Rev. August 29, 2022

Scope: Facilities for the manufacture and production of chemicals, petrochemicals, and hydrocarbon processing, but also pharmaceutical, utility, metallurgical, converting, and similar. These rely on process flow diagrams (PFDs, piping and instrument diagrams (P&IDs) and electrical one-lines as primary scope defining documents. Estimates typically center on mechanical and chemical process equipment, and they have significant amounts of process piping, electrical, instrumentation, and process controls involved as well as civil/structural work associated with the plant. Substations, a common element of process plant facilities, are covered as well. Also includes pumping and compression stations, and terminal tank facilities for pipelines projects.

Scope: Definitions depends on data from/for project permitting; drilling and exploration; underground and surface mining; ore handling, milling and metallurgical processing; tailings and water management; and other onsite and offsite infrastructure facilities that may be similar to any process plant or uniquely mining. Intended to cover entire mining projects from the mine (surface or underground) through the initial processing including all associated process and infrastructure facilities within the scope. However, if the project is for a processing plant with no other mining aspect, it is assumed covered by 18R-97. Similarly, if the project is only for infrastructure elements alone (pipeline, power lines, road and rail) or buildings, those are covered by their respective RPs. Standalone exploration programs based on drilling or remote means are not included in this RP; however, exploration such as sinking shafts, driving drifts from an operation or drilling funded as part of mine development may be covered. In addition, projects for mine reclamation and closure may be included. Other than these exclusions, this addendum is specifically intended to cover the full mining project scope and should not be combined with other addendums.

Scope: Covers new or renovated building (vertical) construction, as well as site/civil projects of repetitive and repeatable nature. Examples for buildings include: residential construction, commercial buildings, hotels, resorts, offices, retail, etc. Examples for site/civil projects include: site development, utility infrastructure, telecom, water and sanitary sewer pipelines, storm water and water resources projects. Estimates center on: functional space requirements, structural requirements, site requirements, architectural elements, sustainability, and supporting mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and life‐safety systems. This addendum specifically does not address process industries, environmental remediation, road and rail transportation, hydropower, reservoirs, and tunnels. This RP also does not fully cover one‐of‐a‐kind projects with special scope like concert halls, sports stadium, research building, health facilities, pharmaceutical, science laboratories and hi‐tech manufacturing. 

Scope: Involves the production of electrical power, exclusive of transmission and distribution, using natural gravitational force of falling or flowing water, excluding tidal forces, to drive a turbine that powers a generator. Hydropower facilities are typically composed of key features such as reservoir area preparation (e.g., clearing, removal of structures and earthmoving), river management (e.g., cofferdams, diversion channels or tunnels, sediment management plans, environmental monitoring programs), principal structures (e.g., dams, dykes, intakes, penstocks, powerhouses, low level outlets, power tunnels, de-silting basins, and spillway structures), permanent local infrastructure (e.g., access roads, railroads, bridges, offices, warehouse and housing), Temporary infrastructure (e.g., construction camp, site access roads, airport, workshops, construction power, etc.) and environmental mitigation features (e.g. fish ladders, water bypass and creation of new fish or wildlife habitat). Typical hydropower facilities may include: turbines, generators, exciters, governors, transformers, gates for intake, spillway and draft tubes, and supporting electrical, mechanical, telecom, protection, and control systems. The water storage reservoir is typically required to support the operations of the hydropower facility. This RP does not specifically address commercial buildings, environmental remediation, regional transportation infrastructure, transmission and distribution of electricity, thermal, wind, solar, tidal and geothermal generation.

Scope: Petroleum exploration and production (E&P) projects covering drilling, completion, gathering systems, and processing to a marketable product, including all associated process and infrastructure facilities within the scope of the project (but not including major infrastructure such as major pipelines, power transmission, and road and rail). Offshore facilities, such as subsea systems, fixed platforms, and floating facilities, are covered. As with mining, early seismic and exploration studies may be expensed and excluded. All facilities downstream of the production facilities are also excluded. E&P projects must pay special attention to the political and regulatory environment.

