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August 4, 2015 - 4:08pm

Do Projects RightFor an E&C contractor managing tight margins or an owner with limited funding resources, today's economic climate demands a careful and diligent selection process for evaluating which projects to build or rehab in any given year.

Success depends on leveraging contextually relevant project controls information.

The ongoing challenge for E&C contractors going after new business is to win the right work with the right customers at the right profit margins. Yet, in the typical engineering and construction organization, rarely do the teams that prepare the estimates for project bids and the teams that deliver those projects work together and share information. Historical data includes information about which clients are a good fit - and which are not. To achieve contextual relevance, contractors must leverage client and historical data to prepare successful bids, control the approval process when deciding which projects to onboard, and better predict which projects they will win.

Similarly, owner organizations in asset intensive markets, particularly in the public sector, must apply contextually relevant data to determine which assets should be built, rehabilitated, and maintained to funding and need. Traditionally, public sector organizations in particular do not place a lot of rigor in the project selection process, instead letting the federal, state or industry-based measurement and metric requirements and performance reporting standards dictate the order of projects to fund. Part of the problem is the often disparate make-up of these agencies. A transportation agency, for instance, with a large portfolio of projects planned and in construction is often managed by often distinctive groups who may or may not share funding and insights.

A formalized technology-driven lead-to-contract solution that draws on data from relevant resources can transform the selection process by making the right data automatically available to the right people.

Imagine if your estimators had access to contextually relevant data?

Traditionally, estimators develop proposed project cost data without designer input. They receive blueprints or digital files and must quickly come up with cost estimates based on those plans. This lack of complete information makes it difficult for them to fully visualize the scope of a project, which can cause increased risks to cost, schedule, and margin. WIth the increasing use of building information modeling (BIM) in construction, contractors can leverage data-rich 2D and 3D models to build more complete and accurate cost estimates and better manage both risk and liability on this project. Incorporating 4D (schedule) and 5D (cost) into a BIM-enabled estimating solution empowers construction firms with a total integration of design, estimating, and scheduling. It provides a unified platform for the estimators to easily review a BIM model and immediately gain access to data between design, quantity, cost items, and scheduling activities. BIM technology enables a closer, more collaborative relationship between owners and contractors throughout the entire value chain, from preconstruction to post-construction.

WIth the ability to visualize project estimates as well as ongoing project performance metrics, firms can leverage all of the lessons learned on every project to increase the chances of winning the right projects. Technology provides the wherewithal to use intellectual capital gained from lessons learned on every past project to institutionalize the good business practices that set your firm apart from the competition. Leveraging client and historical data to prepare successful bids, controlling the approval process when deciding which projects to onboard, and better predicting which projects you will win. In effect, transforming your business.

This article appears in the current issue of Construction Connection.

 

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