Dear All,
I'm new to Project Controls and just started my job as a PC Engineer at a small construction company. My manager asked me to do a budget analysis (we are still in Design Development) so I really don't know what he means by budget analysis as to me you analyze actual vs the baseline. But there's no actual budget as we are still in the Design Phase and the budget I have is for construction phase.
Could anyone please share their ideas regarding that?
I would really appreciate any input..
Thank you so much!
Hi Irene
Why don't you just ask your boss what he means by budget analysis.
The golden rule is - "if you don't know then ask someone who does."
No one will think any less of an enquiring mind.
You have been given some excellent advice here but it might not be what is required.
Best regards
Mike Testro
Construction budgeting is really complicated because of the involvement of time;
When there is time, there should be productivity;
What if you have not considered productivity in your original budget?
Chances are, your budget may exceed than what is practically needed;
For example: You may assume a budget for 12 months for a certain project; where you can practically complete it in 6 months.
If the above case happen, how are you going to calculate slippage? (slippage maybe negative or positive);
Daniel,
Thank you very much for your response. So that essentially means I have to look at each $ amount allocated to a specific trade and make a conclusion if that will be enough or we run a risk of overspending with regards to the current market prices, availability of materials/resources, etc? And if yes, we should probably consider budget shifts between the trades?
Thank you,
Irene
Hi Irene,
Budget analysis simply means reviewing the budget allocation in terms of resources & services (Materials, Plants, Equipment, Tools, Labour, Consumables, Fees, etc.) and analysing the soundness of the budget distribution on both the Organizational Breakdown Structure and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) against specified time (fiscal year) or project duration.
You need to have a good understanding of the basis and assumptions made during the Tender (review BoQ) and the current managment plan. You need to know details such as whether you need to buy new plants & equipments or you need to rent.
Construction is quite complex compared to household budgeting but the principle remains the same.
Good Luck,
Daniel