Mobilization Cost Calculator
Mobilization and demobilization cost from distance and scope.
About this calculator
Total Mobilization is a straight sum of three independent cost streams -- Equipment Transport (Equipment Loads times Distance to Site times Cost / Load / Mile), Crew Travel / Per Diem (Number of Workers times Travel / Setup Days times Per Diem Rate), and Temp Facilities Cost entered directly -- so none of these streams cancels or offsets another; every increase to any one of them raises Total Mobilization by that same amount. Demob / Mob Ratio then works as a pure multiplier on TOTAL Mobilization to produce Total Demobilization, rather than being calculated from its own separate set of return-trip inputs -- so it scales every mobilization cost stream at once (equipment, crew, and facilities alike) rather than, say, only the equipment transport line.
That also means Demob / Mob Ratio has zero effect on Total Mobilization itself: it only enters the calculation afterward, when Total Mobilization is multiplied by the ratio to get Total Demobilization, then added back in for Total Mob + Demob. Cost Per Worker divides that combined Total Mob + Demob figure by Number of Workers, so it captures the mobilization burden per crew member even though Number of Workers ALSO scales up Crew Travel / Per Diem directly -- a larger crew both raises the total travel cost and spreads that total (plus the unrelated equipment and facilities costs) across more people.
Inputs
Results
Total Mobilization ($)
$8,625.00
≈ 9 smartphones
Total Mob + Demob ($)
$12,937.50
≈ 9 months of rent
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the one-way distance from your home base to the project site in miles.
- Enter the number of equipment loads (flatbed/lowboy truckloads) and the cost per load per mile.
- Enter the crew size and number of travel/setup days plus the per diem rate per worker per day.
- Enter temporary facilities cost (trailers, temp power, fencing, signage, sanitation).
- Set the demobilization ratio as a fraction of mobilization cost (typically 0.40–0.60).
- Read total mobilization, demobilization, and combined mob+demob cost to include in your bid.
How the result changes with Temp Facilities Cost ($)
| Temp Facilities Cost ($) | Total Mobilization ($) | Total Mob + Demob ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 | $6,125.00 | $9,187.50 |
| 3,750 | $7,375.00 | $11,062.50 |
| 7,500 | $11,125.00 | $16,687.50 |
| 12,500 | $16,125.00 | $24,187.50 |
What each input means
- Distance to Site (miles)
- One-way distance from home base to the project site.
- Equipment Loads
- Number of flatbed/lowboy loads needed to transport equipment.
- Cost / Load / Mile ($)
- Trucking cost per load per mile (lowboy/flatbed rate).
- Number of Workers
- Crew members who need travel and per diem.
- Travel / Setup Days
- Days spent traveling and setting up before productive work begins.
- Per Diem Rate ($/day)
- Daily per diem for lodging, meals, and incidentals per worker.
- Temp Facilities Cost ($)
- Setup cost for trailers, temp power, fencing, signage, and sanitation.
- Demob / Mob Ratio
- Demobilization cost as a fraction of mobilization (typically 0.40–0.60).
What each result means
- Equipment Transport ($)
- Cost to haul equipment to and from the site.
- Crew Travel / Per Diem ($)
- Worker travel and per diem for mobilization period.
- Temp Facilities Setup ($)
- Temporary facilities and site setup costs.
- Total Mobilization ($)
- Total cost to mobilize to the project site.
- Total Demobilization ($)
- Estimated cost to demobilize from the site.
- Total Mob + Demob ($)
- Combined mobilization and demobilization cost.
- Cost Per Worker ($)
- Total mob/demob divided by number of workers.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersDistance to Site (miles) = 50, Equipment Loads = 3, Cost / Load / Mile ($) = 5.5, Number of Workers = 8 = 8 input(s) provided
- Calculate Total MobilizationTotal Mobilization = equipmentTransportCost + crewTravelCost + facilitiesSetupCost8625 = $8,625
- Calculate Total Mob + DemobTotal Mob + Demob = totalMobilization + totalDemobilization12937.5 = $12,937.5
- Calculate Equipment TransportEquipment Transport = numEquipmentLoads * distanceMiles * costPerLoadPerMile825 = $825
- Calculate Crew Travel / Per DiemCrew Travel / Per Diem = numWorkers * travelDays * perDiemRate2800 = $2,800
Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Demob / Mob Ratio change Total Mobilization?
No -- Total Mobilization is fixed by Equipment Transport, Crew Travel / Per Diem, and Temp Facilities Setup alone. Demob / Mob Ratio only enters the calculation afterward, multiplying that already-computed Total Mobilization figure to produce Total Demobilization. So adjusting Demob / Mob Ratio changes Total Demobilization and Total Mob + Demob, but Total Mobilization itself stays exactly the same.
Why does Demob / Mob Ratio scale the equipment and facilities costs, not just the return trip for equipment?
Demob / Mob Ratio is applied as a single multiplier against the whole Total Mobilization sum -- equipment transport, crew travel, and temp facilities setup all together -- rather than against a separate set of return-specific inputs. That is a simplification: it assumes teardown and return costs scale roughly proportionally with how much was mobilized in the first place, across all three cost streams at once, not just the equipment that has to physically travel back.
Why does raising Number of Workers change Cost Per Worker in two different ways at once?
Number of Workers appears twice in this calculator's chain. First, it directly raises Crew Travel / Per Diem (more workers means more total travel days and per diem paid), which feeds into Total Mob + Demob. Second, that same Number of Workers is the divisor for Cost Per Worker, spreading the now-larger Total Mob + Demob across more people. The two effects partially offset but do not cancel, since equipment and facilities costs stay fixed regardless of crew size.
Are Equipment Transport and Crew Travel / Per Diem calculated independently of each other?
Yes -- Equipment Transport depends only on Equipment Loads, Distance to Site, and Cost / Load / Mile, while Crew Travel / Per Diem depends only on Number of Workers, Travel / Setup Days, and Per Diem Rate. Neither formula references any input from the other, so changing the crew size has no effect on Equipment Transport, and changing the number of equipment loads has no effect on Crew Travel / Per Diem.
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