A Building Information Modeling-Life Cycle Cost Analysis Integrated Model to Enhance Decisions Related to the Selection of Construction Methods at the Conceptual Design Stage of Buildings

Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) provides a systematic approach to assess the total cost associated with owning, operating, and maintaining assets throughout their entire life. BIM empowers architects and designers to perform real-time evaluations to explore various design options. However, when integrated with LCCA, BIM provides a comprehensive economic perspective that helps stakeholders understand the long-term financial implications of design decisions. This study presents a methodology for developing a model that seamlessly integrates BIM and LCCA during the conceptual design stage of buildings. This integration allows for a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the design process, ensuring that the development aligns with the principles of low carbon emissions by employing modular construction, 3D concrete printing methods, and different building design alternatives. The model considers the initial construction costs in addition to all the long-term operational, maintenance, and salvage values. It combines various tools and data through different modules, including energy analysis, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) to execute a comprehensive assessment of the financial implications of a specific design option throughout the lifecycle of building projects. The development of the said model and its implementation involves the creation of a new plug-in for the BIM tool (i.e., Autodesk Revit) to enhance its functionalities and capabilities in forecasting the life-cycle costs of buildings in addition to generating associated cash flows, creating scenarios, and sensitivity analyses in an automatic manner. This model empowers designers to evaluate and justify their initial investments while designing and selecting potential construction methods for buildings, and enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions by assessing different design alternatives based on long-term financial considerations during the early stages of design.

Discussion on Construction Project Cost Budget Settlement Review

Construction project cost control involves many complex contents,forming a large amount of data information.If the processing method is unreasonable,it will likely affect the cost control efficiency.Therefore,in the current construction project management,the review of project cost budget settlement is the focus to solve the cost management problems of construction projects and promote the development of the construction industry.This article mainly analyzes the influencing factors and current situation of construction project cost budget settlement review,and based on this,it explores the project cost budget settlement review strategy to promote the healthy development of construction project cost work.

Cost Control Strategies in the Pre-Construction Period of Highway Construction

Effective cost control in the investment and design phases of highway construction is crucial for managing project expenses.However,current management practices often overlook pre-construction cost management,leading to budget overruns and project delays during later stages.To ensure the smooth execution and cost control of highway construction projects,this paper examines the significance of cost control,evaluates the current state and challenges of highway construction,and proposes strategies for cost management.These strategies aim to establish a robust foundation for cost management in highway projects.

Application Analysis of BIM Technology in Construction Engineering Cost Management

With the rapid development of information technology,Building Information Modeling(BIM)technology has gradually occupied an important position in the construction industry.With the introduction of BIM technology,the cost control of construction projects can be greatly improved[1].The use of this technology can not only reduce the project approval time but also improve the quality of the project.In addition,it can also help the construction personnel to solve the project changes,maintenance costs,insurance rates,and other related issues,so that the operation of the project is more efficient and economical.This paper will discuss the role of BIM technology in depth,and explore the advantages and disadvantages of each link through the research of the project,to provide a reference for the promotion of this new project.By constantly adjusting the application strategy,the goal is to meet the current market demand.

Analysis of the Current Situation of Cost Management and Control of Highway Construction Projects

The highway engineering process is complex,coupled with a relatively long construction period,hence requires increased coordination between participating units to prevent economic disputes and efficiency losses.The main body of the construction project needs to strengthen the management and control of funds.In this regard,this paper analyzes the importance of cost management in highway projects by clarifying and analyzing the current cost management status quo problems and causes.The highway engineering cost control strategy and implementation methods are summarized to provide references for improving the quality of highway engineering.

Discussion on Cost Budgeting and Cost Control Strategies for Prefabricated Construction Projects

In the process of China’s national economic development,the construction industry is a very important component and has a direct impact on the level of China’s economic construction.Nowadays,the development speed of the prefabricated construction industry is constantly accelerating.To effectively ensure the economic benefits of engineering projects,it is necessary to comprehensively strengthen cost budgeting and cost control.This article analyzes the cost budget of prefabricated construction projects,introduces the application advantages of prefabricated construction,and proposes specific cost budgeting and cost control measures,hoping to provide some reference for relevant researchers.

