A civil engineering asset that costs 10% less for the initial build – but costs twice as much to maintain over its lifetime. Which is the cheapest option?
Or how about the lowest cost bid that encounters unforeseen technical difficulties (such as geotechnical issues) and needs to be rescoped and redesigned – trailing a host of project delays and knock-on costs in its wake?
These are choices that often get made – but perhaps not always consciously. And it’s clear from historical data that the lowest up-front bid price for a civils project doesn’t always prove to be the cheapest path in the long run.
Simplifying The Complex
There’s a lot of complexity in assessing costs and value. Civils projects – particularly on challenging terrain – are complex undertakings. But we understand the main root causes of variances and avoidable lifecycle costs and how to minimise their impact.
Suttle’s Projects:simplified approach to delivery is all about managing that uncertainty. The risks of the lowest cost option are real. They’re also avoidable with a more considered approach to design and delivery.
We go into more detail about the intricacies of balancing up-front cost with long-term value in our resource centre (see link below). Common causes of additional cost include inaccurate or insufficiently detailed project scoping, unrealistic assumptions about how easy the project will be to deliver in practice, and gaps in key project data such as geotechnical analysis.
Future-Proof Designs
Climate change will complicate the cost/value calculation even further. It’s hard to predict what stresses the climate will throw at future construction projects – yet these will have a very real impact on whole-life costs.
A project designed for a coastal or marine location must clearly factor-in the likely impact of rising sea levels and potential storm surges. Accounting for these factors effectively will never produce the lowest up-front delivery cost.
Designing for historical weather conditions won’t be adequate. Groundwater analysis is becoming increasingly significant as it’s essential to understand how this might vary in different climatic conditions. The implications for foundation design and creating structures that are more tolerant of ground movement are huge.
It’s risky to ignore these real life cost factors. To find out more about them, access our Free Information & Resources. Simply scroll down on our home page to register.