Quantity Take-off & Construction Cost Estimating

About this course

In any construction business, the people who understand project cost carry real weight: quantities and prices shape construction methods, design decisions and tender results. An engineer who can measure works from drawings and assemble a full cost estimate therefore holds a clear advantage in the job market.

This classroom programme by the RDSIC training centre of the Institute of Information Technology in Civil Engineering — Hanoi University of Civil Engineering (HUCE) follows a learning-by-doing approach. Every topic is practised immediately on the drawing set of a completed building, with instructors correcting each student's work in G8 and Eta at the computer.

What you will learn

• Produce a complete estimate from a drawing set: work list, measured quantities and correctly matched cost norms.
• Resolve tricky pricing cases with adapted codes, adjustment factors and revised material consumption.
• Use G8 and Eta fluently from data entry through final checking and printing of the estimate dossier.
• Build labour, machine-shift and delivered material prices following current Ministry of Construction circulars.
• Assemble cost summaries, the total estimate and a preliminary total investment in the prescribed format.
• Extend the estimating method to transport, bridge and urban infrastructure projects.

Who should enrol

• Staff of project management units, tendering boards and planning or technical departments of contractors.
• Site engineers responsible for quantities and cost who want a systematic take-off method.
• Final-year students in construction economics, architecture, civil, bridge and road or infrastructure engineering.
• Non-technical learners who have completed a drawing-reading course and aim to work in estimating.

Detailed syllabus

1. Foundations and the legal framework of estimating

• Current regulations governing quantity measurement and construction cost estimates
• Stages of an investment project; what a cost estimate contains and common ways to prepare one
• Construction norm systems in force and how to search them efficiently
• Working with unit price books issued by each province and city
• Overview of popular estimating tools; class practice focuses on G8 with guidance on Eta

2. A civil building estimated end to end

• Measuring in construction order: piles, substructure (earthworks, concrete, reinforcement, formwork, footing masonry), frame, roof system and all finishing plus MEP items
• For every package, studying drawings and construction methods before listing tasks and assigning norms
• Transferring quantities into the software and fine-tuning codes, factors and material consumption
• Supporting mini-topics: haulage pricing, lifting materials to height and scaffolding quantities

3. Material, labour and machine pricing

• Breaking down material prices; using provincial price announcements and computing site-delivered cost
• Setting labour and machine-shift rates per Circular 13/2021/TT-BXD, Circular 01/2025/TT-BXD and local guidance
• Configuring these parameters in the software so the estimate updates automatically

4. Transport, bridge and infrastructure works

• Understanding road, bridge and urban utility drawing packages
• Methods, sequencing and staging of their characteristic work items
• Guided take-off and norm assignment for the main items, building on the civil-building method

5. Finalising the estimate dossier

• Item summaries, the grand total and total investment per Decree 10/2021/ND-CP with Circulars 11/2021/TT-BXD and 01/2025/TT-BXD
• Covering every cost group: site clearance and compensation, construction, equipment, management, consultancy, other costs and contingency
• Cross-checking, final edits and printing the submission package

Learning format

The same 13-session programme, the same syllabus and the same materials, delivered in three formats so you can pick the one that fits your working hours and location:

• Online — The instructor teaches live over Microsoft Teams on a fixed timetable — not pre-recorded video. You run the software on your own computer alongside the demonstration and submit exercises during the session for immediate correction; every session is recorded so you can revisit anything you missed.
• On campus — Evening classes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City following the centre's intake schedule. You practise at your computer while the instructor moves between desks and corrects your work on the spot.
• At your company — RDSIC sends an instructor to your offices. Content, duration and timetable are adapted to your own project documents and the software your team already uses; fees are quoted separately according to group size and requirements.

Whichever format you choose, you work from the same drawings and exercises taken from a project that has actually been built, receive the same post-course support and the same certificate. Tuition for the online and on-campus classes is shown in the table at the top of this page.

Class photos and videos

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Certificate of completion

After the final assessment, graduates are certified by the Institute of Information Technology in Civil Engineering — Hanoi University of Civil Engineering (HUCE). Contact 0989 427 809 for the next intake and free advice.

Promotions and discounts

Group tuition discount — applied to every group member and the group leader:

Note: this discount cannot be combined with any other promotion.

Discounts for taking multiple courses at RDSIC

• Take two courses in parallel and get 10% off the tuition of each course.
• Your second course at RDSIC is 10% off.

Deferral policy

• In-person courses: deferral of up to one year from the date the centre confirms it.
• Online courses: no deferral; as an exception, students who have attended less than 50% of the course may be granted a deferral of up to one year.

Related courses

• Reading Construction Drawings
• Quantity Surveyor (QS) Training Programme
• Construction Final Accounts & Settlement

Browse the full list at Construction Courses.