News
News, guides and construction case studies.
What’s new in KOSAN and what we learn from estimating. Technical guides and practical construction examples.
FSR calculator 2026: labor burden factor and worked exampleCalculate the Mexican labor burden factor (FSR) and daily labor cost using UMA-based IMSS contributions. Adjust benefits and review the formula, breakdown and 2026 example.
Welcome to KOSANIntroducing KOSAN: construction estimates, unit price analyses, scheduling and project control in a desktop application developed in Mexico.
Fully Burdened Labor Rate Calculator for ConstructionCalculate construction labor cost per productive hour from annual wages, employer taxes, insurance and benefits. Review a worked example and keep overhead separate.
Budget vs. actual cost: identify cost overruns with KOSANCompare actual spending with completed work. Follow a unit-cost overrun example and see how KOSAN organizes progress and actual expenditure.
Overhead, financing and profit: build your selling price with KOSANBuild a selling price from direct costs. Check the calculation bases for overhead, financing and profit with KOSAN.
AI-assisted unit price analysis: prepare and review APUs with KOSANPrepare proposed unit price analyses with KOSAN AI, then review scope, resource consumption, productivity and prices before applying them. Includes a worked APU example.
Progress payment statements: quantities, advances and retentionsPrepare current-period quantities, cumulative quantities and remaining balances. Review a worked example of advance payment recovery and retention.
S-curves and earned value: review project progress and costsDistinguish planned value, earned value and actual cost. Interpret SPI, CPI and cost projections using a worked example and the KOSAN module.
Schedule crashing: shorten a construction schedule and assess the costUnderstand schedule crashing, calculate the cost of reducing activity duration and assess alternatives with KOSAN. Includes two numerical examples.
Hourly equipment costs: calculate construction machinery costsUnderstand hourly equipment cost components and how productivity affects cost per unit of work. Review the equipment-cost workflow in KOSAN.
Extra work items: document construction changes with KOSANDocument additional quantities, extra work items and scope reductions. Organize additions, deductions and the updated bill of quantities in KOSAN.
How to compare construction material quotations with KOSANCompare material prices, freight, quotation validity and delivery before purchasing. Record suppliers, review quotations and apply prices in KOSAN.
How to update construction estimate prices with KOSANReview how changes in resource prices affect an estimate. Compare a selective price update and preview the adjustments before applying them in KOSAN.
Why choose KOSAN for construction estimating?Explore KOSAN unit price analysis, AI assistance, review tools, project versions, scheduling and reports in a connected workflow.
Resource breakdown: from a construction estimate to material and labor requirementsCalculate resource requirements from an estimate using a worked example. Review materials, labor crews, auxiliary analyses and reconciliation with direct cost.
Construction estimating software: what to check before choosingEvaluate construction estimating software with a practical test covering unit price analysis, resources, reports, imports and backups.
How to prepare a construction estimate step by stepPrepare a construction estimate from scope and quantities through unit price analysis and final review. Includes an example bill of quantities.
Unit price analysis: definition, calculation and worked APU exampleBuild a unit price analysis from materials, labor, resource consumption and productivity. Follow a worked example and distinguish direct cost from selling price.
KOSAN 0.9.7: AI-assisted unit price analyses and construction schedulingVersion 0.9.7 introduces automatic updates, proposed unit price analyses and schedules with KOSAN AI, schedule crashing and weekly construction simulation.
Critical path and schedule crashing: when to finish earlierLearn which activities to shorten and when overhead savings can justify schedule compression.Explore the construction estimating glossary or learn about KOSAN estimating software.