Design economics and cost planning (L3) Flashcards
How did you prepare for the presentation of your cost plan?
o Made sure that the cost plan reflected previous conversations and that this was to be made clear to the client during the presentation (e.g. construction method to show they were listened to)
o Tried to anticipate certain questions (e.g. why certain costs are necessary e.g. TTRO fee and traffic management – due to it being open cut)
o Prepared supporting documents (e.g. drawings and arial view of location to show the need for TTRO and traffic management)
o Made sure to dig into cost drivers and highlight the unknowns (e.g. TTRO, Traffic management and utility drawings being accurate)
o Prepared options (such as alternative methods or if pipes needed to be installed at greater depths the impact on cost that would have)
You mention budget concerns, what were these?
o The client had a limited budget for undertaking the works and a
o Costs associated with TTRO fee and traffic management costs associated with the works had not been considered by the client up to this point
o Due to this, the cost came in at more than the client had initially expected and so
o Conversation about slip lining began which would remove the need for a TTRO and traffic management costs
What was your role in relation to the alternative construction method?
I was the involved with pricing this alternative method
What was the expected cost saving?
o We were expecting savings in
- Prelims due to reduced constuctiond duration and Traffic Management
- Labour and site supervision costs
- Reinstatement costs and
- TTRO Fees
o However, this couldn’t be confirmed until the alternative method had been properly priced
How did you go about calculating this?
o I produced a sperate approx quants cost plan based on an existing main being slip-lined
o To do this I obtained in-house cost data that was adjusted for both time and location
o This involved seeking confirmation that a TTRO and traffic management would not be needed for this type of install to confirm these costs could be removed
What implications/ benefits on the cost plan would this alternative method have on programme?
o No TTRO application meaning construction could start sooner
o Reduced need for excavation and reinstatement reducing construction time
o Both of which would reduce the programme and reduce labour and site supervision costs
Tell me about a time you have advised on the impact of market factors.
o Subsequent to the beginning of the war in Ukraine, I experienced increases in quotations for compensation where a change to the works information had been instructed . Long lead in times were quoted, impacting the planned Completion Dates, suppliers were also only holding prices for a short period due to fluctuations in raw material prices leading to increased risk within our quotations from contractors. I had to advise my Project Managers’ that this was an impact of the market conditions caused by the war.
o In terms of cost planning, such market factors should be dealt with under risk allowances.
Tell me about a time you have advised on the best use of benchmarking techniques
o On the Cornhow to Stain I produced a cost plan for the alternative slip lining method which involved in-house cost data. I then advised that this should be used to benchmark the Contractor’s price to ensure the client was receiving value for money
o Additionally, I have also worked with our cost capture team to obtain in-house cost information that is similar in nature to additional work that has been instructed and notified as a CE. I have advised on numerous occasions, that this information should be used to benchmark the Contractors quotation which also assists in agreeing the quotation.
o Additionally, on the Watchgate project we had previously instructed work on one of the four number turrets and later instructed the same work on another turret – due to this work being similar in nature I advised that the previous quotation can be used as a benchmark for this work given that the location is also the same, the previous cost data/ quotation was very recent and not outdated.