Construction Cost Control Strategy of Finished House Based on BIM-5D

Building Information Modeling(BIM)technology can not only achieve project refinement management of the construction process based on a 3D model but also form a BIM-5D model based on the fusion of progress data and cost data to achieve the dynamic control of the whole process of project cost.This paper discusses the application of BIM-5D in the cost control of finished house construction,aiming to provide technical reference for China’s finished house project units,so that they can master how to realize the construction of cost control system based on BIM,the monitoring of the key coefficients of the cost,corrective action,to ensure that the project cost deviation is within the controllable range,and to make an effective guarantee for the economic benefits of the project construction.

A Practical Study of Knowledge Mapping Empowering the Construction of Engineering Costing Software Application Courses in Undergraduate Colleges and Universities

Relying on the talent cultivation program of Chongqing Institute of Engineering,this paper combines the characteristics of the Engineering Costing Software Application course with its current status quo,analyzes the existing problems and teaching pain points,and introduces knowledge mapping.The course construction is carried out in terms of the combing of knowledge points,the optimization of the course structure,the innovation of the teaching method,and the evaluation and feedback of the teaching in order to improve the systematicity and structural nature of the teaching content,enhance students’learning experience,and enhance their learning effect.It is conducive to the formation of students’knowledge systems and provides a basis for discussion and reference for improving the quality of teaching and cultivating application-oriented talents who meet the market demand.

Probabilistic prediction of expected ground condition and construction time and costs in road tunnels

Ground condition and construction （excavation and support） time and costs are the key factors in decision-making during planning and design phases of a tunnel project. An innovative methodology for probabilistic estimation of ground condition and construction time and costs is proposed, which is an integration of the ground prediction approach based on Markov process, and the time and cost variance analysis based on Monte-Carlo （MC） simulation. The former provides the probabilistic description of ground classification along tunnel alignment according to the geological information revealed from geological profile and boreholes. The latter provides the probabilistic description of the expected construction time and costs for each operation according to the survey feedbacks from experts. Then an engineering application to Hamro tunnel is presented to demonstrate how the ground condition and the construction time and costs are estimated in a probabilistic way. In most items, in order to estimate the data needed for this methodology, a number of questionnaires are distributed among the tunneling experts and finally the mean values of the respondents are applied. These facilitate both the owners and the contractors to be aware of the risk that they should carry before construction, and are useful for both tendering and bidding.

Comparison of School Building Construction Costs Estimation Methods Using Regression Analysis, Neural Network, and Support Vector Machine

Accurate cost estimation at the early stage of a construction project is key factor in a project’s success. But it is difficult to quickly and accurately estimate construction costs at the planning stage, when drawings, documentation and the like are still incomplete. As such, various techniques have been applied to accurately estimate construction costs at an early stage, when project information is limited. While the various techniques have their pros and cons, there has been little effort made to determine the best technique in terms of cost estimating performance. The objective of this research is to compare the accuracy of three estimating techniques (regression analysis (RA), neural network (NN), and support vector machine techniques (SVM)) by performing estimations of construction costs. By comparing the accuracy of these techniques using historical cost data, it was found that NN model showed more accurate estimation results than the RA and SVM models. Consequently, it is determined that NN model is most suitable for estimating the cost of school building projects.

Control and Management of Construction Project Cost

Project cost can control the input in construction project and improve economic benefits of construction enterprises,so it is an important section of construction engineering.Reasonable control and management of project cost is the principle that building units must obey in the whole process of project,particularly in the construction stage,so it is extremely important to control and manage the project cost.This paper first analyzed possible causes for the unreasonable cost of construction projects,and put forward pertinent strategies for the control and management of construction project cost.

Strategies for Prioritizing Ecological Construction with Consideration of Agricultural Industry Development in Northern China’s Agro- pastoral Ecotone : A Perspective of Opportunity Cost

In northern China’s agro-pastoral ecotone,there are conflicts between agricultural industry and ecological construction resource competition,and also problems urgently to be solved for economic growth and sustainable ecological improvement.Taking the development concept of"lucid waters and lush mountains being mountains of gold and silver"as the guiding principle of prioritizing ecological and green development,this paper studied the strategies for prioritizing ecological construction with consideration of economic development of agricultural industry from the perspective of opportunity cost.Through the analysis of opportunity cost,externality,and Pareto optimal theory,and using the calculation method of the unit equivalent factor value of terrestrial ecological service function,this paper calculated the ecological service value of forest,grassland,and farmland.It found that the ecological value of forest and grassland per unit area was greater than the ecological value of agricultural industry.This indicates that the opportunity cost of farmland for ecological construction was less than that of agricultural industry.Based on the theoretical and quantitative analysis,it came up with recommendations for establishing a comprehensive system for prioritizing ecological construction with consideration of agricultural industry development and establishing and improving the incentive mechanism of ecological construction.

