What a fabrication and erection scope actually covers
The single biggest reason two quotes for the same structure look far apart is not the rate. It is that one of them includes things the other expects you to provide. Before comparing numbers, compare scope.
What we normally carry
On the orders we run, the following are ours, not the client's:
- Fabrication of members from your approved drawings — cutting and burning, forming, machining, welding, and fit-up
- Erection at site, including alignment and final bolting
- Hydra and crane for lifting, with operators
- Welding machines, tools and tackle, and consumables including electrodes and gas
- Red-oxide priming of fabricated members
- Loading and unloading at site
- Manpower, and the statutory cover that goes with it — EPF, ESIC and workmen's compensation
- Safety equipment for our own crew
What normally stays with the client
Raw steel supply is the usual dividing line. On most of our packages the client supplies the sections and plate, and we convert and erect them. That is why the work is priced per metric tonne of steel handled rather than as a lump sum.
Also normally with the client: approved GA and fabrication drawings, foundations and anchor bolts set to level, power and water at site, storage space in the yard, and any third-party inspection the plant insists on.
Why this matters before you sign
A structure quoted without crane in scope is not cheaper. It is incomplete, and the crane will arrive as a variation halfway through erection when you have no leverage left. The same goes for consumables and for priming, which are easy to leave out of a number and expensive to add later.
When you ask us for a rate, we will tell you what is in and what is out in plain terms. If something in your enquiry is unclear, we ask rather than assume, because an assumption made at quoting time becomes an argument at billing time.
The short version: settle scope first, tonnage second, rate third. Doing it in that order is what makes a job finish without a dispute.