Predicting Costs for Tomorrow's Builds: Useful Ways to Future-Proof Today's Designs

Accurately predicting the future costs of construction projects is an essential and growing competency for leaders in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) fields. Even when the actual construction start is months or potentially even years into the future, a new set of rigorous, data-oriented techniques are allowing architects and building teams to more successfully and precisely determine project cost impacts and total construction budgets in ways that enhance value while mitigating significant risk.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• DESCRIBE the impetus and the benefits of recent and increasing use of predictive cost data to make more accurate projections of future construction material and labor costs.
• DISCUSS the concepts and technology behind predictive cost data and their potential effects on project delivery.
• EXPLAIN how predictive cost data may be employed to inform decision making in the design, construction, and life-cycle and operations phases.
• LIST two or more case studies demonstrating the application and development of predictive cost estimates for specific building types.