M5 Final PDF Pages cc

66 Queen Square, a BIM designed project from Metsec
INBOUND vs OUTBOUND PROJECT COSTS:
How the industry can bring these two figures closer together
In this feature, Ryan Simmonds (pictured above), sales director for framing at voestalpine Metsec plc examines why there can be a
significant difference between projected costs versus final costs and reviews how changing the approach to planning the project
can bring these figures closer together.
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the
budgetary costs on major construction
projects rarely match up with the final cost
at handover of the project. In fact, one study
estimated that as many as nine out of ten high
profile projects go over budget.
Public Projects
The Olympic Stadium in London is a famous
example. Originally budgeted at £280m, the final
project came in at a staggering £701m – more
than two and half times the original plan. Other
well-documented examples include the Scottish
Parliament building, costing ten times its
original budget and delivered more than three
years late, and London’s Shard, costing a
rumoured £1.5bn, coming in at more than 240%
over budget.
(Typical) Planning
There can be a number of reasons why a project
exceeds its budget. Project delays, issues with
land, materials or financing problems. However,
it is often the case that the original budget is set
too low by the client, or that the solution is
selected by a commercial team, basing
decisions on cost rather than a full integrated
review. The irony here is that selecting a
solution based on price rather than how closely
it fits the vision by the end client invariably
means that elements are changed as the project
progresses, which alters the cost of the project
each time.
The Farmer Review of the UK Construction
Labour Model, published last Autumn, explores
poor predictability as a major industry failing,
but more worrying is the fact that this failure
and under performance is accepted by both the
industry and, begrudgingly, by clients as well.
The design phase of any project – big or small –
is vital, however this is often the stage that, in
retrospect, the parties involved accept that they
did not spend enough time on or engage with
the right stakeholders.
End clients normally work with an architect to
translate the vision into a design and at this
point it is crucial that the end client has a clear
understanding of what they want, and an
understanding of the costs involved in achieving
that. These specifications go through the main
contractor and out, as packages, to subcontractors.
Often, it is at this point when an
expert in a specific area first sees the project
details and reviews the design.
Those with experience of having executed
similar projects and who could have advised and
provided valuable input, often see a package at
the point of quoting for delivery and see major
flaws in the design. However, particularly within
a tender environment, companies will pitch for
the design based on cost to secure the project,
aware that when it comes to delivery much of
the design will need to be changed.
Partnering in Planning Stages
So, communication is clearly the weak link in
the chain. It’s at the initial strategic and briefing
stages that end clients and those appointed to
deliver the project should engage with groups
such as installers and manufacturers to
collectively review and critique the design. This
lack of collaboration, according to the Farmer
report, is at the root of the industry’s change
inertia.
With all parties working on the project plan
together and adopting digitisation through
media such as Building Information Modelling
(BIM), any issues that are recognised can be
resolved whilst still in the design stages.
Without this engagement, projects often
progress to the technical design or even the
construction stages before stumbling blocks are
identified and, by this stage, they are already
time-consuming and expensive to rectify.
Additionally, engaging with experts such as
structural engineers, fabricators and
manufacturers, the end client is able to take
account of the advice of specialists at the point
where their input is of most value. Like Metsec,
many of these stakeholders will have their own
design capabilities that they can utilise and BIM
allows for this work to be done collaboratively.
The Role of BIM
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the
management of information through the whole
life cycle of a built asset, from initial design all
the way through to construction, maintaining
and finally de-commissioning, through the use
of digital modelling.
44 MMC
July 2017 M5