Electrical estimating, project management and technical advisory Brisbane.
From a licensed electrical contractor that prices the job and then builds it.
AMP’D Services Group provides electrical estimating, project management and independent technical advice to builders, facility and property managers, and other electrical contractors across Brisbane, under Electrical Contractor Licence 1504460. Estimates are signed off by a licensed contractor who could deliver the works, which is why the scope, the assumptions and the exclusions are all written down. We are engaged from budget stage through to handover, or at any single point along it.
Why people call us
The three problems that bring project managers to us
“The contractor makes me look bad.”
You signed off the programme, then the electrical trade turns up short-handed, misses the coordination meeting and the delay lands on your desk. You end up explaining someone else’s decisions to your own tenant, board or client.
“I cannot see the compliance risk.”
Test records that arrive months late, or not at all. Boards with no legible schedule. Nobody can tell you what has been tested, what failed and what was actually rectified, so the risk sits with the building rather than with the trade.
“Neither option fits.”
The local electrician knows the site but cannot scale past two vans. The national provider can scale but sends a different technician every visit, so the site knowledge resets each time and you re-explain the building from scratch.
You should not have to project manage your electrician.
Who we work with
Builders and head contractors
Electrical estimating and scope review during tender or design development, then the package managed through construction. We identify the scope gaps, interfaces and constructability issues before they become site issues, and we assess the electrical implications as the project changes.
Facility and property managers
Projects that start before the electrical solution is defined. We investigate the site, develop the scope, put a budget against it and manage the delivery. That covers capital works planning, infrastructure and switchboard upgrades, tenancy refurbishments, and the recurring fault that needs to stop being a callout and become a defined project.
Electrical contractors
Overflow estimating and project management capability during periods of high tender activity. Engaged around workload rather than carried as permanent overhead, and handled confidentially.
More capability. Less overhead. Better outcomes.
Estimating
Electrical estimating services in Brisbane
A documented electrical estimate built from the drawings and the specification, not from a rate per point and a memory of the last job. You receive a priced schedule you can interrogate, with every assumption and exclusion written down before anyone commits to a number.
Estimating starts with a full quantity take-off against the issued drawings: circuits, cable runs, containment, switchgear, light fittings, GPOs, data pathways and the plant connections that get forgotten until commissioning week. Every line is measured rather than allowed for, so when the scope changes later it is obvious which lines move and by how much.
Alongside the take-off we run a tender scope review. Documents disagree with each other more often than anyone admits: the specification calls for one switchboard standard, the schedule shows another, and the mechanical drawings introduce a load that the electrical single line never sees. We list those conflicts and come back with questions before pricing, because a question asked at tender costs nothing and the same question asked at week six costs a variation.
Not every project arrives as a set of drawings. Where there is a requirement but no defined electrical solution yet, we start earlier: investigate the site, develop the scope, review the practical options and put a budget figure against each one. That is usually what a capital works submission actually needs, and it costs a great deal less than pricing a design nobody has tested.
The estimate is then built up line by line with labour, material, prelims and margin visible rather than buried. Provisional sums are stated as provisional sums, and exclusions are written in plain English. Where the design is constructible but awkward, the constructability review flags it: the ceiling void that will not take the cable tray at the specified height, the switchboard that cannot be installed in once the slab above is poured, the isolation that has to happen inside a two hour trading window.
Value engineering options come as a separate list with the saving, the trade-off and any programme impact against each one, so the client makes the call. Budget-stage and tender-stage estimates are clearly labelled as what they are, because a planning figure and a contract figure should never be confused with each other.
What is included
Estimating is priced as a fixed fee scaled to project size, or hourly for smaller reviews. We confirm the fee and the turnaround before starting, so you know both before you commit.
Project Management
Electrical project management for commercial fit outs and upgrades
One point of contact holding the programme, the procurement and the subcontractors together, with reporting that tells you the project status. Suited to fit outs, tenancy upgrades and staged works inside buildings that have to keep operating.
Most electrical delays are procurement delays wearing a different hat. Switchboards, distribution gear and specified light fittings carry lead times that do not shorten because a programme says they should, so procurement is planned backwards from the installation date and tracked from the day the job starts.
On site, the electrical works are coordinated with the head contractor and the other trades rather than negotiated in the corridor each morning. Where the building is trading or tenanted, the work is staged around those hours and the isolations are planned, communicated and confirmed in advance.
You receive progress reporting against the programme, a variation register kept current, and a handover pack at the end: test records, certificates, as-installed marked-up drawings and a defect list worked through to zero rather than left open.
