This document discusses cost management in buildings. It notes that buildings are large consumers of resources and major contributors to pollution and carbon emissions. Effective cost control during design and construction is important as projects often suffer from cost and time overruns due to poor cost management. Good design, project management, schedules, budgets, and monitoring can help achieve cost control. Designing buildings to be more sustainable, green, and energy efficient can also improve cost effectiveness over the lifetime of the building.

1. COST
MANAGEMENT
IN BUILDINGS
Ar Jit Kumar Gupta
PIT Khunimajra
jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
.

2. BUILDINGS –
-- in relation to human
development,
resources, local and
global contexts

3. BUILDINGS- ROLE AND IMPORTANCE
 Buildings-- integral part of human history, growth and
development since inception
 Buildings -- would continue to define future journey of human
growth
 Buildings-- make manmade environment-
 Buildings-- vital for human growth
 Buildings –are living organism
 Buildings -- structures cater to all human activities
 Buildings- full of dualities and contradictions
 Buildings -- largest consumers of energy
 Buildings - largest consumers of resources
 Buildings – largest generators of waste
 Buildings- largest polluter of environment /ecology
 Buildings --- responsible for largest carbon footprints
 Buildings -- responsible for global warming
 Buildings -- major determinant of global sustainability


4. BUILDINGS AS CONSUMERS OF RESOURCES
•Built environment has significant impact on environment and
consumption of resources:
16% of world’s fresh water withdrawal.
25% of wood harvested.
30% of consumption of raw material.
50% of global energy consumption.
35% of world's CO2 emission
40% of Municipal solid waste.
50% of Ozone depleting CFC’s still in use.
30% of the residents having sick building syndrome
• 70% of global warming outcome of ;
•--built environment
•-- transportation
•Majority of existing buildings --- low concern for energy conservation.

5. COST CONTROL IN BUILDING DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION.
 All Clients interested in--
 -- obtaining fully functional facilities completed---
 -- within time, cost, quality / scope by Builder constructing;
 -- within estimated time
 -- budget,
 -- right standards
 -- quality
 -- as per approved plan
 Cost Management —a process where;
 -- construction cost of the project is managed
 --through best methods and techniques involving design,
construction technologies, materials, manpower/resourc
environment e / waste management,
 --so that available resources are put to optimum use
 -- when carrying out activities of project.
 --One of the aims of cost control is
 -- to construct at cheapest possible cost
 -- without compromising with the quality

6. CHANGING CONSTRUCTION PERCEPTIONS

7. BUILDINGS –
-- in the context of
Cost

8. COST MANAGEMENT
 Globally Projects suffer from;
 cost overruns
 time overruns
 -- stemming from
 -- poor cost control during design
 -- project implementation stages.
 -- Commonly used cost control techniques include;
 -- Good design
 -- Professional Management
 -- well defined schedules
 -- Good budget,
 -- Regular inspection,
 -- Professional meetings,
 -- Precise reports,
 --Well maintained records,
 -- Effective monitoring
 --Objective evaluations.

9. COST CONTROL IN BUILDING DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION.
 Terms budget and cost plan are synonymous.
 --A development budget ;
 determine total costs &
 --returns expected from the project..
 Purpose of cost control plan is
 -- to allocate budget to main elements of project
 ----to provide a basis for cost control.
 objective of cost control is
 -- to manage delivery of project within approved
budget

10. COST MANAGEMENT
 During execution of project; Managers expected to be—
 -- well equipped to execute project,
 -- ensuring quality of work,
 -- within estimated cost limits.
 -- knowing procedures for project control
 -- keeping Time
 Cost control achieved by Selecting;
 -- Right man for right job,
 -- Right equipment
 --right tools for right work
 -- right quality of materials--- in right quantity,
 -- from right source, -- at right price -- delivered at right time.


11. COST MANAGEMENT
Difficulty in controlling project costs;;
 -- delays by clients to release money,
 -- delay to make a decision,
 -- lack of materials and equipment,
 -- bad weather,
 -- overlapping of activities,
 -- unclear and incomplete drawings,
 --making good defective works,
 -- failure to control productivity of resources.
 -- theft and vandalism
 --- interference by clients,
 --high labour turnover,
 -- insufficient knowledge on cost control techniques. --rather lack of
knowledge of techniques,
 --poor management of cost control methodology,
 -- poor site organisation and
 --inadequate supervision.

