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Construction Labor Estimator: Man-Hours by Trade with Productivity Factors

Estimate Labor Hours for 9 Trade Categories with 6 Productivity Adjustments for Weather, Site Access, Overtime Fatigue, and More

Free construction labor estimating calculator for project managers, estimators, and general contractors who need to convert scope quantities into labor hours and crew days. Select from 9 trade categories with task-level presets that include industry-standard man-hour rates per unit of work. Apply 6 productivity adjustment factors — weather impact, site access difficulty, overtime fatigue degradation, crew skill level, supervision quality, and rework allowance — to get realistic field hours instead of textbook hours.

Textbook man-hour rates assume ideal conditions that almost never exist on a real jobsite. A conduit installation that books at 0.15 hours per foot in perfect conditions might actually take 0.22 hours per foot when you factor in a cramped mechanical room, 10-hour shifts with fatigue degradation, a green crew, and 5% rework. This calculator applies those real-world adjustments systematically instead of leaving them to gut feel. The output converts total man-hours into crew size and calendar days so you can build a realistic construction schedule, not just a labor budget.

Pro Tip: Overtime fatigue degradation is the most commonly underestimated factor. Research consistently shows that the 9th and 10th hours of a 10-hour day are only 85% as productive as the first 8 hours. After 4 weeks of sustained 50-hour weeks, cumulative productivity drops another 10-15%. If you are estimating a job that will run 6x10 for 3 months, apply at least a 1.15 to 1.25 fatigue factor to your base man-hours. Not doing this is how you end up 20% over budget on labor.

Project true overtime costs including FICA and hidden factors

Overtime Cost Projection →

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How It Works

  1. Select Trade Category

    Choose from 9 trade categories: electrical, piping, mechanical, structural steel, concrete, instrumentation, insulation, painting, and general labor. Each category contains task-level presets with standard man-hour rates.

  2. Enter Scope Quantities

    Input quantities for each task (linear feet of conduit, number of terminations, cubic yards of concrete, etc.). The calculator multiplies by the standard man-hour rate per unit to get base hours.

  3. Apply Productivity Factors

    Adjust 6 productivity factors from the defaults. Weather impact (0.9 to 1.3), site access difficulty (1.0 to 1.4), overtime fatigue (1.0 to 1.25), crew skill level (0.85 to 1.2), supervision quality (0.9 to 1.15), and rework allowance (1.0 to 1.10).

  4. Review Adjusted Man-Hours

    See base man-hours, the combined productivity factor, and the adjusted total. The breakdown shows which factor had the biggest impact so you can address it if possible.

  5. Convert to Crew Days

    Enter your planned crew size and work hours per day. The calculator converts total man-hours into calendar work days and shows the schedule duration.

  6. Export for Bid Package

    Export the labor estimate as a PDF for inclusion in bid proposals, project budgets, or schedule development.

Built For

  • Electrical estimators pricing a conduit and wiring package using industry-standard man-hour rates with site-specific adjustments
  • General contractors validating subcontractor labor bids by running an independent man-hour estimate against the submitted numbers
  • Project managers building construction schedules by converting labor estimates into crew sizes and durations
  • Construction companies comparing the labor cost of different construction methods (prefab vs field-built)
  • Owners reviewing contractor change order pricing by checking the man-hour rates against industry benchmarks
  • Turnaround planners estimating piping and mechanical labor for a refinery shutdown with compressed schedules and overtime
  • Cost engineers tracking actual man-hours against estimates during construction to flag budget variances early

Features & Capabilities

9 Trade Categories

Task-level man-hour presets for electrical, piping, mechanical, structural steel, concrete, instrumentation, insulation, painting, and general labor. Based on published industry rates and field experience.

6 Productivity Factors

Systematic adjustments for weather, site access, overtime fatigue, crew skill, supervision, and rework. Replaces gut-feel estimating with documented, defensible adjustments.

Crew and Calendar Conversion

Converts total adjusted man-hours into crew size and calendar work days. Helps build realistic schedules that account for productivity losses.

Factor Impact Breakdown

Shows the percentage contribution of each productivity factor to the total adjustment. Identifies which factor has the biggest impact so you can manage it.

Multi-Task Scope Building

Add multiple tasks within a trade category to build a complete scope estimate. Each task uses its own man-hour rate while sharing the same productivity factors.

PDF Export for Bids

Export the complete labor estimate with quantities, rates, factors, and totals as a professional PDF for bid packages and budget presentations.

Frequently Asked Questions

A man-hour rate is the average number of labor hours required to install one unit of work. For example, a typical man-hour rate for installing rigid conduit is 0.12 to 0.18 hours per linear foot depending on size and conditions. This means a journeyman electrician installs roughly 6 to 8 feet of conduit per hour under normal conditions. Man-hour rates are published in industry references like R.S. Means, Richardson, and trade-specific estimating guides.
Productivity factors are multipliers applied to base man-hour rates to account for real-world conditions. A factor of 1.0 means no adjustment (ideal conditions). A factor of 1.15 means the task will take 15% more man-hours than the base rate. Factors are multiplicative — if weather adds 10% (1.10) and overtime adds 15% (1.15), the combined factor is 1.10 x 1.15 = 1.265, meaning 26.5% more hours than the base rate, not 25%.
Weather impacts vary significantly by type and severity. Cold weather (below 40F) reduces productivity 10-20%. Extreme cold (below 20F) can reduce it 25-40%. Heat above 95F reduces productivity 10-20%. Rain stops most outdoor work entirely. Wind above 30 mph stops crane operations and can reduce all work 15-25%. Humidity above 80% reduces productivity 5-10%. The annual impact depends on location and season. A winter job in Minnesota needs a much larger weather factor than a summer job in Arizona.
The first week of overtime (e.g., 50 hours), productivity per hour drops about 5-10% during the overtime hours. After 4 weeks of sustained overtime, total productivity (including regular hours) drops 10-15% because cumulative fatigue affects all hours, not just the extra ones. After 8+ weeks of 60-hour weeks, total output per hour can be 20-25% below the normal 40-hour week rate. This means a crew working 60 hours is producing roughly the same total output as a fully rested crew working 48-50 hours — you are paying for 10-12 hours of unproductive time per person per week.
For a highly experienced crew that has done this exact type of work before, use 0.85 to 0.95 (5-15% better than average). For an average crew with typical experience, use 1.0 (no adjustment). For a crew with less experience, newer workers, or apprentices making up more than 30% of the crew, use 1.10 to 1.20 (10-20% worse than average). For a first-time-ever scope (new technology, unfamiliar process), use 1.25 to 1.50 for the learning curve. Be honest about your crew's capabilities — optimistic skill factors are the second most common cause of labor budget overruns after scope creep.
Disclaimer: Labor estimates are based on industry-standard man-hour rates and user-provided productivity factors. Actual labor hours vary significantly based on site conditions, crew experience, weather, design complexity, and management practices. Always validate estimates against historical data from similar projects when available.

Learn More

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Man-hour estimating benchmarks by trade and task, productivity adjustment factors, and crew sizing for construction labor estimates.

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