Bidfident for turnaround contractors
Estimating software for turnarounds
TAR bids are big, and the craft rates, rentals and NDE numbers all have to land in one number. Bidfident prices exchanger bundles, valves, flange bolt-up and pump changeouts by the each, with boilermakers, pipefitters and millwrights at their own rates, a bundle extractor charged for its own hours, NDE bids side by side, and the crane and supervision 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?
The extractor billed for every crew hour
Pulling a bundle takes the crew two days, but the extractor is only on it for a few hours. Price it for the crew's hours and the bid is too high. In Bidfident a line's equipment can have its own hours per unit, so the extractor is charged for its own time.
A turnaround in a thousand rows
Hundreds of valves, flanges and exchangers, and finding one line means scrolling. In Bidfident Ctrl+F finds lines by description, code, area, unit or trade, and sorting by any column puts the biggest costs on top.
Rates that move before the award
TAR bids can sit for weeks before award, and by then the rate sheet has moved on. In Bidfident a submitted bid keeps the labor and equipment rates it was priced with, and version history compares any saved version with now.
How Bidfident fits your work
The bundle extractor for its own hours
Give the extractor its own hours per unit, say 6 hours a bundle against the boilermakers' 48. It's charged for its own time, not the crew's. Leave it blank and it runs for the crew's hours.
Boilermakers, pipefitters and millwrights at their own rates
Each craft carries its own rate from the rate library, and every line takes its trade's rate. Change the boilermaker rate once and every bundle and tray line follows.
NDE bids side by side
Enter each inspection and NDE bid. The lowest is flagged and carried unless you pick another, and a declined bid is ignored.
Crane, supervision and tool crib by the week
Put the 100-ton crane, supervision, and the tool crib and job trailer in as weekly general conditions linked to the job duration. If the turnaround grows to 3.5 weeks, they all follow.
Night-shift bolt-up at a line's own rate
Flange bolt-up on nights gets its own rate on that line only. It's marked in purple, so the differential is easy to find when the bid is checked.
Every cost code totaled
The cost report totals the turnaround by cost code under each division, filters by area or cost type, and copies the whole estimate by cost code as CSV when the owner wants a breakdown in their own spreadsheet.
Worked example: a three-week turnaround on a process unit
A made-up job, priced in Bidfident: 27 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 "Turnarounds" and press Add example project.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Pull, clean and reinstall exchanger bundles, 6 ea
| $37,776.00 |
Column tray inspection and repair, 2 ea
| $14,040.00 |
Flange bolt-up and gaskets, night shift, 180 ea
| $36,900.00 |
Replace control and block valves, 24 ea
| $81,120.00 |
Pump and seal changeouts, 8 ea
| $36,928.00 |
22 more lines of your own work
| $199,103.60 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Inspection and NDE testing
| $23,800.00 |
Hydroblasting of exchanger bundles
| $18,320.00 |
Relief valve shop testing and recertification
| $8,320.00 |
Insulation removal and reinstatement, allowance
| $9,600.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Turnaround supervision
| $17,400.00 |
Hydraulic crane, 100-ton
| $39,600.00 |
Tool crib and job trailer
| $3,300.00 |
Night-shift supervision
| $9,120.00 |
Mobilization and demobilization
| $7,600.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $405,867.60 |
| Excluded lines, not counted | $54,428.00 |
| Subcontractors | $60,040.00 |
General conditions
| $77,020.00 |
Direct cost
| $542,927.60 |
Contingency
| $43,434.21 |
Fee
| $58,636.18 |
| Subtotal before the bond | $644,997.99 |
Bond
| $6,449.98 |
Insurance
| $6,449.98 |
Bid total
| $657,897.95 |
See it in Bidfident
Coming soon Ask your estimate anything. Claude first, ChatGPT to follow. See how it will work
Questions
Can equipment run fewer hours than the crew?
Yes. Give the line's equipment its own hours per unit, such as a bundle extractor at 6 hours a bundle. Leave it blank and it runs for the crew's hours.
Can I split the turnaround by unit or area?
Yes. Tag each line with a WBS area or a location and group the sheet by it, with a subtotal for each. The cost report filters by area too.
If the boilermaker rate goes up, does a turnaround bid I've sent change?
No. A submitted bid keeps the labor and equipment rates it was priced with, so a new boilermaker rate or a pricier extractor doesn't move a turnaround price you've already sent.
Can I price bolt-up by the flange and bundles by the bundle?
Yes. Units are free text, so flanges, column trays and exchanger bundles each go in by the each (EA). Bidfident doesn't convert between units, so price each line in the unit its rate is in.
Can I carry scaffold, insulation and NDE as separate subs?
Yes. Each scope has its own bids side by side on the Subcontractors tab, with the lowest flagged and carried unless you pick another. Carry a plug number for any scope still waiting on bids.
Does it build the TAR schedule?
No. Bidfident prices the work. It doesn't schedule crews or track time. The turnaround's length in weeks drives the weekly general conditions, such as the crane and supervision.
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 turnaround 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.