12. COST MANAGEMENT
 1 Project Resources and Controls
 -- Men,
 -- materials,
 -- machinery
 -- money
 -- critical resource/input for project
 -Project success depends upon their performance
 For controlling costs –
 --clients should do everything possible
 -- to avoid unnecessary delays
 --to avoid cost escalation.

13. BUILDINGS –Cost
Effective Options

14. OPTIONS FOR MAKING BUILDINGS COST-
EFFECTIVE
Adopting Sustainable Development Goals
Looking at Life Cycle cost-- instead of initial
Cost
Adopting Good Building Design
 Designing Green Buildings
Effective and Professional Project Management
 Effective Material Management
Effective Plant Management
Effective Labour Management
Adopting State of art building Technologies

15. BUILDINGS –Cost
Effective Options-
Promoting
Sustainable
Development Goals

16. COST EFFECTIVE BUILDINGS- SDGS
 Making building cost–effective by;
 Designing sustainable / resilient buildings;
 Promoting Net Zero energy buildings
 Incentivizing Green Rated Buildings
 Ensuring use of local materials
 Using materials in the original form
 Promoting Local /state of art Technologies
 Promoting Research and Development in Construction sector
 Making construction sector- more professional, effective and
efficient
 Skilling the construction sector
 Promoting industry- academia interaction

17. SDG 11- MAKE CITIES AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS INCLUSIVE
,SAFE, RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE

19. BUILDINGS –Cost
Effective Options-
Lower Life Cycle
Cost

20. LIFE CYCLE COSTS
Operating Cost 89%
Maintenance/
Consumables 1%
Initial Cost
10%

21. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
 Life cycle assessment -Best option to make buildings cost
effective by;
 -- helping avoid a narrow outlook
 -- evaluating environmental, social /economic concerns
 -- Making assessment of full range of impacts
 ---associating cradle-to-grave stages of a process:
 -- including impact of energy and Resources
 --Makes assessment of :
 --operational/ maintenance over entire life span
 --Impact on global warming potential,
 -- resource use, air /water pollution and waste.
 shifting away from a --prescriptive approach,
 -- toward the scientific evaluation of actual performance—--
Best way to evaluate -- cost effectiveness of buildings

22. BUILDINGS –Cost
Effective Options-
Green Buildings

23. GREEN BUILDINGS
 Green building though considered expensive in initial cost-
 - saves much more money
 -- Makes Building cost-effective -- against ordinary buildings ---houses,
office buildings, schools, factories etc because they save;
 -- energy,
 -- water ,
 -- have lower maintenance/operational cost
 ---money spent on its creation ensures return at least 10 times.
 Study by Californian Sustainable Building Task Force--in 2003.
-- Even 20% of higher investment into green building
-- makes -- 10 times more saving.
 -- Green Building makes a business sense
 -- It provides win-win situation for owner, user, client
 Green building can be expensive as much as a conventional building.

24. DEFINING- GREEN BUILDINGS

25. DESIGNING GREEN BUILDINGS
Optimum design solution is one that effectively emulates all
natural systems and conditions of pre-developed site-after
development is complete.
•Adopting integrated approach to building design for
reducing energy in buildings involve :
Site planning-
 planning with nature
 making use of site potential --location, shape, size,
orientation, accessibility, vegetation, surroundings,
topography, physical barriers, bye-laws, zoning, electric lines
, future development, soil, wind direction, services, land use
, view etc
Evolving minimum energy consumption building envelop
design.
Promoting higher order of building efficiency.
Integration of renewable energy sources to generate
energy on site.
Selection of ecologically sustainable/ low energy
materials.
Using eco- friendly construction technologies.
Effective water and waste management.
Innovative options used for Lighting, heating, cooling,
air- conditioning and ventilation.

