In ancient China, many dynasties built large-scale buildings, which enabled craftsmen of all ages to accumulate rich architectural skills and experience. After summing up, they gradually formed the theory and method of project management and cost management, which is the embryonic form of cost consultation.
From the16th century, in Britain, where capitalism developed earliest, builders at that time began to need help to determine or estimate the labor and materials needed for a project, and to calculate and determine the workload of completed projects in order to get due remuneration from owners or contractors. It is this demand that leads to the emergence of ——QS, a professional profession engaged in project cost determination and control.
By the19th century, Britain began to implement the bidding system in engineering construction. In this way, formal cost specialty and specialized engineering cost management discipline were born in Britain.
1868, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors -RICS was established, marking the formal birth of modern engineering cost management specialty.
From 1930s to 1940s, many economic principles were applied to the field of project cost management. Foreign project cost management began to pay attention to the evaluation of investment benefit and the economic and financial analysis of the project, and created the basic theories and methods related to project cost management, such as "Engineering Economics-EE". Although the game theory appeared later than the bidding system, the perfection and innovation of the bidding system were somewhat influenced by the game theory. General project cost determination and simple project cost control belong to the initial stage of cost consultation, lacking technical content, and the cost consultation industry should expand to high-end business.
From 1970s to 1980s, cost engineers' associations in various countries started their own qualification certification for cost engineers. ICEC was founded in 1976. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, "life cycle cost management" was put forward. Later, the concept and theory of "Total Cost Management (TCM)" involving strategic asset management and project cost management were mainly put forward by American engineering cost management scholars.
Whole-process cost control refers to the whole-process cost consultation activities from project establishment to project completion, including bidding, design scheme comparison and optimization, construction process control, completion settlement audit and so on.
Life-cycle cost management is a longitudinal extension of cost management activities, extending forward to project planning and feasibility study, and backward to the management of operation and maintenance stage, that is, cost management and consultation from the birth of the project to the end of the life cycle.
Total cost management is a horizontal extension of cost management activities, which extends the scope of cost consultation from simple cost management of building products to bidding and purchasing of equipment, furniture and operation and maintenance.
Second, the role of BIM in the whole process of cost control
BIM (Building Information Modeling-Building Information Modeling) has not been recognized in the engineering cost consulting industry. BIM is a revolutionary public platform in the construction industry, which plays an important role and will bring profound changes to the construction industry. To realize the whole process cost control, whole life cycle and comprehensive cost management, BIM can't be absent. BIM is the technical support of the whole process of cost control, and it is essential to some extent. BIM is characterized by multidimensional visualization, dynamic change and information sharing. BIM is defined by the American Institute of Architecture as the digital expression and shareable knowledge resource of a building project, which includes both physical information and functional information of the project, in order to provide reliable basis for various decisions. Time is the whole life cycle from project concept generation to demolition. BIM technology is the correspondence and coupling with the theory of total cost management. BIM is the information carrier of virtual building. In the life cycle of a building, relevant personnel can not only load information on it, but also extract the required information at will. BIM technology provides strong technical support for total cost management, which makes BIM technology useful. BIM can provide value-added services such as simulation construction, collision detection and equipment management. For example, collision inspection can check whether there is any conflict in the layout of various pipeline equipment before construction, so as to avoid rework and various additional claims, and the contribution rate to cost control will reach about 20%. Only model information can reduce a lot of labor costs and improve the utilization and transparency of engineering information.
Three, the whole process of cost control content
The whole process control includes the necessity study, feasibility study and report preparation, economic comparison and budget preparation of design schemes, construction drawing review and budget preparation, bidding and contract signing, cost determination and control in the construction process, claim processing at various stages, completion settlement, completion settlement, economic evaluation of completed investment, and capital transfer of fixed assets. Combining the investment theory with the actual situation, and flexibly using professional scientific methods, we can achieve the best investment benefit on the premise of achieving the best use function of the building, so as to control the cost within the best range (3%) and avoid hidden unnecessary waste caused by various factors. Change ex post control into process control and ex post control. The earlier the cost control is involved, the better the effect will be. Implementing the whole process and all-round dynamic management of the project cost, abandoning the passive method of "compensating after the sheep dies", only reviewing the construction drawing budget, and finally settling the construction project payment at the construction stage, can reverse the situation that the project cost is out of control, and put an end to and reduce the phenomena of "low price and inferior quality", "winning the bid at a low price, claiming for compensation at a high price" and "overestimating and taking risks". This is a complex, concrete and highly technical job, which needs the operation of a professional team.
