector project.

More information on the changes and new options, provided to our program users, to define the three complete price structures can be found below.

The Column presentation field within the Visible columns of the Decomposition tree dialogue box of a price bank (double click with the left mouse button on the header of a price bank in the Decomposition tree window) now has a new option: Company Price bank, which allows users to view the three complete price structures (Quantity, Price, Amount, Sale quantity, Sale price, Sale amount, Study quantity, Study price and Study amount).

Since previous versions, price banks in Arquimedes have had a complete price structure (with quantities, prices and amounts at unit level). This complete price structure is referred to as the Budget, and the two new price structures which are implemented in the 2013.e version are the:

• Sale (Sale quantity, Sale price and Sale amount)
• Study (Study quantity, Study price and Study amount)

This way, a company can have its own price bank with the company’s expenses and the sale price for job units and unit concepts. These prices can be copied to a bill of quantities to become part of a chapter or job item, maintaining the company expenses and sale prices, and this way, obtain an offer for the developer.

Users can use one, two or the three complete price structures in their price banks, depending on their requirements or what is customarily done when elaborating their bills of quantities.