You bid the job at a production rate — this sheet tells you whether you’re hitting it while there’s still time to react. Track daily quantities against bid by phase and cost code: CY moved, LF of pipe, tons placed, crew hours burned, and the unit rate that decides whether the job makes money.
Or skip the spreadsheet
Gradelog tracks production quantities against bid in real time — unit rates, percent complete, and crew hours per cost code, straight from the field.
Track daily installed quantities per cost code — cubic yards excavated, linear feet of pipe, square feet fine-graded — alongside the crew and equipment hours spent producing them. Divide quantity by hours for the actual unit rate, then compare against the rate you bid. That comparison, updated daily or weekly, is the earliest honest signal of job health.
It depends entirely on machine class, material, and haul: a 336-class excavator loading trucks might produce 150–300 BCY/hour in common earth, while the same machine in shot rock or a tight trench does a fraction of that. That’s why tracking your own rates matters — your history in your conditions beats any published table for bidding the next job.
Bank (BCY) is material in its natural undisturbed state, loose (LCY) is after excavation with swell — typically 10–30% more volume — and compacted (CCY) is after placement and compaction, often less volume than bank. Trucks haul loose yards; pay items are usually bank or compacted. Confusing them misstates production and blows up quantity reconciliation.
Percent complete tells you where you are; unit rate tells you where you’ll end up. A job can be 40% complete and look fine while the crew produces 20% under the bid rate — the overrun is already locked in unless the rate improves. Unit-rate tracking turns cost reporting from an autopsy into a steering wheel.