What is included
Project management is engaged either as a percentage of the electrical package or as a fixed fee against a defined scope. It is generally worth engaging where the electrical package runs beyond a single trade and involves procurement with lead times.
Technical advisory
Independent electrical technical advice in Brisbane
An independent read on a tender, a specification or an ageing asset, from someone with no stake in who wins the work. Useful when the numbers in front of you are not comparable, or when a capital submission needs a figure that will hold up.
Advisory work is delivered under professional indemnity cover as well as public liability, and certificates of currency are supplied on request. That matters here, because you are relying on the advice itself rather than on an installation we performed.
The common engagements are a tender review that puts three non-comparable quotes on the same basis, a second opinion on a scope that feels heavier than the problem, and an asset condition assessment that turns a switchroom full of unknowns into a costed replacement schedule across three to five years.
What is included
Carried out under professional indemnity and public liability cover. Priced hourly or as a fixed fee for a defined review scope.
Send us the drawings and we will tell you what the job really costs.
Budget-stage or tender-stage, we will confirm what we need, what it will cost to price and when you will have it. If we are not the right fit for the project, we will say so on the first call.
Or call 0413 070 411
7am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
Why AMP’D
Estimating and building are usually two different people
That split is where most of the cost surprises on an electrical package come from.
01
Most contractors price work they will build without formally estimating it
The number comes from memory, a rate per point and a feel for how the job usually runs. It works until the job is unusual, at which point the gap between the feel and the drawings turns into variations that nobody budgeted for.
02
Most estimators price work they could never build
A rigorous take-off and a clean spreadsheet can still miss the things a site knows: access windows, lead times on switchgear, how the ceiling grid fights the cable tray, and how long the head contractor actually gives you for the pre-handover test.
03
We sit in both seats
Twenty-three years in the industry, fifteen of them estimating and managing commercial projects, and a current Electrical Contractor Licence. The estimate is built the way the job would be built, which is why the assumptions and exclusions are written down rather than implied.
How it works
Five steps from documents to close-out
01
You send the documents
Drawings, specification, scope or a plain description of the works. We tell you within 2 business days whether we are the right fit and what we need to price it.
02
We review the scope
We read the documents properly, list what is unclear and come back with questions before pricing rather than after award.
03
You get the estimate
A priced schedule with the assumptions register, exclusions and any provisional sums stated in writing, at budget stage or tender stage.
04
We manage delivery
Programme, procurement, subcontractors and site coordination under one point of contact, with progress reporting at the interval you need it.
05
You get the close-out
Handover documentation, test records, as-installed marked-up drawings and a defect list worked through to zero.
Client references
What clients say about the way we price and deliver
Project services FAQ
Questions we get asked before a project.
Estimating
What do you need to price a project?
Drawings and a specification where they exist, or the scope and a site visit where they do not. If the documentation is incomplete we say what we have assumed rather than quietly carrying a risk allowance.
Do you charge for estimating?
Estimating engagements are a paid professional service, priced per project or at an agreed rate. Quoting works we will deliver ourselves is free.
Will you tell me where the price can come down?
Yes. Value engineering options are listed separately with the saving and the trade-off against each one, so the decision stays with you rather than being made inside the price.
How long does an estimate take?
A budget-stage figure is usually three to five business days. A full tender-stage estimate on a documented project generally takes one to two weeks depending on size and how clean the documents are.
What is the difference between a budget estimate and a tender estimate?
A budget estimate carries broader allowances and is built for capital planning. A tender estimate is a line-by-line build-up against issued documents and is the number you would contract on.
Project management
Can you manage the works if another contractor is installing?
Yes. We coordinate the electrical trade on your behalf, hold the programme, and report against it. Our licence means we can also assess the quality of what is being installed.
How do you handle variations?
Every variation is priced and approved in writing before the work proceeds. You get a running variation register so the current forecast cost is never a surprise at the end.
Can you work around trading hours or occupied tenancies?
Yes. Staged delivery around trading hours, night works and tenant-occupied floors is standard on commercial upgrades, and it is priced into the programme rather than discovered later.
What reporting do I get?
Progress against programme, procurement and lead-time status, variations, and any risks that need a decision. Weekly or fortnightly, whichever suits your own reporting cycle.
Advisory
Can you review a quote from another electrical contractor?
Yes. We compare it against the documented scope, identify what has been excluded or assumed, and tell you whether the numbers are comparable before you award anything.
Can you help with capital planning?
Yes. Asset condition assessments and cost forecasts across a three to five year horizon give you defensible numbers for a capital submission rather than a placeholder.
Are you covered for professional indemnity?
Yes. Advisory work is carried out under professional indemnity cover as well as public liability, and the certificates of currency are supplied on request.
