Core Workflow

Organise project structure

Project Structure helps you organise a complex job into sections that are easier to estimate and review.

It is sometimes called a work breakdown structure, or WBS.

When to use it

Use Project Structure when one RFQ or asset contains meaningful internal divisions, such as:

  • design, fabrication, finishing, and installation phases;
  • building levels or rooms;
  • plant areas or site zones;
  • trades or disciplines;
  • assemblies, packages, or deliverables.

Skip it when a short list of takeoff items already explains the job clearly.

Create a structure

Open Project Structure from the RFQ workspace, then add a structure node.

For each node, you can define:

  • a name;
  • an optional code;
  • a type;
  • its parent or placement;
  • its display order.

Parent and child nodes create a hierarchy. For example:

Building A
  Level 1
    Structural steel
    Handrails
  Level 2
    Structural steel
    Handrails

Choose useful names

Use names that an estimator can recognise without opening the drawing again.

Good names:

  • Workshop fabrication
  • Level 02 handrails
  • North elevation cladding
  • Site installation

Less useful names:

  • Section 1
  • Miscellaneous
  • Other

Codes are optional. Use them when your business or customer already works with a known coding system.

Reorder and place nodes

Placement controls where a node sits in the hierarchy. Order controls how sibling nodes appear.

Before moving a node, check whether its children should move with it. A parent cannot be placed underneath one of its own descendants.

Save a structure template

If the same breakdown appears on many jobs, save the current structure as a template.

Examples include:

  • a standard fabrication lifecycle;
  • a repeatable building-level structure;
  • a maintenance shutdown package;
  • a standard machine-build sequence.

Templates are starting points. After applying one, adjust it to match the current RFQ rather than treating it as fixed.

Example: fabrication and installation

For a fabricated platform, a useful structure might be:

  1. Engineering and detailing
  2. Material procurement
  3. Workshop fabrication
  4. Surface treatment
  5. Transport
  6. Site installation

This makes omissions easier to spot and lets reviewers understand where each cost belongs.