Four, the whole process of cost control implementation method
1, prepare the implementation plan of the whole process cost control in the construction stage.
The implementation plan is a programmatic document for cost control. According to the requirements of the contract, combined with the characteristics of the project, the implementation plan of the whole process cost control in the construction stage should be compiled, with the main content of the project overview; Cost control organization; Cost control process; Consultation contents at each stage; Feasible work plan, etc. Arrange cost engineers to enter the site for consulting services in a reasonable and orderly manner. According to the characteristics of this project, the supervision department is equipped with corresponding professional cost engineers.
Case analysis of cost control scheme in design stage
Design has the greatest influence on the project cost, so it is necessary to pay attention to the control in the design stage, and the cost can be controlled only if the design is well controlled. It is necessary to implement the open bidding system for design, compete fairly, and take effective control of project cost as one of the main criteria for selecting the winning bidder for design. Most designers in our country often pay more attention to technology than economy in their design. It seems that the designer is only responsible for the quality of the design project, and doesn't care much about the level of the project cost, which leads to the high project cost or the out-of-control investment due to unreasonable design. Cost engineers should be involved in the design stage and put forward constructive suggestions on design scheme, structural system and material selection. If the shape and layout of the building are improper, it will not only increase the cost, but also weaken the seismic performance of the building. If a sketch without practical value and use function is added to the design, it may enhance the aesthetic function of the building, while others are just the opposite, affecting the aesthetic feeling of the building. If the cost is high, we should consider and suggest whether to cancel it. Perhaps cost engineers need to cultivate aesthetic knowledge and ability. Secondly, whether to consider using some light building materials instead of heavy building materials can effectively reduce the weight of buildings and thus reduce costs; We should analyze the cost of various structural systems and basic schemes, and choose the scheme with relatively low cost and safe structure. Cost engineers should know and be familiar with the knowledge of architectural design and structural design, and can use their own professional knowledge to compare and optimize design schemes from the perspective of cost. Whether the structural design is reasonable can be analyzed and judged from the indicators such as reinforcement ratio and steel content. However, the premise of any architectural design and structural design optimization is to ensure the safety and durability of the structure. If too much consideration is given to the project cost, which will affect the safety of the structure or increase the cost of future operation, maintenance and reinforcement, it will not be worth the loss, and it will not be optimal from the perspective of the whole life cycle of the project.
Bidding also helps to control costs. Through public bidding, formulate reasonable and scientific bidding rules, select qualified contractors with reasonable quotation, excellent technology, standardized management and good reputation, and avoid the failure of the project due to improper selection of the winning bidder. Corruption such as black-box operation, human intervention and collusive bidding should be avoided. Once one of these situations occurs in the bidding, the bidding is completely meaningless and the purpose of cost control can not be achieved.
2. Strictly control the engineering change procedure.
Engineering changes are inevitable, so we should formulate a set of perfect measurement, payment and change management methods, emphasize pre-control, strengthen in-process control and improve post-event control. Improve the design change procedures and avoid frequent design changes, unless it is a corrective change, a mandatory change or a change requested by the owner. For example, the changes proposed by the construction unit must be reported, reviewed by the supervision engineer and approved by the owner before implementation. The cost of engineering change is associated with the change plan. Therefore, the change project report must explain the corresponding change price at the same time as the change treatment scheme, so that the owner can know fairly well when making decisions and avoid the cost out of control. Construction units often make a fuss about design changes, especially the projects in unit price contract. Generally, the content of the integrated unit is changed through design changes, so as to achieve the purpose of changing the unit price, realize "turning losses into profits", and resolve and disperse engineering risks, but it will cause unnecessary cost increase to the owner.
