Project Management in the Oil and Gas Industry

4.2.2 Steel Structure Cost Estimate
The cost estimate for the steel structure is significantly different than the 
calculation of the estimated cost of the reinforced concrete structure, as 
it needs a special design for the larger differences in the construction 
phase.
The most important part of the design and construction of the steel 
structure is the connection and it is known that the connection cost is 
about 50 percent of the whole building.
The following table defines the cost percentage for each part in a steel 
structure project.
Table 4.2 Guide for estimating steel quantity in reinforced concrete.
Approximate Quantity of steel 
 reinforcement in concrete, Kg/m
3
Structure element type
90–100
Slab with beam
250
Flat slab
150–180
Hollow block slab
90–120
Columns
100–120
Isolated footing
200–300
Raft foundation
Table 4.3 Percentage of reinforced concrete building cost
Percentage from the total cost, %
Activity item
3
Design and site supervision
36
Concrete works
6
Masonry work
10
Sanitary and plumbing
45
Internal and external finishing

---

Project Cost Control 123
Design 13%
Materials 38%
Fabrication 27%
Coating 10%
Erection 12%
From Figure (4.1), one can determine the proportions of the cost of 
main elements for constructing a steel structure. Every item has a percent-
age of the total cost.
We note from the above table that the connections, either through the 
use of welds or bolts, have the largest share in the process of preparing 
detailed drawings, where the most important and most dangerous phase is 
the accuracy of the details of the connection.