Parametric estimates are brilliant at the early and concept stages of the project. In fact, the Parametric Estimating Handbook* says that “Early costing cannot be done effectively any other way”. Parametric costing tools enable you to produce an estimate for a project in a matter of minutes rather than weeks.
It’s not only the speed you can dramatically increase, but parametric costing tools/models also have the potential to increase consistency and accuracy of estimates at the early and concept stage of a project’s lifecycle.
Here’s a real-life example: Highways England, previously Highways Agency, decided to put a system in place that was designed to deliver more capacity improvements for less money, improve sustainability, and enable them to pro-actively manage and operate the road network.
We enthusiastically accepted their challenge and constructed a sophisticated parametric cost model for the Managed Motorways proposals using the “off-the-shelf” functionality within Benchmark Estimating Software. Data collection sheets for each road link were imported into Benchmark’s Managed Motorway cost model with a single click.
The model output a detailed schedule of items for each link with resource build-ups using the latest rate data stored within the Benchmark Professional cost data libraries.
The result? Here are just some of the benefits that the UK’s road authority experienced:
- Substantial time savings in producing cost estimates
- Quick re-estimation of entire schemes due to late design changes
- Easy building-up of rates using up-to-date libraries
- Clear and well-documented basis of each cost estimate
- Quick ruling out of unviable options, saving design development time and cost
- Comprehensive and consistent cost estimates
- Capturing of expert estimating knowledge
Thanks to the parametric cost model in Benchmark Estimating Software, Highways England was able to produce sixty-four estimates in a six-week period, an impossible task using conventional estimating methods. For the full story you can download the white paper case study on the Managed Motorways model.
If you would like to discuss how you could benefit from parametric costing tools in your organisation, feel free to contact us simply by filling out the form.
*Source: (Source: International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association (ICEAA) – ‘Parametric Estimating Handbook’: www.iceaaonline.org)