Minimum Trip Charge

> This is NOT a discussion on rates, but rather what your firm's policy is for a minimum trip charge for re-staking on construction sites.

For what it's worth, I have a minimum charge of 1/2 day for something like that, unless by fortuitous chance I can put the remainder of the day to productive use. I'd bill mileage as an expense as well, if it is a significant item.

We don't have a minimum charge, but do bill for time spent travelling. We also bill the mileage as a separate charge

We have a three hour minimum as well.

4 hrs minimum call out
Driving time billable
Rig billable
Fuel charged back

4 hour minimum plus $0.60 per mile for jobs within a 60 mile radius. If I have my crew drive over 60 miles to the job site and re-stake knocked out points, the client gets charged for the full day.

I also require that the contractors give me 2 days notice for areas they need initial staking on, 1 day advance notice for re-staking.

no minimum charge. just hourly for drivetime. its pretty common for our crews to do 4+ construction sites in a day just re staking points as needed. just yesterday i arrived at a site and was told i was not required today. billed for the drive there and back and thats it. i like this 3 hour minimum charge idea though......not sure what my clients would think of it.

Basic Construction Jobs:

4 hour minimum plus directs

However one of our local municipalities have started including a clause in the bid specs which require us to bill re-staking due to contractor negligence (city's term not mine) as a separate line item. This has locked the re-staking cost at $21 per point plus a single mobilization fee of $37 plus mileage. The city will not reimburse the contractor for these charges.

This makes re-staking on these a pain for all involved. Plus side from surveying point of view contractor is no longer asking for things to be staked out far before they need it, down side if we have to go for just 1 or 2 points it can be a costly trip.

And the equipment operators still just don’t give a _____ (insert your own vulgarity) about conserving a hub!:-(

"However one of our local municipalities have started including a clause in the bid specs which require us to bill re-staking due to contractor negligence (city's term not mine) as a separate line item. This has locked the re-staking cost at $21 per point plus a single mobilization fee of $37 plus mileage. The city will not reimburse the contractor for these charges."

Why should the City be paying for re-staking in first place. If you put them in the ground and the contractor can not protect them it is neither your fault nor the city's. The key word ins "negligence". I might see a situation in which vandals disturb the stakes (Hayduke Lives) but in my nearly 30 years in the business I have never come across that. It is usually careless on the part of the contractor and his crew.

That being said, I charge a minimum of 4 hours plus mileage and incidentals. This is portal to portal so the drive time counts towards the minimum. One stake is more like $500. But that is the cost of carelessness. The contractor would not think twice about sticking me for bad curb stakes.

Sorry John I should have stated that this clause is on the “On call services” contracts which are billed to the city at cost plus.

One of these currently is the rehabilitation of 4 blocks of storm drainage which has caused a couple of sinkholes, and consequently the road also. This job goes right thru an area of town in which the kids get a kick at night by playing rearrange the C&G cut/fill stakes. To cover everyone’s rear end I spend almost as much time making cut/fill sheets and emailing them to all concerned as I do staking the job.

So Hayduke does live.

>This job goes right thru an area of town in which the kids get a kick at night by playing rearrange the C&G cut/fill stakes.

If it works the same as when I was a kid, karma will make them surveyors when they grow up.