Skip to main content
Back to Glossary
Units of Measureaka: crew-hour rate

Crew Hour

In Plain English

One hour of work by an entire crew of workers, used to measure productivity and estimate labor costs.

Definition

A crew hour is the unit of labor production representing one hour of work performed by a defined crew composed of multiple workers. Productivity rates for construction operations—such as forming, placing, and finishing concrete—are commonly expressed as cubic yards or square feet per crew hour, allowing estimators to calculate labor costs for entire crews rather than individual workers. Crew hour rates account for the coordinated output of the full crew working together.

Why It Matters in Bidding

Crew hours are the engine of labor pricing: estimators convert takeoff quantities into crew hours using production rates, then multiply by the blended crew cost to build the labor estimate. Getting the crew composition and productivity right is where bids are won or lost, because labor is the most variable and risk-laden cost on most self-performed work.

Example

Estimating a 200-cubic-yard slab pour, the estimator applied a production rate of 25 cubic yards per crew hour for a defined placing-and-finishing crew, yielding eight crew hours that he priced at the crew's blended hourly rate plus burden.

Related Terms

Man-HourUnit PriceLump Sum

Frequently Asked Questions

A man hour is one hour of work by a single worker, while a crew hour is one hour of work by an entire defined crew working together. A crew hour bundles the coordinated output of several trades or laborers, so production rates expressed per crew hour capture how the team performs collectively rather than per individual.
Crew makeup comes from historical job-cost data, published productivity references, and the specific operation's requirements. A concrete placement crew, for example, pairs finishers, laborers, and an operator in proportions that keep the work flowing without idle workers. Matching crew size to the task avoids both bottlenecks and the labor waste that inflates the bid.
Divide the takeoff quantity by the production rate to get crew hours, then multiply by the blended crew cost per hour, which sums each member's wage plus labor burden. Adjusting the production rate for site conditions, weather, overtime, and learning curve keeps the resulting labor cost realistic rather than ideal-condition optimistic.

Need more than definitions?

Get AI-powered bid alerts, automated form filling, and proposal drafting.

Start Free Trial

© 2026 ConstructionBids.ai — A LaderaLabs Product