Professional Programme in Construction Cost Estimating, Budgeting and Control
1Summary
Construction projects rarely fail because the design was wrong – they fail because costs were guessed rather than estimated, budgets were disconnected from the bill of quantities, and nobody was tracking cash flow until it was too late. This programme is built around that reality: it takes you through the full construction project lifecycle – from feasibility and design through procurement, construction, and handover – with a constant focus on the numbers that make or break a project.
You will work through three connected themes that run through every construction budget: how the project budget relates to final cost, how cost estimates differ between clients, designers, and contractors, and how risk and value get built into the numbers. Practical case studies on bills of quantities, tender pricing, and Earned Value Management turn these themes into skills you can apply on your next project.
2Objectives and target group
Who Should Attend?
- Programme managers, project managers, and senior personnel responsible for project governance and delivery.
- Project planning engineers, project controllers, schedulers, and cost engineers.
- Construction managers, site engineers, quantity surveyors, and procurement/contract administrators.
- Finance personnel and technical directors who need to understand how cost data drives project decisions.
- Civil engineering and construction graduates, assistant project managers, and junior site staff building their skills.
What You Will Be Able to Do
On Managing the Project:
- Understand client and stakeholder needs and recognize the legal and contractual constraints of a project.
- Explain the construction project management life cycle and the project manager’s role at each stage.
- Apply sustainable construction methods and current technology trends, including building information modelling.
On Estimating and Budgeting Costs:
- Prepare feasibility cost estimates and a project budget linked to a Bill of Quantities.
- Apply the broad principles of construction cost estimating, including elements of price and cost build-up.
- Distinguish between cost, value, and waste, and explain the financial consequences of cost decisions.
On Controlling Cost and Risk:
- Apply effective cost control and reporting measures throughout the construction phase.
- Accommodate risk in cost estimating, including contingency and management reserves.
- Use Earned Value Management (EVM) to measure project performance, forecast outcomes, and report to senior management.
3Course Content
Module 1: The Construction Industry and the Project Manager’s Role
- Construction industry overview, terminology, and project phases and life cycles
- The PMI PMBoK global standard and the role of the construction manager in leading projects, people, and teams
Module 2: Delivering Projects – Methods, Contracts, and the Legal View
- Project delivery methods and contracts, and lean project delivery
- The legal perspective, contract management, and the construction process
Module 3: Sustainability, Technology, and the International View
- Sustainability and environment, health and safety considerations in construction
- Building information modelling, technology trends, and the international view of construction projects
Module 4: Planning and Developing the Project
- Project planning and development, and field operations and administrative tools
- Understanding design in the construction industry
Module 5: Introduction to Construction Cost Estimating
- The cost management processes: estimate costs, determine budget, control costs
- Project management inputs to estimating cost, and types of cost estimates through the product stages
Module 6: Building Up the Estimate
- Elements of cost, and estimating personnel, materials, and equipment costs including overhead aggregation
- Quantity take-off, measurement, pricing, and the contractor’s tender pre-estimate
Module 7: Risk, Value, and the Cost of Decisions
- Risk, cost, and value; the risk management process and risk response planning
- Estimating risk response and contingency costs, variation, delays, and the consequences of decisions
Module 8: Controlling Cost Once Construction Starts
- Construction cost control methods and continuous improvement to minimize waste
- Procurement, post-contract cost estimation, project cash flow, and technology trends in cost control
Module 9: Earned Value Management (EVM) in Practice
- What EVM is and its main measures
- Analyzing variances, performance indices, forecasting, and reporting EVM to senior management
Module 10: The Work Breakdown Structure and Schedule Optimization
- Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and work packages
- S-curves for risk and cost estimates, and optimizing the schedule
Module 11: Change Control and Closing Out the Project
- Control accounts, the Control Account Plan (CAP), and change control processes
- Re-baselining the cost performance baseline, tracking hours worked and costs, and the close-out period