Business Process Automation (BPA) Solutions Case Study

Ease and speed - Why Bradford Council has relied on Microrate's bill of quantities system for nearly a decade

It's nearly ten years since a number of departments within City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (CBMDC) first began using the DOS version of ROCC Microrate™. The council has established a rare, close partnership with its software supplier to become one of the primary contributors to the development of the product.

When the first Beta trials of the new Windows versions began in 1997, Neil Clark, assistant engineer within the Drainage Capital Works Unit proposed CBMDC as a test site. Says Clark: "Using Microrate™ makes the creation of Bills of Quantities far easier and quicker, tender evaluation is better controlled and presented and the preparation of interim and final accounts is fast, easy and accurate."

Once a design is created, it is broken down into a bill of quantities which cover every aspect of the job, based on the CESMM (Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement) methodology, held as one of a number of standard libraries within Microrate™. This Bill of Quantities then becomes part of the tender document and is used by contractors as their "price list" to cost the project in detail. According to Ian Griffiths, a technician within the Highways department, it at least halves the amount of time necessary to produce Bills of Quantities which can extend to hundreds of A4 pages.

Contractors put forward their proposals and costings based on this. We work within the MMHW (Method of Measurement for Highway Works) standard and Microrate™ can enable us to interact with other departments such as Street Lighting or Drainage, who use alternative standard measures.

Concludes Neil Clark: "We are continuing to contribute to Microrate™, which we view almost as a jointly developed product. We still have lots of ideas on how to make it even better. ROCC is willing to listen and follow through and we enjoy an excellent relationship."