Product Overview
Financial success in a construction project lies in the accuracy of budget forecasting which occurs during project planning phases. Only accurate budgets can establish clear feasibility. When a construction need, desire, or investment opportunity is established, the next questions are, “What will that cost? Can we afford it? Does this make economic sense?” Budget estimates answer these questions accurately only if the budget continues to develop in harmony with available design information. This course will discuss why many projects exceed their initial budget forecasts, techniques that are used when project parameter and design information is sparce, and how budgets develop to become an accurate reflection of real time project expenditures.
On the final day of the course, the instructor will guide attendees through a short hands-on activity in building a budget estimate. Attendees will be provided with a variety of spreadsheets to use in practicing how to develop basic budget estimates.
*Please note: this course focuses on the principles of budget estimating and is not a training course to teach attendees how to use Microsoft Excel or other software tools in construction estimating.
Course Topics Include:
- Categories and types of budget estimates
- Processes used to create budget estimates
- Establishing feasibility
- Hard versus soft costs
- Analogous, parametric and elemental processes
- Three-point budget estimating
- Value Engineering
- Program Evaluation and Review Techniques [PERT]
- Risks related to various budget estimating processes
- Cost planning, cost analysis and lifecycle cost comparisons
- Uniformat and CIQS methodologies
- Implementation of budgeting tools
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Clearly define construction budgeting
- Identify and categorize several types of construction budgets
- List several budget estimating processes and procedures
- Differentiate between common processes in budget estimating
- Understand timelines with respect to budget development
- Implement the use of basic budget estimating tools
Course Format
- Live, Online, Instructor-led training. This is a highly interactive course facilitated by the instructor on the Zoom platform.
- You will be expected to have your webcam on during the whole class and participate in break-out rooms, small-group discussions, and other activities with your instructor and classmates during the course.
- Zoom access information will be provided to you in advance of the training by your instructor
- Full attendance and participation in all four sessions is mandatory for course completion. If a student misses a class session, we are unable to transfer registration or provide a partial refund of the registration fees.
Course Requirements (Technology & Participation)
This course requires full face-to-face interaction and participation from both the instructor and students. In order to attend, you’ll must make sure you have the following:
- Computer or laptop with webcam (webcams are mandatory): This course will involve 100% on-screen interaction with your instructor and classmates, reading/viewing on-screen content like slides or videos, and interacting via typing with questions or responses. For this reason, you must have a webcam and use a full computer/laptop, and we do not permit students to attend using a tablet or cell phone.
- A quiet space with minimal distractions: Please plan to be fully engaged in the class, and clear your work schedule just as you would for attendance in an in-class program.
Gold Seal Credits
This course is worth 1 gold seal credit.
Refunds or Transfers:
- Five (5) or more business days before the course start date: Full refund of registration fees or can be transfers to a different course date.
- Less than five (5) business days before the course start date and course no-shows: No refunds or transfers to future course dates.
- For a complete document on the NRCA Education Policies, click here.
Other Policies:
- Substitution of another member of your company/team is permitted up to the course start date for no additional fee.
- Unless otherwise stated, every person able to see, hear, and observe the virtual course sessions must be a paid participant. Non-compliance of this requirement will result in removal from the course. Refunds will not be issued to students who are removed from the course for non-compliance of this requirement.
- If the NRCA has to postpone or cancel courses due to insufficient enrolment, NRCA will refund the registration fee or, if possible, the attendee may choose to move to an identical session in the future.