The essence of engineering change management is also the management of engineering claim. Claim usually refers to the actual loss caused by the situation that should be borne by the other party through no fault of its own during the performance of the contract, and demands economic compensation or time compensation from the other party. It is an act of economic compensation, not a punishment. It can be regarded as the increase or decrease of the agreed price, the contractor's claim and the owner's counterclaim. In international projects, general construction claims must reach 10% ~ 15% of the contract price, and some even more. Therefore, the prevention and handling of claims is very important for project investment control. In the process of project implementation, the handling of claims is related to the interests of owners and contractors. As a cost engineer, we should take the contract as the premise, take the facts as the basis, treat the vulnerable groups well, and use our own cost control level and contract management ability to solve the claim objectively and fairly. At the same time, in the process of handling claims, engineers should consider the relationship among cost, time limit for a project and quality, and cannot ignore any party. We should not only safeguard the interests of both parties, but also control the project cost within a satisfactory range. There are many events and factors that cause claims, so it is necessary to distinguish primary and secondary responsibilities, check the accuracy, completeness and completion time of engineering changes and on-site visas, and try to avoid and reduce the occurrence of claims. For example, the basement drainage fee, safety protection railing fee and other fees belong to technical measures fee and safety construction measures fee, which are used in the total contract price and are not allowed to be calculated repeatedly in the form of visas. However, in actual construction, due to the rainy season construction, the number of drainage increases, which is predictable by mature contractors, and some construction parties intentionally or unintentionally require the supervisor and the owner to apply for on-site visas.
3. Go deep into the site to understand and collect relevant information in time.
Cost management personnel should go deep into the site, keep abreast of the situation and collect all kinds of materials that may cause cost adjustment. Attention should be paid to the accumulation of original materials, especially some hidden projects, and first-hand materials such as images, pictures and documents should be grasped in time. Don't wait until it is solved, otherwise it will lead to a passive situation of "dead men tell no tales" and chaos.
4. Strengthen the dynamic tracking control of project cost.
The construction period of construction projects is generally long, and the market changes (such as interest rate, exchange rate, labor, materials, machinery, etc.). ) and the project itself will have an impact on the project cost. In order to ensure that the whole project cost is controlled within the scope of the contract, the cost engineer will track the project cost in time and adjust the contract price in time according to the market and site conditions and the current situation of the expenses that have occurred and will occur, so that decision makers can make timely adjustments in project management.
5, timely project settlement.
Project settlement is the last stage of cost control. Before the project settlement, collect and sort out all kinds of measurement and payment data in time, so as to be complete and without omission. In project settlement, pay attention to the deduction of project advance payment, quality guarantee fund and materials provided by Party A.. Especially for some projects that the owner can enjoy preferential policies or reduce some taxes and fees, as well as some expenses that the owner has reduced for the construction unit, these expenses have been included in the contract price and are often easily deducted during settlement (such as labor insurance co-ordination, sewage charges, utilities, etc.). ). Track and audit the project, and the cost engineer can calculate and audit the completed project at any time, without waiting for the completion acceptance before settlement.
6, make process control chart
The process control chart can be more intuitive, clear, logical and relevant. The whole process cost control management flow chart is to determine the program requirements such as expense declaration, audit and feedback in the form of charts, including responsibility relationship chart, monthly workload report and project payment flow chart, design change and audit sheet (visa) cost operation flow chart, material (equipment) price and expense audit flow chart, and phased project budget (settlement) calculation flow chart.
7. Specific operation methods
The whole process cost control is different from the traditional control mode of one-time investment to verify the project cost in terms of service scope, consulting content and work nature. Whole process cost control implements dynamic, ex ante and active cost control on the whole project cost. The monitoring performance of project cost is from rough to fine, from lag to advance, which can better adapt to the changes of market economy and the requirements entrusted by owners. Through decomposition, inquiry, investigation and other methods, the unit project is decomposed into several sub-projects, and the project settlement is handled in stages. When inquiring about the price of materials (equipment), use professional newspapers and information networks to inquire; Visit suppliers or conduct market research to understand prices and information.
Of course, the original intention of the whole process control of project cost is not to reduce the profit space of contractors. Owners and contractors should be win-win partners, not conflicts of interest. The ultimate goal of cost control is to reduce unnecessary waste and avoid improper settlement by contractors.
Cost control should be controlled not only from the macro, but also from the micro and specific details, changing the past static management mode based on quota and opening up a new management mode.