NECESSITY OF COST CONTROL PROCESS (PRE & POST CONTRACT STAGE) IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS : cost control in pre & post contract
Abobakr, Ahmed (2018)
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2018
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201901271615
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201901271615
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to apply and validate more detailed understanding and general practices adopted for cost management and control in pre-contract stage (budget or cost estimation) and in the post-contract stage (during construction stage) of a construction project. All stakeholders of a construction projects (clients, design consultants, cost consultants, contractors and sub-contractors) will benefit from this study, it shall discuss and provide a platform for overall project cost management plan as well as cost control guidelines. Additionally, this also develops common understanding of the concepts involved with classifying project cost estimates in different stages in conjunction with actual projects and the reasons of cost overruns with the solutions. The thesis will focus on the identification and examination of all the aspects of cost control task in pre-contract and post-contract stages.
The first part of the thesis discusses how literature reviews the topic of concept of cost control. Important and relevant publications, research articles and different course books will be thoroughly presented and discussed in a first step.
In the second step, discussions with big consulting firm’s project managers, design managers, quantity surveyors and cost estimators specialized in construction and consultancy works to provide general practice adopted during pre- & post-construction stages including cost control techniques based on the discussion and various available literatures.
Finally, to collect the data and discover the current trend of cost management & control in construction projects, a questionnaire survey was conducted with different professionals from the construction industry. The questionnaire was consists of six sections covering the most important cost issues such as cost estimation, cost control, cost overruns and cost efficiency. After the reply received from them, data analyses were used supported with information from the literature review in order to answer the research gaps and objectives. The final step was to discuss the findings in more practical way that benefits professionals with the same background for better cost control practices.
The recommendations are estimators should use BIM technologies to generate more accurate estimates and minimize conflicts between different professions. They should combine estimating methods at the same time as well. Risk management could help identifying not only risks but also opportunities, adding safety factor to estimate costs should be learned because it is very important in response to risks and uncertainties. Earned value management (EVM) method is highly recommended as the basis of cost control. Last but not the least, the approach for cost control process should proactive not reactive as it influences the final budget amount.
The first part of the thesis discusses how literature reviews the topic of concept of cost control. Important and relevant publications, research articles and different course books will be thoroughly presented and discussed in a first step.
In the second step, discussions with big consulting firm’s project managers, design managers, quantity surveyors and cost estimators specialized in construction and consultancy works to provide general practice adopted during pre- & post-construction stages including cost control techniques based on the discussion and various available literatures.
Finally, to collect the data and discover the current trend of cost management & control in construction projects, a questionnaire survey was conducted with different professionals from the construction industry. The questionnaire was consists of six sections covering the most important cost issues such as cost estimation, cost control, cost overruns and cost efficiency. After the reply received from them, data analyses were used supported with information from the literature review in order to answer the research gaps and objectives. The final step was to discuss the findings in more practical way that benefits professionals with the same background for better cost control practices.
The recommendations are estimators should use BIM technologies to generate more accurate estimates and minimize conflicts between different professions. They should combine estimating methods at the same time as well. Risk management could help identifying not only risks but also opportunities, adding safety factor to estimate costs should be learned because it is very important in response to risks and uncertainties. Earned value management (EVM) method is highly recommended as the basis of cost control. Last but not the least, the approach for cost control process should proactive not reactive as it influences the final budget amount.