The rates of the different work items, construction materials, and the labour wages of various categories (skilled or unskilled) should be available for making an estimate. The detailed specification provides work nature, quality and class, materials to be used in different parts of work, material quality and proportion, preparation method, workmanship, and work’s execution description. On an arbitration proceeding to claim the reasonable amount of building.ĭata Needed for the preparation of an estimate Drawingįully complete dimensioned drawings, i.e., plan, sectional elevation, section, and other details.The sale price of flats in case of the building being constructed on an ownership basis.On a cover note regarding fire insurance.Properties Valuation based on land and building for purchase, sale, and mortgage, etc.A complete estimate helps to advise the client on the following.
It provides an idea for the necessities of controlled materials like cement, steel, and brick, etc.Contractor’s payment is also made per the present measurements by examining the already made calculations for each work item. An estimate helps to check the work performed by contractors during and after execution.It is needed to invite tenders for the work and to prepare a contract for the project.An estimate helps to determine the approximate cost of works before their execution thus, we can know whether the work can be completed according to given specifications within a specific budget.The budget should not be fixed as baseline until after completion of the preliminary engineering phase.The rate of each item should be reasonable and preferably the present market rate. When Agencies try to fix the budget too early in the project life cycle, they are surprised by the significant increases in the budget over what was set forth in the CIP. Refining the budget occurs through studies and analysis in the design development process through the preliminary engineering phase. The project manager develops the budget based on the cost estimates at the beginning of each project phase and refines it once there is better information defining the scope. Consequently, every project needs a budget to initially define its funding requirement. BudgetĪll projects are constrained by limited monetary funding resources. The result is a project schedule that tells you the expected duration of the project and the logical relationships between the activities, including activities on the “critical path,” that controls the end date. Developing the schedule involves breaking down the work into manageable activities needed to accomplish the scope of each deliverable, estimating the duration of each activity, and placing them in a logical sequence. Once there is a well-defined scope, the Agency needs to determine the time it will take to complete the project by developing the project schedule. The Agency’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) usually provides approximate dates for the beginning of a project and the end date when it is due to go into operation. ScheduleĪll projects must have a definite beginning and end. Scope refinement is a necessary process in the project life cycle while scope creep results from lack of clarity on the Agency’s requirements in the original scope for the needs, level of service, and level of quality for the deliverables. Changing to six bays after the project is underway is a serious change in scope that could impact the budget (larger facility, more land, redesign) and delay the schedule (replan, redesign, longer construction). Scope creep occurs when the Agency determines part way through the project that operational projections now call for six rather than five service bays. Scope refinement should not be confused with scope creep. Later, as the design progresses, the exact location and the type of service in each bay can be determined. For example, in the early planning phases of the maintenance facility project, the scope is to have five service bays. The scope evolves as new information becomes available through the project life cycle. ScopeĮach project is unique and must have a written requirements document that takes into consideration operational needs, level of service, regulatory requirements such as Americans with Disabilities Act, and quality of deliverables. Projects go through a life cycle of phases between their beginnings and ends that for construction projects are typically: initiation, planning, design, construction, commissioning, and closeout. The schedule specifies a defined beginning and end.
Construction projects are defined by their scope, budget, and schedule.įor example, an Agency is to undertake a project to design and build a new maintenance facility for its fleet of buses (scope), at an estimate of $30 million (preliminary budget) over a three-year period of construction (schedule).