Industrial News

The job won by Constructora Urbana is called La Pita Norte, and requires the removal of 1.3 million cubic meters of material. It is part of a large-scale improvement project to a section of the Canal.

“For the job we bid, we used Quest Earthwork to determine the real amount of material to be moved,” says Carlos Fabrega, president of Constructora Urbana. “We also used the program to determine if the disposal area had enough space to deposit all the excavated material.”

One important aspect of this job is that contractors are paid for unclassified excavation.

This puts a significant burden on contractors, since they must move all material at the bid price—regardless of what that material actually is. Fortunately for Fabrega, Quest Earthwork enabled his firm to generate accurate quantities on all material types.

“The Panama Canal Authority provides drawings and borings as information only. It is up to the contractor to determine the amount of rock to be excavated,” he says. “Quest Earthwork provided us with an excellent tool to make the estimate on the total amount of material that had to be blasted.”

The Panama Canal Authority will be bidding additional and larger projects in the coming months. Fabrega says Constructora Urbana will bid on those as well.

“And you can bet that we will use Earthwork once again,” says Fabrega.

Constructora Urbana S.A. was founded in 1955, and is the largest heavy/highway contractor in the Republic of Panama. Their expertise includes earthmoving, paving, bridges, drainage structures, and infrastructure. For more information on Constructora Urbana S.A. visit www.grupocusa.com.

Quest Solutions has been providing automated takeoff and estimating systems to the construction industry for two decades. Contractors around the world and in every specialty have used Quest’s products to streamline their estimating processes, win more bids, and make more money. For more information about Quest Solutions, call 800-452-2342, or visit Quest online at www.questsolutions.com.