Cabling
How many times during the construction of a building is Contractor A run-
ning a cable down a hallway on a Monday and Contractor B is running a cable
down the same hallway on Tuesday? Given the fact that about 50% of the cost
of cable installation is labor there will be efficiencies and cost savings if a single
contractor installs both cables down the hallway. You cannot completely elim-
inate the labor cost of putting in the second cable, primarily because it still
needs to be terminated, but depending on the cable density and type of build-
ing, 25 to 40% of labor cost is saved. That’s 12 to 20% of the overall cost of
the cable installation that can be saved when the cable infrastructure is conso-
lidated and installed by a single contractor. Assuming that 30% of the cost of
installing each of the building technology systems is related to cable that
translates to a 4 to 6% saving on all systems.
Cable Pathways
If you consolidate the cable installation you can also consolidate the cable
pathways. Pathways are the J-hooks, cable tray and conduit needed to install
the cable. Costs for the cable pathways are part of the overall construction
Figure 14.4 CAPEX Savings overhead costs.
162 Smart Building Systems for Architects, Owners, and Builders