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Project Management principles are a major component of the Construction Industry and the Project Management Institute invested in a Study to determine what the costs were if a project was not completed correctly.
The Study came back with a report that there are 5 Stages to a Project:
The other aspect that came back in the Study was that for every $1 spent in a stage it saved $7 of trying to change or fix a mistake in the following stage, and this compounded at each following stage. So for example if it would cost $1000 to complete a Feasibility Report at the Concept Stage, but if this was not completed, then in the Planning Stage it would cost an extra $7000 trying to address issues that were not determined at previous stage. This would then further compound at the next Stage when the project is started costing $49,000 if it hadn’t been dealt with effectively. And so on.
The final conclusion of the report was that spending money on effective Planning and Design at an early stage would keep a Project to a reasonable budget and would reduce the amount of “unexpected problems” that could occur.
We have taken this to heart in our projects so we ensure that we complete a feasibility study of the project and do our due diligence to determine as many issues as possible as early as possible. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t a chance of an unexpected issue, but it does reduce the risk of being blindsided.
Decisions about construction methods and design solutions are important: these decisions will determine the direction your project is moving in and it can cost time and money to change that direction.
You should always keep in mind the Design Variables chart to the right when thinking about your project: it is very easy to focus too much on one corner of the triangle or another and then find you get little of the others. And remember, high quality low cost projects always take a long time, which is another cost altogether.
Due to this our design library focuses on wall assemblies and construction details that we have updated as Building Code develops and new materials come into the marketplace. You are welcome to select your own construction methods and materials, and do the research, yet for full-service proposals please understand that you have hired us to do this work for you.
The majority of people are trying to keep to the minimum requirements to achieve lower material costs or because of unfamiliarity with new methods. Newer techniques may cost more in materials but save money on labour and/or operating costs. For example the cost to exceed the minimum R-Value in Insulation requirements often is offset by the gained square footage and reduced Heating / Air Conditioning operating costs. This will increasing become more important as the municipalities introduce incentives and requirements to combat climate change.