26. ADVANTAGES OF GREEN BUILDINGS

27. BUILDINGS –Cost
Effective Options–
Building Design

28. DESIGNING-- COST EFFECTIVE BUILDINGS
 Building Design -- most powerful tool to achieve cost- effectiveness –
 Buildings need to be designed by adopting integrated approach to
building design which include;
 Optimizing the macro climate- climatic zone
 Optimizing the local climate
 Optimizing the Orientation-
 Optimizing the Solar movement-- to maximizes use of free solar
energy for heating /lighting- Generating electricity
 Optimizing Wind direction-air flow
 Optimizing site planning--- planning with nature, making best use of
site climate/ site potential/ climate, orientation, landscaping
 Optimizing space planning in building-
 Optimizing Design of Building envelop- Height, openings, projections,
shading devices -- with minimum energy implication
 Designing buildings which facilitates the use of cost-effective materials
and cost effective technologies

29. PROMOTING ECONOMY THROUGH GOOD DESIGN
 Good Architectural design based on following principles—
 Buildings to be the product of site- driven by its shape, size,
dimensions, physical features, surroundings, accessibility,
location, neighborhood, views , architects vision etc
 Doing a detailed analysis of the site through a SWOT
 Making best use of the strength of the site
 Overcoming through design all the prevailing weaknesses
 Respecting site and the existing physical features
 Avoiding tempering with the site through minimizing
disturbance
 Avoiding cutting the existing trees, flora and fauna- making them
integral part of designing of building
 Minimising cutting and filling of the site
 Making best use of materials available on the site
 In case of rebuilding- using maximum demolished material in the
new building
 In the contoured site- try to plan along the contours and not
across the contours- to avoid cutting and filling

30. PROMOTING ECONOMY THROUGH GOOD DESIGN
 Good Architectural design based on following principles—
 Define clearly the goals/agenda of building right in the beginning.
 Building performance must be monitored even after the building is
made operational.
 Design a compact building with minimum footprints
 Workout the building details right in the beginning
 Involve all the professionals right in the beginning for designing and
detailing
 Avoid changes during construction
 Design buildings based on specified norms and standards to avoid
their over/under-designing
 Adopt a shape which leads to minimum length and area of walls
 Building must achieve high space efficiency-- carpet area x100/gross
area--- with minimum area under walls, circulation and amenities
 Evolving design having-- low wall area/floor area ratio
 Evolving design on optimum structural grid
 Planning room sizes based on the available product sizes of flooring-
to avoid wastage

31. REDUCING CONSTRUCTION COST- DESIGN
 Design with least amount of wastage & negative spaces.
 Stick to right angles and simple room shapes to minimize
complexity of construction.
 Where design is form based- avoid negative spaces or spaces having acute
angles
 Build multi- storied construction- foundation and roofing
costs per square foot are high.
 Don't increase slab heights
 Design Lean- Decrease self -load of building
 Don't design for additional floors if not required
 Use same flooring in all rooms/ toilets, --to reduces
wastage.
 Plan Electrical/Plumbing- services carefully- .
 Don't compromise on quality--reduce requirements to fit
your budget
 Look at the life-cycle cost rather than initial cost to achieve
real cost effectiveness- Initial cost only 10%, operational
cost- 90%

32. ECONOMY THROUGH GOOD DESIGN
 Promote Sharing--Adopt a system of building common walls between
adjoining houses to economise on space, materials, time / structure
 For multi-storeyed buildings--- repeat floor plans one above other –
with no change in structural componenets
 Keep/club your spaces that need plumbing --close together or above
each other to minimize cost
 Design all public health services near to supply / drainage network to
reduce length of pipes and cost
 Design Green Buildings – saves lot of water and electric energy- makes
building cost- effective over entire life cycle
 Provide standard sized doors with limited variations- minimise sizes of
doors provided
 Minimise number of doors
 All finishing/fittings- floor, windows, glass, paneling etc designed
based on standard size products available in market- to minimise
wastage etc-- Build to match standard material dimensions.
 Using pre-caste /pre-fabricated products to the extent possible- doors/
windows cupboards etc
 Avoid fancy/false/decorative structures in building

