How do you evaluate your cost or provide your estimate in order to get Arcflash study projects? We currently use two different ways to do the estimate. One is based on the quantity of the total bus node $100/bus, the other one is based on total kVA capacity which is $3.00/kVA. Anyone can share your experience here? Thanks in advance!

We estimate the effort involved in each case and cost it accordingly.

Hi Noah, if you take a look on the EasyPower web site you will be able to download an extremely helpful document called Practical Solution Guide to Arc Flash Hazards. In there you will find in section 2.6 an estimation guide to determine the number of hours of work to undertake a full assessment. Good Luck, Mike

http://www.easypower.com

Noah,
In my experiance a quote consist of several components based on the customers wants and needs. Each are different and you'll take a licking if your not careful. Easypower's pdf will help you with the time but I found in some cases you have a factor of 2x depending on ability to access devices.

A lot of factors to consider or you will get burned in more way then one. A great communication plan between you and the customer is the most important. Know your scope of work, complete your job as the customer and you clearly have written up in a contract and met or beat the deadlines for what the customer expects. It all depends on the area your working in and the work your preforming including equipment rental. (lifts etc.)

e.g. $$$$$.00 for Aquiring Data or Collection
$$$$$.00 for Drawings
$$$$$.00 Analysis - Coordination, Duty, SC etc.
$$$$$.00 Finial Report

Good luck,
Martin

Very interesting discussion for there are so many interpretations as to what constitutes an arc flash study. If the work is combined with a selective coordination study, that reduces the simple analysis work quite a bit, but doesn't help in achieving workable solutions.

I have been asked to propose 'finishing' arc flash work after larger engineering firms left behind an tabulation of arc flash values that could not be understood by the plant operators. At one customer, these lists included multiple values for each set of switchgear with no interpretation provided. At another customer, most of the substations were deemed "not workable" and that was the end of the report.

what page on the particular guide? I have been scrolling several times and read the article but cannot find.

Here's another opinion on it, https://www.70econsultants.com/cost-calculator/ but I can tell you cost is highly variable and depends on number of busses, condition of equipment, if you need ladders or lifts to access stuff, if you need software to download relay data, if breakers and switches are accurately labeled or not or even labeled at all as to far as what the loads are, if yo have any existing, accurate one-lines, if you have submittals or shop drawings available etc. Some jobs are relatively "easy" if there is a lot of accurate existing documentation. Then data collection becomes mostly verification.

If there are no drawings or docs and stuff isn't labeled and equipment hasn't been maintained cost to do the study will be much higher as a lot of time will be spent tracking stuff down.

You can reduce the cost significantly if you are the facility owner/manager and can provide an electrician or two to perform the data collection or at least help with the data collection by opening/closing equipment and calling out breaker types and wire sizes etc. to the engineer or technician doing the study. It is expensive to hire local electricians for this or to bring men in from the engineering company to do this, especially if travel is involved.

It also reduces their risk of something going wrong during data collection on live equipment.

Got the reference document that I've been looking for.

[Deleted Commercial Link]

Wrongly downloaded a document from EasyPower website, but the document is valuable as well.

Thanks everyone and keep the forum alive and more sharing ideas.

As others have said, there are many variables. I usually prefer to go visit the site in person before I do a proposal. I have found that little bit of expense is worth it in the long run. I was in a facility last week that had bus ducts above drop ceilings. Talk about a time-consuming data collection! If the site has no drawings, panel schedules are not complete, conduits are difficult to trace out, all these things add time which equates to $$. The other side of it is how much time you will spend completing the study and report. Multiple scenarios for alternative feeds, a lot of coordination issues etc can add a lot of time to modeling and reporting. Keep good records of your time and you will see where you miss it and adjust accordingly. Good luck!

And don't forget the end result you wish to be accomplished.
Many customers simply want 'compliance with NFPA70E, which in their minds is labels on their equipment. But they have no idea why, what the labels should look like, where they should be placed, and how they relate to the company's Electrical Safe Work Practices Program.