The Art of Estimating - why this blog ?

Before explaining why I start this blog, I might better introduce myself :o)

Who is Peggy Bovens ?
I am a civil engineer / architect with two decades of experience in the Belgian Construction Industry: from purchasing over detailing elements in architectural precast concrete to estimating, over soil control on the construction site to head of the estimating department of a fairly large contractor. The latter wasn't my cup of tea: too high in ranking to estimate, too low in ranking to set the strategy. So, in 2006 I started PB calc & consult with this big idea of introducing the Belgian Construction Industry into the 21 century. A really big task for a small lady. But I'm stubborn, really stubborn ... and I do pretend to know a lot about estimating.

This brings me to the why of this blog.
On my website I already published some articles but here the possibilities to interact are too limited. I do have a twitter account but 140 caracters is really too little to explain what I am trying to achieve. Also because I like to talk and write so much :o).
Today someone mailed me and somehow this mail pulled the trigger.

The aim of this blog is to show that measuring and estimating isn't boring but a real challenge for those who want to do it in a professional way. In Dutch the job is done by a "calculator". Of course everyone thinks of the small device you used in school while attending boring math lessons. "Construction cost engineering" sounds much more challenging !
So for all the young (and old) "calculators" in Belgium who are fed up with their title: go and ask your boss for this new title :o)

Back to some seriousness : I'll treat in my blogs subjects going from theoretical considerations about coding systems for BIM to hands-on articles about e.g. buyer counseling. I'll try to reach the project developper, the designer, the contractor and the facility manager; what's more, my aim is to build bridges between those separate worlds.

I hope you join me in my quest and react to what I write !

Kind regards,
Peggy

www.bouwdata.net