Q&A: The Value of Cost Estimating
Date Posted: March 21, 2017
Posted In: Ideas,
From School Construction News: Cost estimating can make or break a project — and ensures that no surprises will arise come bid day. Continuing to cost estimate throughout the construction process can further guarantee that projects stay on budget and that facility owners are given timely information about system life cycles.
School Construction News recently spoke with Paul Whitson, AIA, LEED GA, senior vice president and regional health care leader in HOK’s St. Louis office, to gain some insight on cost-estimating during the design and construction of major projects.
Q: How often do you use cost estimating while designing a project?
Whitson: Almost always. It’s essential in understanding how many square feet are needed for a project and how much it will cost. On a project for the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, we are using it in the early programming stages for the school’s Sports Medicine and Performance Center. We have teamed with a construction manager who will use cost estimating to accurately identify constructability issues and deliver the best outcomes for the school.
Q: How does the cost estimating process differ between specific project phases?
Whitson: Ideally, it should reduce costs from concept to the construction document phase. At the concept phase, more allowances are made in estimating for the unknown. But as project planning advances, refinements can be made as site issues and layout become better known. There are generally two big changes in project phases: when you move from unit-costing to systems-costing and when unforeseen contingency costs become clearer. In each case, as the unknown aspects peel away, the costs should go down. Essentially, the more that is known, the better for accurate cost estimating.