Budget Estimating Processes | Live, ONLINE

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

• Live, Online, Instructor-led training.
  • This course is facilitated by the instructor on the Zoom platform. Access information will be provided to you in advance of the training.
  • You will be expected to have your webcam on during the class and participate in group discussions and other activities with your instructor and classmates during the course.
• This course is delivered in partnership with local construction associations. You will be participating with a cohort of industry peers from across Canada

Please make sure you have the following:

• Computer or laptop with webcam: This course will involve 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, we recommend that you have a full computer/laptop set-up and don’t recommend using a cell phone or tablet to attend the training.
• A quiet space with minimal distractions: plan to be fully engaged in the class and clear your work schedule just as you would for attendance in an in-class program.