33. ECONOMY THROUGH GOOD DESIGN
 Make your rooms versatile to optimise space utilisation—
 -- example - do you really need a living room --same space can serve
many uses. A guest room can be an expensive luxury
 Design spaces based on living and non-living areas- with living areas
placed in the best possible orientataion
 Avoid corridors to extent possible- Corridors can be dead space-- only
used for moving between adjacent spaces
 -Avoid single loaded corridors- to optimize space
 Where unavoidable- provide optimum width of the corridors
 Think long term-- as cost of ownership spans may be many years. Some
extra insulation and passive heating / cooling may be beneficial over the
length of your home ownership. .
 Select your window placement well-- they are costly - in first cost and in
energy loss---select standard window sizing.
 Keep bathrooms to a minimum, --- most expensive room per square foot in
home.
 Try to design multi use bathrooms--- with private enclosures for shower,
toilet and sink-- have 3 people using one bathroom at same time.
 Keep indoor quality of spaces high
 Make optimum use of courtyards in narrow sites and in the hot climate
 Make courtyard spaces multi-functional

34. PROMOTING ECONOMY THROUGH GOOD DESIGN
 Building envelop needs to be designed with care
 Avoid unnecessary projections and balconies- make buildings
expensive and consume large amount of space.
 Openings- windows and doors need to be placed carefully- looking
objectively the requirement of sunlight, air and ventilation.
 Sizes and placement of the windows need careful study- they are
expensive
 Shading devices have to be carefully worked out and can be largely
avoided based on careful study of the orientation and the site.
 Make best use of the vegetation and trees to shade and make
buildings cool
 Avoid multi-layering of projections to protect openings
 Make best use of arches instead of Concrete lintels to reduce cost
 Use of Jallis to cover large/small openings can help in achieving dual
purpose of providing light and ventilation besides avoiding large glass
windows
 Avoid cladding of external walls and allow the natural materials to
define the building envelop

35. PROMOTING ECONOMY THROUGH GOOD DESIGN
 Minimizing area under walls to make buildings lightweight
and to increase carpet area.-- using pre-cast concrete
blocks, reducing width of walls-7 1/2 “ instead of 9” walls/
pre-cast concrete blocks
 Use innovative technologies-- Rat-Trap brick walls to
reduce quantity of material used
 Evolving design on optimum structural grid
 Use new cost- effective materials ---aerated cement
concrete blocks to reduce the width of walls, weight of wall,
number/ size of joints, use of cement etc
 Use local & contemporary materials
 Use materials in the natural form- avoid using additional
layers on natural material
 Use materials having minimum maintenance cost
 Use UPVC or Aluminium Windows instead of teak wood,
same goes for doors, use flush doors instead

36. PROMOTING ECONOMY THROUGH GOOD DESIGN
 Minimise provision of dead/storage spaces in the usable
areas- make use of negative spaces- making multiple uses
of space under the stairs etc
 Adopting Solar Passive Building Design makes building
cost- effective over entire life-span
 Limiting the scope of building--Build What You Need
 Makes building effective, efficient and cost-effective.
 Adopting the approach-- less is more-- will always make
buildings more compact and efficient
 Adopting the principle in designing-Simple is beautiful -
will always make buildings cost- effective
 Designing lean and smart makes a building cost-effective

37. SITE PLANNING-IMPACT OF BUILDINGS- MINIMIZING
BUILDING FOOTPRINTS

38. BUILDINGS –Cost
Effective Options–
Material,
Plant, Labour, Time

39. COST MANAGEMENT --- MATERIALS
 -- Major problems at site --- -- large amount of materials wastage
 --during procurement storage, utilisation.
 -- Wastage during procurement
 -- --buying materials of wrong specifications,
 --buying more than actual requirements ,
 --untimely buying of short-life materials,
 --improper / unnecessary handling of materials, -- wastage in transportation.
 Wastage during storage occur due to ;
 --damages /breakage during handling,
 --deterioration due to incorrect storage,
 --incorrect maintenance -- short-shelf life
 --loss due to fire, thefts/vandalism,/ exposure to extreme climatic conditions.
 -- lack of pre-work preparation /coordination,
 -- improper accounting -- poor storekeeping,
 -- negligent /careless attitude of supervisor,
 -- deterioration due to long storage at place of work,
 -- over-issues from central stores -- failures to return unused surplus materials to stores.
 --wastages during utilisation- wrong construction practices
 . Most problems relating to material wastage revolve around—
 requisitioning /ordering/ receipt /checking of deliveries from suppliers/ offloading and
handling, storing / issuing,/distributing /use of materials.

