What Field Crews Need to Know About Your Estimate

Why Better Communication Between Estimators and the Field Can Save Your Margins

Most contractors treat estimating and execution as separate worlds. The estimating team crunches the numbers, submits the bid, and moves on to the next project. Meanwhile, the field crew gets handed a set of plans and is expected to build the job.

Here’s the problem: if field crews don’t understand the estimate, they can’t execute efficiently.

Margins aren’t “made” in the estimating office. They’re really made - or lost - in the field. And too often, the critical details behind an estimate never get communicated to the people responsible for making it work.

Let’s break down what field leaders need to know, why it matters, and how to close the gap between estimating and execution.

A Quick Test for Any Project Team

Want to see how well your team understands the estimate? Go out on-site and ask each person one simple question:

💬 “What’s the budget?”

Not just the PM or the superintendent - ask the operators, the laborers, the men and women in the field actually doing the work. Do they know what’s expected? Do they understand the production rates and key targets?

If the answer is vague - or worse, “I don’t know” - then you’ve got a communication problem.

The best-run jobs are the ones where everyone on the crew understands the numbers. They don’t have to see the full bid breakdown, but they should know the key metrics that drive success every day.

What Field Crews Should Know About the Estimate

When a foreman or superintendent steps onto a job, they should be able to answer:

🔹 What production rates were assumed?
If the estimate was built assuming 400 feet of pipe per day, but the crew is planning for 300, there’s a problem. Knowing these assumptions upfront helps set the right pace.

🔹 Which bid items are tight, and which have buffer?
Some line items were bid aggressively to win the job, while others have more room. Walking through the thought process of each saves headaches later.

🔹 What’s the labor and equipment plan?
The estimator planned for a specific crew size and mix of equipment. If the field scales up or down without realizing how the bid was structured, the job could bleed cash.

🔹 Which suppliers and subcontractors were factored into the estimate?
If pricing was based on a deal with a specific vendor, switching to another supplier mid-job could wipe out expected savings.

🔹 Was money moved around in the bid?
Strategic pricing can be a powerful tool in unit price bidding - but only if the field understands what was done. Otherwise, the strategy could backfire. Ever had to put a lot of dirt out at $1.00 per CY? Then you know what I mean… Show the field what your takeoff assumptions were so they can help the team win.

Talk in the Language of the Field

It’s not enough to share the estimate - you have to share it in a way that makes sense to the crew.

I once saw a project engineer tell an operator, “We need to move 400 cubic yards per hour.” The operator nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t really processing it. Then the superintendent stepped in and said, “Fred, that’s about 20 truckloads an hour.”

Suddenly, the operator was locked in. Loads per hour made sense to him - cubic yards per hour didn’t.

If you’re talking to a track hoe operator, talk in loads. If you’re talking to a paving crew, talk in tons per hour. If you’re talking to a pipe crew, talk in sticks per day. Speak in their language, not in spreadsheets.

How to Close the Gap Between Estimating and the Field

Here are a few ways to make sure estimating insights actually reach the people who need them:

✅ Pre-Job Meetings – Before mobilization, sit down with key field leaders and walk through the critical pieces of the estimate. Keep it short, simple, and relevant.

✅ Job-Specific Cheat Sheets – A one-page summary of major assumptions can be a game-changer. Include key production targets, crew sizes, and any strategic pricing details.

✅ Ongoing Check-ins – Don’t stop after the kickoff meeting. Have periodic check-ins between the estimator and field leadership to make sure execution stays aligned with the bid.

Real-World Example: How One Miscommunication Cost Thousands

A contractor bid a job with the assumption that trench boxes would be used for shoring. The field crew, unaware of this, opted for sloped excavation instead. The result? Extra trucking, more material moved, and significantly higher costs - enough to wipe out the profit on that line item.

A simple pre-job meeting could have prevented this.

On the flip side, another contractor consistently reviews key estimating details with field crews before every project. They’ve seen a measurable reduction in overruns and better alignment between bid and actual costs - leading to more profitable jobs.

The Takeaway

Your job as an estimator isn’t just to win work. It’s to make sure the work is set up for success.

A well-informed field crew can protect margins, prevent costly mistakes, and execute at the level the estimate was built for. Take a few extra minutes to share key details with the team - it could be a great investment of your time.

🚜 How does your team handle this? Do you have a structured way of sharing estimating insights with the field, or is it more informal? Reply and let me know - I’d love to hear how your company approaches this.

Thanks for reading this week!

Tristan

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About the Author

Tristan Wilson is the CEO and Founder of Edgevanta. We make software that helps contractors win more work at the right price. He is a 4th Generation Contractor, construction enthusiast, ultra runner, and bidding nerd. He worked his way up the ladder at Allan Myers in the Mid-Atlantic and his family’s former business Barriere Construction before starting Edgevanta in Nashville, where the company is based. Reach out to him at [email protected]