Suderman Estimating

Presented by John Wiesel

Gain the confidence to bid accurately and win profitable work with a proven, systematic estimating system.

Are you confident in your electrical estimating skills in today’s competitive market? One missed labour unit or a forgotten job expense can turn a winning bid into a losing project.

This two-part, live online workshop delivered by Suderman Estimating provides a time-tested, step-by-step system that catches errors before they cost you, so you can bid with clarity and walk onto the job site with confidence.

With rising material costs and tight labour markets, a single 5% miss on a large commercial job can wipe out a month’s overhead. You can’t afford to estimate by instinct. This course replaces guesswork with a structured, verifiable process – from your first takeoff to your final profit margin.

You will learn how to:

• Course 1, Day 1 – Estimating Fundamentals:
  Walk through real drawings and physically count every receptacle, lighting fixture, and feeder for an office and a plant. You’ll paste your counts into structured takeoff forms – supplied by us – and catch quantity errors before they become budget killers.
• Course 1, Day 2 – Pricing & Laboring:
  Apply standard labour units to your counts, then adjust them for site conditions and non-productive time. You’ll calculate material pricing, add job expenses, and apply mark-up – so you see your true profit number emerge on paper.
• Course 2, Day 1 – Advanced Industrial Estimating:
  Move up to 600-amp distribution, QMQB panelboards, switchgear replacements, bus duct, and 5KV service entrances. You’ll draft a complete estimate for a motor control centre with power and control wiring – tackling the complexity that scares most competitors away.
• Course 2, Day 2 – Quoting, Change Orders & Unit Pricing:
  Build a full quotation example, then practice handling change orders and extras mid-job. You’ll also calculate the true hourly cost of your vehicles and equipment, so your charge-out rates actually cover your fleet – and you’ll create unit pricing templates that speed up future bids.

👥 Ideal Audience:
Electrical contractors, journeyman electricians, maintenance electricians, those looking to enter electrical contracting, purchasing personnel, engineers, architects and technicians, project managers, and foremen. Course 1 is beginner-friendly; Course 2 builds on it directly and requires Course 1 as a prerequisite.

📅 Date:

• Course 1: Oct 27 & 28, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM ET
• Course 2: Nov 24 & 25, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM ET
  (Course 1 is a mandatory prerequisite for Course 2)