Scope: Facilities for overhead, buried and submarine transmission of electrical power in the infrastructure industries. High voltage is typically >100kV but may be less (e.g., 33 or 66kv) if long distance with light loads. This excludes power supply and distribution scope within a process plant or building. It also excludes power generation facilities and substations. Like pipeline, a distinguishing feature is that they often traverse wide areas, cross country or subsea, which puts an emphasis on the definition of routing, land ownership and conditions, and establishing right-of-way (ROW). Associated scope definition challenges include defining stakeholder, permitting and regulatory requirements (power transmission is usually a regulated industry if not government owned). Submarine installations increase the focus on cable selection including armoring and joint considerations. While many distinguish power transmission (higher voltage, long distances) from power distribution (short distance, lower voltage connections to retail customers), the principles of estimating these elements are similar; i.e., the RP applies to both. The main physical power transmission line scope elements are conductors and their support structures if installed overhead. Main installation elements include land clearing if over land (including forestry if applicable), foundation and structure erection and conductor stringing if overhead, or trenching, laying and horizontal boring if subsurface or subsea. Special scope elements are involved with crossings of water, road, rail and so on and at terminations. The main scope definition deliverables are associated with defining the power requirements (i.e., kV), the conductors and structure, and the routing. The route’s land (or subsea) characteristics and the nature of developments drive the need for special design features and execution strategies.

Scope: Facilities for onshore and offshore pipelines for transportation of gas and liquids in the infrastructure industries. Including but not limited to hydrocarbons, chemicals and water. This primarily covers pipelines under pressure (e.g., steel, composite, etc.) and not gravity drainage (e.g., concrete; see general construction). Excludes piping within a process plant. It also excludes pumping and compression stations and storage and shipping terminals (see process). However, incidental valve, monitoring or pigging stations may be included. A key element of defining scope is to study system hydraulics. A distinguishing feature of these projects is that they often traverse wide areas, cross country or subsea, which puts an emphasis on the definition of routing, land ownership and conditions, and establishing right-of-way (ROW). Associated scope definition challenges include defining stakeholder, permitting and regulatory requirements (pipeline transportation is usually a regulated industry if not government owned). Special scope elements are involved with crossings of water, road, rail and so on (including borings) and at the pipeline terminations. Environmental, safety and health concerns are paramount with pipelines under pressure, and may carry hazardous materials, therefore, monitoring and control systems are key scope elements as well as inspection and maintenance considerations (e.g., pigging).

Scope: Facilities for major roads, highways, railroads, transit rail and similar facilities for transporting people and goods. Rail may be primarily for freight, people (transit) or both including specialized systems such as metros, light rail, high speed, monorails and people movers. This includes the right-of-way and access site preparation and civil work (excavation, drainage, causeway, etc.), structures (e.g., over and underpasses, bridged crossings, monorail structure, walkways, etc.), electrical for lighting and for power (if electric driven), road surfaces, guides, rail components and rolling stock, safety, signaling and signage, telecommunications, and other ancillary facilities. This excludes specialized elements (major projects in their own right) including major long-span bridges and viaducts (e.g., major river or canyon crossings, etc.) and major tunnels; however elevated structure for urban monorail or people movers is included. Also excludes major buildings such as toll stations, rail stations, rail maintenance, fueling and remote operations and control facilities. Also excluded are specialized systems such as hyperloop and traction/cable funiculars and cable car. Major system power generation, transmission and substations are also excluded but distributed traction substations and power lines/rail for electric trains are included. The main elements are the roadway itself including embankments, cuts, and pavement layers, drainage and culverts, retaining/shoring structures, noise barriers, safety structures, support structures (under/overpasses, minor bridges and walkways), signage, signals and lighting. Typical installation elements include earthworks (land clearing, top soil removal, embankment and cut sections), paving (with specialized equipment), underground and surface drainage, utility relocation and modification, road and structure foundations including retaining/shoring features, structural steel and/or concrete, lighting electrical, signal electrical and controls and various specialty items (sound barriers, guardrail, fence, speed control systems, smart systems, etc.). Environmental concerns are paramount. The main rail elements are track components (rails, fastenings, sleepers, switches and crossings, ballast or slab track (if not ballast), and the railroad base (sub ballast, sub base) including earthworks (land clearing, top soil removal, embankment and cut sections), underground and surface drainage, utility relocation and modification. Elevated structures for monorail or other transitways may be included. It also adds grade crossings and safety barriers. If electric propulsion is used, overhead lines and structure are required, as well as power distribution such as traction substations. Finally, the engines and rolling stock, trainsets and other vehicles are included.

