Labor/Man-Hours Labor/Man-Hours is the time it takes to install the material on a given project. Man-Hours are consistently the most misunderstood Part of estimating. When a project can be completed in a couple of weeks, it is easy to visualize it will take one day for this function and two days for that function, but when a project takes several months or longer it becomes much more difficult. A way to achieve this is to assign a Man-Hour to each product installed. This takes much of the guesswork out of the process. It is close to an absolute that the material to do a function will be reasonably the same for everyone. Once the material list is established, a Man-Hour is placed by each item. For example: Material Man-Hours Extended Man-Hours 2000’ – ½” EMT .032 64 200 – 1/2” EMT Connectors .03 6 200 – 1/2” EMT Couplings .03 6 200 – 1/2” 1-Hole Straps .02 4 6000 ’- #12 THHN .0065 39 30-Boxes .1 3 30-Blank covers .02 .06 90-Wing nuts .015 1.35 Total 123.41 Man-Hours will be explained in detail in future chapters, but the idea of associating each item with a time is to give you a solid starting point. It is the accumulation of man-hours that works for the complete project. One specific item may seem too low or too high, but it is the total man-hours for the project that you should be most concerned about. By using this method, you establish a constant bidding pattern. In this example, the total time added up to 123.41 man-hours. This equals (1)-man working 123.41 hours or (15.42)- 8 hour days, 2 men (7.7) – 8 hour days, 3 men( 5.1) – 8 hour days or 4 men (3.8) – 8 hour days