40. COST MANAGEMENT- PLANT
 In construction some tasks
 -- labour intensive,
 -- equipment, intensive
 -- combination of both.
 -- Actual work done /associated labour accounted by supervisor
 -- equipment /productivity control undertaken to--
 determine employment time/output achieved/its productivity at
site
 Purpose of control
 -- to minimize wastage in utilisation
 -- overall project cost is not affected
 -- industrialising construction would reduce—
 -- cost of construction by about 30%.

41. COST MANAGEMENT- LABOUR
 . Labour productivity achieved at site provides a measure of ;
 --labourer’s efficiency
 --effectiveness
 -- level of site organisation.
 -- shows total time for which labourer was employed at work,
 -- time he was productive
 --time he remained unproductive
 -- Craftsmen use 40% of available time on productive activities,
 -- about 33% of the time on non-value adding activities --idle
waiting/unnecessary travelling,
 --late starting,-- early quitting, --unscheduled breaks,
 -- delays to receive materials/ work instructions.
 -- cost of labour -- of 30 to 40% of project costs.
 -- labour a significant factor in cost of buildings
 -- cost control process involves;
 -- accounting of actual productivity
 -- comparing with standard,
 -- analysing causes for variations
 -- taking remedial measures for improvement.
 -- Need for close supervision and good working relationship.

42. COST MANAGEMENT- TIME-COST RELATIONSHIP
Relationship between time/ cost
 -- very important aspect in
 -- control of costs on site
 -- as variation in time has implication on cost.
 -- Important to report/ record
 -- all works involving materials, plant , labour on sites.
 -- This enables contractor to know;
 -- costs / expenses of resources used on site and
 -- compare with initial cost budget.
 -- Various report/ techniques used include
 --; daily or weekly/ monthly recording,
 -- schedule control,
 -- site daily diary report
 -- project budget.

43. COST MANAGEMENT---MATERIALS
Material wastage reduced by ensuring that Materials delivered ;
-- as required to cut site storage time,
-- those specified,
-- issuing right amount of material with reasonable allowance
 -- materials stored do not deteriorate.
 --Employing a reliable store keeper
 -- able to maintain well kept booking system
 -- use of weigh bridges
 -- spot checks for materials deliveries
 -- Safeguarding against Theft /pilfering of materials -- by,
issuing of items by store men and
 keeping records of all the materials on site
 --employing full-time security guards.
 --Sites fitted with alarm systems installed around key materials
 -- ensuring that whole site lit up at night.

44. COST MANAGEMENT---PLANT/MACHINERY
 Use of machines at building sites insignificant
 Mechanising construction - 30% cost- reduce
 Contractors encouraged to use of machine
 -- advantages of speeding up construction work,
 -- saving labour,
 -- producing better quality works
 -- promote economy
 -- able to do what cannot be done manually
 --. Once brought to sites--, machines used optimally
 -- redundant time lead to high cost.

45. COST MANAGEMENT---LABOUR
 Project cost control achieved by;
 -- improving labour productivity on site,
 -- recording labourers’ work progress,
 -- daily work evaluation,
 --recruitment labour with right skills
 -- substituting labourers with equipment,
 - having schedules /proper control
 --creating procedure / records in place.
 -- Creating good working environment
 -Motivation / proper communication
 --Regular inspections
 -- Early detection of variances
 --Using good quality plan,
 --Efficient, effective , vigilant processes
 - Mechanism to ensure its successful accomplishment.

