Compatible unit material filters

Material filters identify the site conditions of a compatible unit (CU) and the correct material that is required for the work site.

All combinations of materials must be defined in the compatible unit library to identify the correct filter values during the estimation process.

You can filter material in the following ways:
Coastal
The coastal material filter indicates that the work is performed near a body of salt water, where salt spray is an issue.
Voltage
The voltage filter indicates the operating voltage of the material.
Pressure
The pressure filter indicates the operating pressure of the material. Typically, this filter is used within a gas facility.
The following examples are common uses of materials in a work site:
  • Selecting copper hardware for use within a salt spray area
  • Selecting the correct insulator for the given voltage of the line
  • Selecting the correct valve for the pressure of the gas main
  • Selecting a diamond bit trenchers to use with rocky soil

Example of a material compatible unit

A Cross-arm 3 phase Tangent Construction compatible unit, named XARM-T, is using two material filters, coastal and voltage. The coastal filter identifies that the work is to be performed near a large body of salt water. The voltage filter identifies the operating voltage of the facilities to be installed.

You define all of the material filter possibilities of the compatible unit so that the correct material details are selected at the time of estimating.

The following table defines the material filters of XARM-T CU.

Table 1. Material filters of XARM-T CU
Item Quantity Line cost Coastal Voltage
HW-XARM (Cross Arm) 1 5    
HW-INS5KVSS (5KV salt spray insulator) 3 15 Y 4
HW-INS5KV 3 15   4

The cross arm is the first material item. By default, HW-XARM is selected when the XARM-T CU is used on an estimate because it has no filter values.

The next material item is a 5KV salt spray insulator. Three insulators are required in a coastal area and the voltage is 4KV.

During the estimation process, the Designer determines if the material is required in a coastal area and identifies the operating voltage of the material. The XARM-T CU is then identified as the required material. The filter values on the CU version is used to select the correct records in the CU library.