Scope: Includes facilities in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries, but also nutraceuticals which approach pharmaceutical grade quality. These facilities support the manufacturing and packaging of products regulated as drugs or medicines (or of near quality such as nutraceuticals). These facilities typically combine specialized process plant, packaging, utilities and waste handling scope, with specialized building scope. Their scope is similar to that of other indoor process facilities except for the level of quality and process and environmental control. In terms of stage-gate processes, these projects also include a more extensive, rigorous and regulated start-up and commissioning phase than typical process plants termed qualification and validation. Qualification typically has sub-phases of installation and operational qualification (IQ/OQ) that verify that the facility was installed correctly and operates as intended respectively. Additional defining deliverables are required which can be of extensive duration (and added uncertainty). For non-medicine nutraceuticals, there are food safety qualification practices of a similar nature but less regulated. The scope elements are similar to process plants and buildings covered in RPs 18R-97 and 56R-08 respectively. It includes the site and building (site development and; architectural, civil and structural works, mechanical systems [e.g., HVAC], power and lighting, and so on); major plant installations; production areas; production equipment and the process facilities (equipment, piping, electrical, controls and so on).; support production systems; protection and associated control and automation system; qualification and validation. However, some of the building and process elements are of a highly specialized nature such as the hygienic piping, valves and fittings, impervious and aseptic building finishes, and clean room HVAC to name a few. If a project consists of a site and building or process element that is of a more standard nature (e.g., an office building adjacent to the plant) and lacks the specialized features and qualification requirements, RPs 18R-97 and 56R-08 can be applied.

Scope: This RP focuses on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) remedial projects and United States Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action projects, as well as decontamination and demolition (D&D), ordnance and explosives cleanups, and other environmental remediation work. However, it can be applied towards other legal frameworks and regulations that follow similar processes. This RP focuses on environmental remediation in response to the result of the release of toxic and hazardous substance. It includes estimates for work encompassing the entire environmental remediation life cycle from initial investigations (excluding R&D) through site closure, including long term surveillance and long-term maintenance. Therefore, it could be applied to cost estimates for closure/post-closure of regulated facilities (e.g., hazardous waste facilities under RCRA) such as mine reclamation or asbestos abatement prior to demolition of a building. It excludes projects to construct waste processing facilities such as wastewater treatment, or decommissioning projects not involving environmental remediation. This RP is unique in its integration of classification with the six phases usually associated with environmental remediation project life cycles.

Scope: This RP applies to the process industries where a common attribute is the continuous operation (as opposed to batch operation) of the process plant, thus necessitating regular maintenance turnarounds. Maintenance turnarounds refers to maintenance, inspection and minor upgrade/modification work carried out by the turnaround maintenance and inspection team during a planned, periodic (total or partial) shutdown of a process unit or plant. These often have traditional capital project tie-in scope which needs to be executed in the turnaround event window. The cost estimates covered by this RP are for the inspection and maintenance work only. RP 18R-97 covers estimates for the traditional project scope. To explain further, this RP applies to corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance, inspection work (statutory, risk-based, company mandated, etc.) and minor management of change projects, if carried out by the maintenance team. It does not apply to capital investment project work, executed by a project team, even if that project work requires a shutdown of the plant for installation of tie-ins. Nor does it apply to shutdowns for routine catalyst changes. Examples of typical turnaround work include, but are not limited to, valve refurbishment, pipe clamp removal and pipe repair, repair of corrosion under insulation, overhaul of compressors to meet original equipment manufacturer warranty requirements, cleaning of shell and tube heat exchanger tubes, replacement of heat refractory bricks in a reactor, repair/replacement of damaged trays in a distillation column, and so on. This RP also discusses unique risk funding in turnarounds that may have separate accounts in addition to traditional contingency including emergent work that arises after scope freeze and before the start of shutdown, and discovery work that is discovered during the turnaround execution when equipment is opened and inspected.

Scope: The nuclear power industry includes private and public utilities using nuclear fission reactors in the production of electrical power, exclusive of transmission and distribution (see RP 96R-18 for transmission). Projects include both modification and new build projects. Nuclear power facilities typically include, but are not limited to, the nuclear reactor structures, systems, equipment, and components; nuclear steam supply system; turbogenerator and auxiliary systems and the balance of plant structures, systems, equipment, and components. Cost estimates for nuclear power projects include unique concerns and definition requirements related to licensing, worker radiation protection, nuclear safety systems procurement requirements, and security concerns that can add uncertainty. Requirements for nuclear systems redundancy for licensing and safety considerations add scope, deliverables and uncertainty beyond traditional process or thermal power generation projects. This RP excludes nuclear decommissioning, waste and disposal, fuel enrichment or reprocessing, pilot facilities, or research and fusion nuclear reactors. The plant scope typically includes significant building construction directly associated with nuclear power plants; however, major buildings not directly associated with the processes (e.g., office buildings) should use RP 56R-08 for general construction.

Gorey, J.M., “Estimate Types: A Proposal by the Estimating Methods Committee”, AACE Bulletin Vol 1, No. 1, 1958.
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Lukas, Joseph and R Nemes, “Reengineering Kodak’s Capital Process”, AACE International Transactions, 1996.

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AACE International, Recommended Practice 104R-19, "Communicating Estimate Accuracy", AACE International, Morgantown, WV, (latest revision).

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