Bidfident for millwright contractors
Estimating software for millwrights
For millwright contractors, Bidfident prices machine installs and line moves the way the work is done: machines set and leveled by the each, laser alignment with the kit charged by the hour, conveyor by the linear foot, anchor bolts and grout, rigging as a lump sum, electrical as a sub, and the foreman and forklift by the week.
Enter your email and Bidfident sends you a sign-in link. New companies start with a starter rate library. Who runs Bidfident, and what it keeps about you.
Sound familiar?
Every machine set built from scratch
Setting a machine always needs the same labor, anchors and grout, yet each bid starts from a blank row. In Bidfident an assembly fills a whole line at once, and typing a description finds it in the rate library with its price.
Riggers and millwrights at one rate
One blended rate hides the difference between the rigging crew and the millwrights. In Bidfident each craft has its own rate, and typing a new trade in the Trade cell adds it to the library with its rate, without leaving the sheet.
The electrical number that never came
The controls wiring is priced by another sub, and the number is still missing on bid day. In Bidfident you carry a plug number for the trade until bids arrive, then the lowest is flagged and carried unless you pick another.
How Bidfident fits your work
Machine sets from the rate library
Start typing "set and level" in Description and the line picker finds your tasks and assemblies with their prices. Pick an assembly and it fills the whole line.
Millwrights and riggers at their own rates
Each line takes its trade's rate from the library, so the rigging is priced at the rigger's rate and the alignment at the millwright's.
Tools and machines by the hour
Put the laser alignment kit on the line as equipment by the hour. Leave its hours blank and it runs for the crew's hours, or give it hours of its own.
Conveyor by the foot, machines by the each
Units are free text, so conveyor goes in by the LF, machines and anchors by the EA, and rigging as LS. The sheet works like Excel: copy and paste, fill down, and undo for everything.
Electrical as a sub
Enter each electrical bid for the connections and controls wiring on the Subcontractors tab. The lowest is flagged and carried, and a plug number holds the place if none have come in.
Foreman and forklift by the week
Weekly general conditions like the millwright foreman and the forklift follow the job duration. Add a week to the install and they update.
Worked example: installing a new packaging line
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 26 lines of your own work, 4 subs and 5 general conditions items over a 3-week job. The 5 lines this page talks about are listed one by one, and the rest are added up in one row. It's the same job you can open as an example project in Bidfident, so every figure below matches it.
To open this job in Bidfident: sign in and set up your company in the US, then on the Projects screen, under Example project, pick "Industrial shutdowns and turnarounds" and "Millwright work" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Set and level packaging machines, 6 ea
| $12,768.00 |
Laser shaft alignment, 12 ea
| $4,848.00 |
Anchor bolts and epoxy grout, 48 ea
| $8,352.00 |
Rigging machines into place, 1 LS
| $6,058.00 |
Roller conveyor, assembled and installed, 280 LF
| $36,097.60 |
21 more lines of your own work
| $106,590.29 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Electrical connections and controls wiring
| $20,500.00 |
Concrete housekeeping pads
| $6,880.00 |
Painting of support steel
| $3,080.00 |
PLC programming changes, allowance
| $4,800.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Millwright foreman
| $10,500.00 |
Forklift, 5,000 lb
| $1,950.00 |
Project manager, part time
| $1,440.00 |
Gang boxes and tool trailer
| $624.00 |
Mobilization and demobilization
| $1,920.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $174,713.89 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $2,488.00 |
| Subcontractors | $35,260.00 |
General conditions
| $16,434.00 |
Direct cost
| $226,407.89 |
Contingency
| $6,792.24 |
Fee
| $27,984.02 |
| Subtotal before the bond | $261,184.15 |
Bond
| $0.00 |
Insurance
| $1,958.88 |
Bid total
| $263,143.03 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can I save how I price a machine set?
Yes. Save it in the rate library as a task with its hours per unit, or as an assembly that fills a whole line at once. Every estimate uses the same library.
Can I price some lines in metric?
Yes. Units are free text, so LF, m, EA and LS all work. Bidfident doesn't convert between units, so price each line in the unit its rate is in.
Can I carry the electrical before I have a number?
Yes. Carry a plug number for the trade. When bids come in, enter them side by side and the lowest is carried unless you pick another.
Can I add riggers or a crane operator while I'm pricing?
Yes. Type the new craft in the Trade cell and give it a rate. It's added to the company's library without leaving the sheet, ready for the next install.
Can I carry waste on grout and anchor bolts?
Yes. Each line takes a material price per unit and a waste %, so the epoxy grout can carry 10% waste while the anchor bolts carry none.
Does it make a proposal for the install to send the customer?
Not yet. Client view hides hours and rates on screen, but its unit prices are your cost, before markups. You can copy the cost report as CSV, but there's no client-ready quote document.
Does Bidfident work with Claude or ChatGPT?
Not yet, but it's coming. You'll be able to connect Bidfident to your own Claude or ChatGPT account and ask about your estimates in plain English. The answers will come from Bidfident's own figures, so they match the estimate. It will use the account you already have: Claude first, ChatGPT to follow.
Price your next millwright bid in Bidfident
Enter your email and Bidfident sends you a sign-in link. New companies start with a starter rate library. Who runs Bidfident, and what it keeps about you.