46. BUILDINGS –Cost–
Making
Construction
Sector Efficient

47. COST MANAGEMENT-- CONSTRUCTION SECTOR
 Construction sector makes large contribution to economy with
linkages to several other sectors of economy.
 India projected to become world’s third largest construction market by
2025
 Construction sector -- key driver for Building Economy.
 Construction Industry in India highly fragmented.
 Needs to be made globally competitive/productive/cost-
effective/efficient / sustainable.
 Need for study /analysis of the prevailing gaps in international and
national standards-- regarding construction practices and
technologies
 Align national standards for design, construction, maintenance
and operation with global standards,
 Bring down cost of construction besides maintaining high
standards of quality
 Need to transform construction industry to make it sustainable--- from
focussing on traditional concerns of "cost, time and quality", to include
“construction products and materials”,
 --- to reduce natural resource consumption and minimize waste on site

48. SKILLING CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
 Despite employing one- sixth of total workforce / involving huge money /consuming largest
proportion of resources, construction industry remains highly unskilled.
 Major maladies in construction-- lack of skill.
 Making construction industry more efficient,/productive / innovative,
 -- quality / skilled manpower is deployed.
 --Cental/ state governments – to take initiative of creating skilled manpower by;
 -- promoting dedicated institutions,
 -- collaboration with stakeholders.
 Building dedicated training Centres
 ITI’s / polytechnics-- Start vocational courses related to construction industry.
 Funds available under National Urban Livelihood Mission --used for creating large skilled
workforce---to overcoming
 -- problems of unemployment /poverty besides
 - making building industry more innovative / efficient .
 -- Engineering colleges /institutions imparting higher education--leveraged to create new
construction technologies /building materials from waste--to make industry more cost-effective
/ resource efficient.
 Continued training of in-service professionals engaged in the construction sector made
mandatory
 For skilling construction industry,-- only skilled manpower shall be employed for certain tasks
in the construction projects.
 -- Initially, limited to larger projects but
 --gradually it must be made mandatory for all projects.
 -- PWD Codes -- reviewed periodically to make them inclusive /supportive of innovations in
construction industry.

49. ADOPTING BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES
 For construction sector to be effective/ efficient, it must ensure ;
 -- structural integrity / stability of buildings
 -- functionality & safety of both users and occupiers.
 -- To ensure quality construction --Singapore defined mechanism of checks / balances to check quality of building
during designing , construction / maintenance
 -- which not only provides best construction practices but also ensures continued adherence to process
 . -- mechanism outcome of learning-- from collapse of Hotel New World, Singapore in March 1986
 -- Enquiry conducted about collapse of hotel building revealed that;
 -- structure was grossly under-designed-- quality of construction was very poor.
 -- building was poorly maintained-- plenty of warning signs indicated a possible collapse during 13 years of
existence of building .
 -- In 1989, Singapore passed a legislation, which mandated;
 -- all construction projects to undergo mandatory checks at design/ construction/ completion
 stages
 -- Seek certified design reviews prior to commencement of construction;
 --- Appoint independent construction supervision during construction and
 ---periodic structural inspections of buildings, after completion of construction
 .-- buildings designed by duly qualified professionals.
 -- building design reviewed by Senior professional engineer, before building is constructed.
 -- Design Review Certification helps in providing structural integrity, building stability /user and occupier safety costs
about 0.15% of total construction cost.
 -- Mandatory Testing during construction through professionally certified Engineers-- costing not more than 1% of
overall cost of construction
 Certification of buildings based on highest standard subsequent rectification work becomes minimal.
 Periodic help in making buildings more cost- effective over its entire life span
 System ensures construction of buildings carried out in a most professional manner / building of appropriate quality

50. BUILDINGS –Cost–
Conclusion

51. COST MANAGEMENT--CONCLUSION
 Cost remains causality due to;
 - Poor Architectural Design
 -- Adopting time consuming Construction methodologies
 -Lack of knowledge of management techniques
 -- laxity in supervision.
 -- Lack of awareness of workers of performance targets
 -- lack of communication between supervisors / workers.
 -- Inefficient use of project resources
 -- High dependency on manual labour
 -- Poor quality of labour
 --Best option- controlling cost at design stage.
 --During implementation– Putting in place procedures of cost
control of resources
 -Promoting High degree of professional constructionmanagement
 -- detecting variance / formulating corrective measures
 -- skill up-gradation of contractors – through refresher courses in
construction project management etc