Deep Excavation Cost Estimation in DeepEX
- Dec 26, 2023
- 3 min read
Compare Excavation Alternatives and Estimate Project Costs Before Construction Begins
Designing a safe excavation is only part of the challenge.
Project owners, contractors, and engineers must also determine whether the proposed solution is economically viable. Often, multiple excavation support systems can satisfy project requirements, but their construction costs may vary significantly.
Questions commonly arise during the design process:
Should the project use tiebacks or struts?
Is a secant pile wall more economical than a soldier pile wall?
What is the cost impact of increasing excavation depth?
How much will additional support levels affect the budget?
Which alternative provides the best balance between safety and cost?
Answering these questions typically requires exporting quantities into spreadsheets and performing separate cost evaluations.
DeepEX helps simplify this process by integrating quantity takeoffs and preliminary cost estimation directly into the design workflow.
The Challenge: Design Optimization Requires Cost Visibility
Many excavation projects go through multiple design iterations.
Engineers may evaluate:
Alternative wall types
Different support systems
Various excavation sequences
Multiple construction methods
While technical performance can be evaluated using engineering calculations, understanding the financial impact of each alternative often requires substantial additional effort.
How DeepEX Helps
DeepEX automatically calculates project quantities directly from the design model and uses these quantities to generate preliminary cost estimates.
This allows engineers and contractors to compare alternatives while they are still making design decisions.
Integrated Quantity Takeoffs
Because the estimate is linked directly to the excavation model, DeepEX can automatically calculate quantities associated with:
Retaining walls
Sheet piles
Soldier piles
Secant piles
Tiebacks
Struts
Walers
Concrete elements
Excavation volumes
Soil improvement systems
Additional support components
This reduces manual quantity calculations and improves consistency between design and estimating workflows.
Compare Design Alternatives Quickly
One of the greatest benefits of integrated cost estimation is the ability to compare alternatives within the same project file.
Engineers can evaluate questions such as:
Should the excavation be anchored or braced?
Would a different wall section reduce costs?
Is additional support justified?
Which construction sequence is most economical?
Because costs are linked directly to the design model, modifications can be evaluated much more rapidly than with traditional spreadsheet-based estimating methods.
Support Local Cost Conditions
Construction costs vary significantly between regions and projects.
DeepEX allows users to customize:
Currency
Labor costs
Material costs
Installation costs
Regional adjustments
Company-specific estimating assumptions
This flexibility helps create estimates that better reflect local market conditions and project-specific requirements.
Detailed Cost Breakdown Reports
DeepEX generates detailed quantity and cost reports that allow users to review:
Material quantities
Installation quantities
Unit costs
Labor costs
Total project costs
Cost contributions by construction component
The detailed breakdown helps engineers and contractors identify major cost drivers and evaluate opportunities for optimization.
Optimize Designs Before Construction
By combining engineering analysis and cost estimation within a single environment, DeepEX allows project teams to make better-informed decisions early in the design process.
Benefits include:
✔ Faster evaluation of design alternatives
✔ Improved understanding of project costs
✔ Reduced manual quantity takeoffs
✔ More efficient value engineering studies
✔ Better communication between engineers and contractors
✔ Improved budgeting during preliminary design
✔ Reduced risk of overlooking major cost items
Why Engineers and Contractors Use DeepEX
DeepEX helps bridge the gap between design and construction by combining excavation analysis, quantity takeoffs, and cost estimation within a single software platform.
Instead of performing engineering design in one program and estimating costs in another, project teams can evaluate technical performance and project economics simultaneously.
This allows engineers to identify solutions that are not only safe and constructible, but also cost-effective.
Important Note
Cost estimates generated by DeepEX are intended for preliminary planning, alternative comparison, conceptual design studies, and budgeting purposes. Actual project costs may vary depending on site conditions, contractor means and methods, market conditions, procurement strategies, and regional pricing.
Availability
Deep Excavation Cost Estimation capabilities are included in the DeepEX 3D package and can be applied to both 2D excavation sections and complete 3D excavation models.
Let us show you how to reduce your design time by up to 90%!