should you cost-load your construction project schedule? what are the benefits of cost-loading your schedule?<\/p>\n
whenever either construction owners or contractors are looking at a new project, that’s when these important questions come up.<\/p>\n
i’m going to look at the benefits and tradeoffs of cost-loading a construction schedule from the perspectives of both the owner and the contractor.<\/p>\n
let’s dive in.<\/p>\n
let me start by saying that for many of us in the construction project management arena, scheduling and time management<\/a> has been kept far away from project cost management<\/a>.<\/p>\n what do i mean?<\/p>\n it’s been my experience that schedulers look at project dates, and someone else looks at costs. probably someone with some formal cost management education<\/a>, like a financial controller for example.<\/p>\n pardon my boldness, but i believe that most schedulers know a lot about scheduling, and not much about the cost side of things like estimating<\/a>, budgeting, and cost control<\/a> (i know there are exceptions out there – i see you too!).<\/p>\n and it makes sense really. cost management is, by its nature, more complex with many more rules to follow and plenty of risk.<\/p>\n think of your own personal finances, your debts or your investment portfolio. if you manage these things in your personal life like i do, most of us recognize the intricacies that go into ensuring interest payments are minimized, understanding the fine print<\/a> on our credit card statements, creating &\u00a0calculating personal budgets<\/a> and balancing security portfolios for the best return on our investments (roi).<\/p>\n so when we start to consider the benefits & tradeoffs of cost-loading your schedule, many construction schedulers<\/a> are at a disadvantage from the start because they have either been sheltered from the cost side of construction management or, the prospect of it makes them go “ugh”.<\/p>\n yes, some of us gravitate towards cost spreadsheets<\/a>, s-curves<\/a> & cost accounts, while others do not. that’s a factor here as well.<\/p>\n let’s explore why cost-loading your construction schedule can have solid benefits.<\/p>\n but let’s be real at the same time. i’ll also outline the tradeoffs for putting in the effort and help you decide whether it is worth it or not.<\/p>\n watch the video below for a summary of this discussion:<\/strong><\/p>\n