The Intelligence Behind Every Cost Estimate

In every estimate — regardless of class — there is a moment where the quotes run out. A vendor hasn't responded. A specialty item sits outside the procurement cycle. A bulk material has no active contract. What do you put on that line?

For decades, the honest answer was: you make an assumption and hope it holds. A number from a previous project. A rough factor. A note in the basis of estimate that says "engineering judgment applied" — and everyone moves on, carrying risk they can't quantify.

Module A changes that answer entirely.

Sara, Senior Cost Estimator — Module A in practice

What Is Module A?

Module A is Kpex's parametric cost intelligence library for process plant components. It covers over 700 validated component families — organized across five equipment groups:

• Rotating Equipment — compressors, pumps, drivers, turbines, fans & blowers
• Static Equipment — pressure vessels, process columns, storage tanks
• Heat Transfer Equipment — exchangers, fired heaters, cooling towers
• Material Handling Systems — conveyors, feeders, classifiers, centrifuges
• Miscellaneous Process Units — agitators, filtration, drying, membrane systems

Every family is built on real project data and calibrated to AACE International standards. The cost basis is US Gulf Coast (LFI = 1.0), with location adjustment available through the integrated CAF Location Factor Index — covering 80+ countries across six continents.

One Input. Four Outputs. Instantly.

The design is deliberately simple. You enter one sizing parameter — flow rate, capacity, heat duty, power, surface area — and the system immediately returns:

• 📌 Installed cost — factored from equipment supply price
• 📌 Man-hours — installation labor estimate
• 📌 Weight approximation — for logistics and structural planning
• 📌 Accuracy band — consistent with AACE Class methodology

Not one output. Not two. All four — for every component, at any capacity, in seconds.

"Every component card doesn't just give you a price. It gives you a cost curve — and everything that goes with it."

— Sara, Senior Cost Estimator

Two Ways to Work — One Platform

Mode 1 — Standalone Catalog

Module A works as a reference intelligence tool independent of any active estimate. Browse any component family, compare options across a capacity range, price a full equipment shortlist, and export the session as a structured reference document.

Estimators use this mode for:

• Feasibility discussions before scope is formally defined
• Client meetings where cost ranges need to be anchored in data
• Internal benchmarking between equipment configurations
• Pre-FEED equipment pre-selection studies

Mode 2 — Estimate Integration

This is where Module A becomes indispensable. Inside a live estimate — Class 4, Class 3, or Class 2 — your contractor offers and purchase orders cover a significant portion of scope. But there is always a residual.

Equipment pending vendor response. Bulk materials outside any active contract. Specialty units procurement hasn't touched yet. These items don't disappear because a quote is missing. They still carry cost. They still affect the project total. They still need a defensible basis.

No blank lines.
No assumptions without a basis.

Module A fills every gap with a methodology-grounded, fully auditable cost. The source is traceable. The methodology is documented. The result is defensible at any project review gate — from feasibility through control estimate.

What It Feels Like

Senior estimators who move to this workflow describe the experience consistently:

"It feels like having a second expert in the room. One who has memorized the cost history of every piece of equipment you will ever need — who knows how to scale it to your project's capacity, adjust it to your location, and escalate it to today's market. All in seconds."

— Sara, Senior Cost Estimator

That is not a marketing statement. It is an accurate description of what parametric cost intelligence, properly implemented, actually delivers.

Once you've worked with it...going back to a spreadsheet feels like going back to a slide rule.

— Sara, Senior Cost Estimator

Try Module A

Module A is available on Kpex Professional, Enterprise, and Alliance tiers. If you are working a current project study and need a reliable cost basis for any process plant component — open Module A, enter one sizing parameter, and see the result yourself.

The next time you face a blank line in your estimate, you will know exactly what to do with it.