In truss manufacturing, designers play a pivotal role in creating innovative, structurally sound designs that win projects and keep clients satisfied. However, many mid-sized manufacturers still rely on designers to handle estimating and quoting—tasks that don’t fully utilize their expertise. This misallocation of talent can lead to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and increased stress, especially in today’s challenging environment where construction companies are downsizing while estimating demands rise to fill thinning pipelines. Economic pressures often force designers into estimating roles, especially as downsizing reduces support staff, a trend detailed in our post on industry challenges. This blog explores why designers should focus on value-add design work, the benefits of delegating estimating to a separate team, and how to navigate this paradox without overwhelming your staff.
The Drawbacks of Designers Handling Estimating
Designers are skilled professionals whose primary value lies in crafting truss designs that meet project specifications and enhance efficiency. When they’re tasked with estimating and quoting, several issues arise:
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Lost Productivity: Estimating involves repetitive tasks like inputting dimensions (e.g., spans, loads) and calculating costs. If a designer spends 15–20 hours a week on this, they’re not designing new trusses or optimizing layouts for awarded projects. This time could be better spent on tasks that directly impact project quality and client satisfaction.
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Opportunity Costs: Every hour a designer spends on quoting is an hour not spent on high-value work, such as solving complex structural challenges or innovating designs to reduce material costs. This limits your capacity to take on new projects and can delay delivery timelines.
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Increased Stress: Designers often work under tight deadlines. Adding quoting responsibilities piles on pressure, leading to potential burnout or mistakes in either their designs or estimates. This can harm morale and increase turnover risk.
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Inefficient Use of Skills: Estimating doesn’t require a designer’s expertise—it’s a process-driven task that involves gathering data and running calculations. A dedicated team can perform this work more efficiently, leaving designers to focus on what they do best.
By redirecting designers to focus solely on design, you ensure their skills are used effectively, improving both productivity and job satisfaction.
Advantages of a Dedicated Estimating Team
Delegating estimating and quoting to a separate team—such as estimators, sales staff, or administrative personnel—can streamline your workflow and improve overall efficiency. Here’s why:
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Faster Quoting: A dedicated team can specialize in estimating, using standardized processes to produce quotes more quickly. For example, with a checklist (e.g., job tag, dimensions, loads), they can ensure consistency and complete bids in under an hour, compared to the 2–3 hours a designer might take.
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Better Resource Allocation: Estimators or sales staff often have lower hourly costs than designers. Shifting quoting duties to them frees up designers for high-value tasks, maximizing the impact of your most skilled team members.
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Improved Scalability: A separate team can handle increased quoting volumes without disrupting design workflows. This makes it easier to train new hires, reduce reliance on unwritten or institutional knowledge, and scale operations during busy periods.
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Enhanced Accuracy: Estimators using consistent methods are less likely to make errors (e.g., miscalculated loads, old pricing), ensuring reliable quotes that build client trust. One manufacturer found that standardizing their estimating process led to a 15% increase in successful bids.
Separating these roles allows each team to focus on their strengths, creating a more efficient and scalable operation.
The Downsizing Paradox: Rising Estimating Needs in a Shrinking Industry
The construction industry in 2025 is facing a challenging paradox: companies are downsizing due to economic pressures, but the demand for estimating is growing to keep project pipelines active. Here’s a closer look at this dynamic:
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Staff Reductions: Economic uncertainty, rising material costs, and labor shortages have led many construction firms to downsize. A recent industry survey reported a 15% reduction in staff at mid-sized companies since January 2025, with estimator roles often among the first to be cut.
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Increased Estimating Workload: With fewer projects available, companies are bidding on more opportunities to maintain revenue. This has increased estimating demands by as much as 50% in some firms, as they work to fill pipelines that are 30% thinner than in 2024.
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Strain on Designers: When estimator roles are eliminated, designers are often pulled into quoting to compensate. This pulls them away from design work, slowing project delivery and further shrinking the pipeline—a cycle that can stifle growth.
This paradox creates a critical need for efficient quoting processes that don’t overburden your remaining staff, especially your designers.
Strategies to Manage Estimating Demands Without Overloading Designers
Navigating this paradox requires a thoughtful approach to ensure your team can handle increased quoting demands while keeping designers focused on high-value work. Here are four strategies to consider:
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Delegate to a Dedicated Team: Train existing sales or administrative staff to handle estimating, or hire a part-time estimator. Equip them with a standardized process (e.g., a checklist for job details like spans, pitches, and loads) to ensure consistency and speed. See previous blog 6 Practical Tips for Efficient Quotes (/blog/why-your-truss-quoting-process-is-slowing-you-down-and-how-to-fix-it).
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Implement Efficient Processes: Use templates for common truss designs to reduce repetitive work in quoting. For example, saving a template for a 30ft span, 4/12 slope truss can cut quote creation time by half.
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Leverage Technology: Adopt web-based tools that automate calculations (e.g., load adjustments) and centralize data (e.g., customer profiles, past quotes). These tools can significantly reduce the time needed for quoting, allowing a small team to manage higher volumes. For practical steps, see our blog on 5 Best Practices to Quote Trusses Faster and Win More Jobs (/blog/5-best-practices-to-quote-trusses-faster-and-win-more-jobs). Also, explore industry pressures in Why Tight Deadlines, Dwindling Orders, and Designer Shortages Are Hurting Truss Manufacturers (/blog/why-tight-deadlines-dwindling-orders-and-designer-shortages-are-hurting-truss-manufacturers).
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Monitor Pipeline Health: Track your pipeline with simple metrics (e.g., number of quotes submitted weekly, win rate). This helps you prioritize high-potential bids and avoid overloading your team with low-value opportunities.
These strategies ensure your quoting process remains efficient, even with a smaller team, while allowing designers to focus on creating value through their designs.
Real-World Examples of Smarter Quoting Practices
Manufacturers who have separated design and estimating roles have seen measurable improvements:
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A Canadian truss company reassigned quoting to their sales team, freeing designers to focus on awarded projects. This led to a 15% increase in project capacity and faster delivery times.
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A Florida manufacturer used templates and a cloud-based system to streamline quoting, allowing their estimators to handle twice as many bids without additional staff.
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Another manufacturer prioritized pipeline monitoring, focusing on high-value bids. This improved their win rate by 10%, even as their pipeline shrank.
These examples show that small changes—like reassigning roles and using efficient tools—can make a big difference, even in a downsizing environment.
Next Steps for a More Efficient Workflow
Separating design and estimating roles can transform your truss manufacturing operation, ensuring designers focus on value-add work while your pipeline stays active. Start by implementing one strategy, like creating a quoting checklist for your sales team, to see immediate improvements. Want to learn more about optimizing your quoting process? Explore our blog on best practices for truss quoting (/blog/5-best-practices-to-quote-trusses-faster-and-win-more-jobs) for actionable tips to keep your pipeline flowing.