Factors Influencing Accuracy of Cost Estimates for Early Building

Question: Discuss about theFactors Influencing Accuracy of Cost Estimates for Early Building. Answer: Introduction During estimation, various factors need to be put under consideration in that the market condition produces a grave effect on the estimation. These many market factors that pose an influence to the cost estimates include the material quality, material prices, and material availability. Also, there comes a number of methods that can be put to use in conducting cost estimation. These methods include a functional unit, cubic method, floor area unit and Storey enclosure(Austroads Elisa, 2014). Factors influencing accuracy of cost estimates in early stage building Material Prices This factor is an example of the very fluctuating factors present in the wide market. The materials used in construction have a range starting from large items that include gravel, steel, bricks, concrete, timber, electronic and plumbing fittings to the smaller more basic materials that are the screws and nails. The cost of buying the materials named above is heavily affected by the production ability of the manufacturer. The manufacturers ability affects in a way that when these materials are bought during times that their orders are many, then their prices are set to be higher than the times when their orders are much lesser. Prices of materials also are affected by the volume of buyers present to the volume of materials present. When the buyers are more the materials prices get high(Chudley Greeno, 2016). Material Quality In estimation, material quality in the used materials also need to be added to the considerations in that when a higher quality material is used, the cost is directly affected and increases. However, there are incidences that the cost of construction increases due to the use of low-quality materials. This incidence is due to the overall material loss in the construction process. Low-quality materials tend to damage easily when used. Thereby forcing more funds to be routed for repair hence increasing the material estimate. The easily damageable material occurs due to the lacking standards in the material and management systems. An example can be taken from the Mara large Project case scenario. It is therefore concluded that a profitable construction is doable by use of high-quality materials that meet minimum standard required in the construction job that ultimately evades repair of construction materials. High-quality materials reduce the overall cost estimate of the project being un dertaken in that the material will last for a longer duration of time before it collapses. Faulty materials should be avoided(Ashworth Perera, 2015). Material Availability In availability, the ease of finding any raw material that is to be used in construction affects cost estimation. For example, if raw construction materials like stone or timber are obtained easily, then the cost estimation of the construction project is reduced. In cases where the materials required are difficult to obtain in the surrounding area, the cost estimation is increased(Spain Bryan, 2010). Material sustainability is also an influencing factor. An example is when a material is found commonly in the surrounding area then the cost reduces but if it is difficult to locate, the cost sky rockets. Take the teak tree, the tree is not easy to grow and lack of conducive climate in the neighboring are makes it not be grown thereby it requires transportation to the site(Goodman, et al., 2016). This, therefore, increases the cost per meter. Hence it is advisable to use materials commonly present and inexpensive. One more advice is the need to locate the constructing area in places nea r material sources to avoid transportation costs. Availability in terms of quantity is critical when buying materials. If materials are bought in bulk from one supplier they become cheaper than if bought from a variety of suppliers. Moreover, the bulk buying reduces the loss of materials. Loss due to thievery and wastage is avoidable. An example such as the buying of yard lumber from a yard supplier, bricks supplied by brick-makers and screws supplied by store owners would increase cost rather than buying all these from one supplier. Regularity and adequacy in supplying materials is a very crucial issue since irregular or late delivery or delivery of wrong material types in project construction might affect the utilization of other relating resources. Material availability can be calculated and estimated by the wastage anticipation technique, thievery anticipation, and anticipation of uninsured material theft or making a contingency plan by increasing estimate by a small percentage. These techniques allow cover of unforeseen events hence securing cost estimation(Curtis Veechi, 201). Comparison of commonly used preliminary estimating techniques ESTIMATING TECHNIQUE DESCRIPTION ACCURACY REQUIRED INFORMATION POPULARITY CONVENIENCE 1. Functional Unit Method Estimates are prepared from a similar project Low accuracy. Adequate historical data of similar project. Limited to public projects. Allows preparation of similar projects 2. Floor Area Unit Method Total floor area between external walls in all storeys is measured without deductions for items. Medium accuracy. The cost of the historical square-meter and the calculated floor area. Most popular. Used in projects with simple designs. 3. Cubic Method Cost of the building is related to its volume Low accuracy. Buildings volume and related cost. Less used. It is simple 4. Storey Enclosure Method. An estimation system uses buildings shape, vertical and horizontal floor areas. Most accurate. Buildings horizontal and vertical plane areas. Little application Used in designs requiring huge data amounts. Conclusion. The cost estimation in project construction is heavily affected by the material quality, material prices, and material availability. Material quality being the influence of minimum standards required for construction materials, the material prices being influenced by the proximity of the construction site to raw resources and the orders being placed at the moment(Smith, et al., 2016). Material availability is affected by the sustainability of raw materials required. All these factors in materials influencing the cost estimation in early stage building. The cost estimation in construction projects can be approximated by applying the various methods indicated such as cubic method, storey enclosure method, floor area unit method and the functional unit method(Pratt David, 2011). Reference List Ashworth, A. Perera, S., 2015. Cost Studies of Buildings. 6 ed. Townsville: Taylor Francis. Austroads, L. Elisa, C., 2014. Building and Construction Procurement Guide: Principles and Options. Perth: Austroads Limited. Chudley, R. Greeno, R., 2016. Building Construction Handbook. 11 ed. Hobart: Routledge. Curtis Veechi, 201. Small Business For Dummies. 3 ed. Melbourne: John Wiley Sons. Goodman, R., Buxton, M. Moloney, S., 2016. Planning Melbourne: Lessons for a Sustainable City. 1 ed. Melbourne: Csiro Publishing. Pratt David, 2011. Estimating for Residential Construction. 2 ed. Sydney: Cengage Learning. Smith, J., Jaggar, D. Love, P., 2016. Building Cost Planning for the Design Team. 3 ed. Sydney: Routledge. Spain Bryan, 2010. Spon's First Stage Estimating Handbook, Third Edition. 3 ed. Mackay: CRC Press.