Super Assemblies

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Clicking Lists Super Assemblies on the Menu Bar will display a list of all the super assemblies you have created. A super assembly is a group of regular assemblies grouped together as a kit that you can add to an estimate at one time. When you add a super assembly to an estimate all assemblies an the items that make up those assemblies are added to the estimate and the quantities of each item are calculated based on the quantity entered for the super assembly. This is a powerful feature that lets you create complex assemblies that include numerous items that you can add to an estimate with a few clicks.

Super assemblies are created from regular assemblies so you must have entered at least some cost book items and created some assemblies before you can create super assemblies.



You can sort the list by clicking the column heading. Click the column heading again to sort in the opposite direction.

To find a super assembly just click a row and start typing. Quick Estimator™ 2005 will move to the nearest match. Keep typing until you find the one you want.

The list is divided into two sections. Assembly Groups are on the left and the Super Assemblies in each group will be displayed on the right. Clicking on a group will display all the super assemblies that belong to that group in the list on the right. Double-click a super assembly on the right to open the super assembly in the Super Assemblies screen.

Click the Add New Super Assembly button to add a new super assembly.

Double-click a super assembly to open it in the Super Assemblies screen shown below where you can view or edit the complete details for the super assembly.
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Use the Browse drop-down list to browse through your super assemblies. You can also search for a super assembly by typing a super assembly name in the Browse drop-down list. As you type the list will filter out the closest matches. Keep typing until you find the one you want. Hit the Enter key to move to that super assembly.

Click the Options button and select Duplicate Current Super Assembly to duplicate the current super assembly. This is useful when you want to create more than one variation of a super assembly. Once duplicated you simply have to make the needed changes.

You can also copy super assembly assemblies from a super assembly you created previously. This is useful if you have many similar super assemblies because it save you from having to manually enter them. To copy super assembly assemblies, click the Options button and select Copy Items From Existing Super Assembly. The Copy Super Assembly Items screen shown below will open.



Select the super assembly you want to copy assemblies from and click the OK button This will copy the assemblies and close the Copy Super Assembly Items screen.

Click the Cancel button to close the Copy Super Assembly Items screen without copying the items.

Click the Options button and select Add New Super Assembly to create a new super assembly.

Click the Options button and select Delete Assembly to delete an assembly.

Click the Options button and select Print to print a list of your assemblies and super assemblies. See the Printing Assemblies Topic.

Creating A New Super Assembly

First enter a name for the super assembly in the Assembly field.

You can select an group that this super assembly belongs too from the Group drop-down list. This is optional but will help to keep similar super assemblies grouped together and make it easier to find a super assembly when selecting them to include in an estimate. Click the button to the right of the Group field to view or edit the list.

Select a unit from the Unit drop-down list. You are not restricted to units available on the drop-down list.

Enter notes in the Note field. This is optional. If you check the Add Notes Estimate check box, the notes will automatically be added to the estimate when this assembly is added to the estimate.

Next you need to add all the regular assemblies that make up the super assembly in the Assemblies area.

To add an assembly to the super assembly, select it from the Assembly drop-down list. You must have created some regular assemblies.

Next enter the Link Factor. The Link Factor is the number of units of the assembly required for each unit of the super assembly. For example if you can install 30 SF of pavers in 1 man-hour then the Link Factor for paver installation would be 0.03 or 1 divided by 30. The Link Factor will be used to calculate the quantity of the items based on the quantity of the assembly. So for our paver example if we entered 1000 SF of pavers in an estimate then paver installation would be calculated at 30 man-hours. If you do not want the quantities calculated for you or you do not know the Link Factor or the Link Factor varies too much then you can leave the Link Factor at 0. The assembly and all it's items will still be added to your estimate but the quantities will be 0. You simply enter the quantities manually in the estimate.

If the quantity of the assembly is always the same regardless of the quantity of the super assembly then you should enter the quantity in the Link Factor field and check the Fixed Quantity box. When the super assembly is added to an estimate the quantity for this assembly will be what is in the Link Factor field and will not change no matter what the quantity of the super assembly is.

In the Round To Nearest column enter the fraction you want the quantities of the assemblies to be rounded to when they are automatically added to an estimate. The default is 1. In this case all quantities would be rounded up to the nearest unit. If you enter 0.05 then they would be rounded up to the nearest half unit. If you want to round down then enter a negative number. If you enter -0.5 then all quantities would be rounded down to the nearest half unit. If you leave the Link Factor at 0 then this value is not used.

Repeat for each assembly in the super assembly.

The Super Assembly Unit Cost will be shown at the bottom of the Assemblies section for information purposes only and are not used in any way. These unit costs is based on the unit cost of each assembly item and the Link Factor. If some items have a Link Factor of 0 then the Super Assembly Unit Cost will not include those items. Fixed quantity assemblies would also effect the accuracy of these figures.

To delete an assembly click the button next to the assembly you want to delete.

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