A Review of Deepwater Pipeline Construction in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico-Contracts, Cost, and Installation Methods

The offshore pipeline network in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is the largest and most transparent system in the world. A review of deepwater projects in the region provides insight into construction cost and installation methods and the evolution of contract strategies. Pipeline projects are identified as export systems, infield flowline systems, and combined export and infield systems, and three dozen deepwater pipeline installations from 1980–2014 are described based on Offshore Technology Conference(OTC) and Society of Petroleum Engineers(SPE) industry publications and press release data. Export lines and infield flowlines are equally represented and many projects used a combination of J-lay, S-lay and reel methods with rigid steel, flexible line, and pipe-in-pipe systems. The average 2014 inflation-adjusted cost for pipeline projects based on OTC/SPE publications was $2.76 million/mi and ranged from $520 000/mi to $12.94 million/mi. High cost pipelines tend to be short segments or specialized pipeline. Excluding the two cost endpoints, the majority of projects ranged from $1 to $6 million/mi. The average inflation-adjusted cost to install deepwater pipelines in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico based on available public data is estimated at $3.1 million/mi.

Leaf Construction Cost and Related Ecophysiological Parameters of Rice Crop and Its Important Weeds

To understand the reason for the success of weeds,we investigated the energetic cost of leaf construction,and certain ecophysiological traits of rice and its dominant weeds.On physiological basis among all weeds,Caesulia axillaris Roxburgh was found to be the most serious,followed by Echinochloa cruss-galli L.Beauv and Echinochloa colonum L.Link,while Fimbristylis miliaceae L.Vahl and Cyperus iria L.were moderate weeds of the rice fields.C.axillaris had the lowest leaf construction cost （LCC） both on a mass basis （1.15 g/g） and on a unit area basis （22.93 g/m2）.Comparatively higher specific leaf area,photosynthetic rate,photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency,leaf area ratio and leaf area index provided C.axillaris with further competitive advantage.Low LCC suggests that weeds utilize carbon resource more efficiently than the crop and potentially spend the saved energy on other competitive strategies viz.seed production,biomass production and high relative growth rate,which results in low crop yield and increase in weed seed bank.

Long Run Relationships, Vertical Integration and International Competition： Can They Contribute to Explaining Regional Construction Cost Differences？

The existence of opportunistic behavior by contractors or sub-contractors in the bidding process encouraged by the governance structure of construction companies as well as the kind of relationship that exist between contractors and clients is thought to have some bearing on the rising construction cost observed in some regions of Sweden. Three hypotheses that are intended to test the impact that long run relationship between contractors and developers, vertically integrated firms, and the increase of international competition could have on the construction cost increase levels were tested on a predetermined number of projects from six cities in different regions. The semi-structured survey produces inconclusive results. Long run and collaborative relationship was prevalent in small region though respondents in this region did not draw strong connection between construction cost increase levels and the kind of observed relationship. In Stockholm region, short-term relationship was mostly prevalent. Vertical integration and foreign competition impacts on construction costs were not significant in either region.

Construction Management and Cost Control of Landscaping Projects

Uniqueness of landscaping projects was analyzed,and cost was regarded as an important index evaluating performance of landscaping construction enterprises. Based on reviewing limitation of cost control on landscaping construction enterprises,enhancing construction management,controlling cost reasonably,and reducing project cost were proposed as the foundation and core content of enterprise cost management,and also the key to successful project management.By combining with design practices,suggestions for enhancing construction management of landscaping project,controlling cost and improving profits were given.

An Exploratory Study into Social Cost Considerations in Ghanaian Construction Industry

Construction causative nuisances, inconveniences, interferences and disruptions to the routine economic and social life patterns of adjacent or neighboring communities are referred to as social cost. This study explores the understanding and level of consideration of social cost by construction professionals in Ghana. Relevant literature sources are reviewed to define, rationalize and classify social cost. The study used the survey approach with a set of questionnaires addressed to construction contractors and professionals to gather the data. It was realized that not much consideration is given to social cost at the tender stage of the construction process. The five factors hindering social cost inclusion in tendering are “difficulty in allocating social costs”, “governmental interferences”, “lack of historical data”, “lack of appreciation of social costs” and “low stakeholder agitation”. The paper advocated for integration of social cost into the tendering process. The study will serve as a foundation to design a social cost assessment system at the pre-contract stage.

Representing the Knowledge of Public Construction Project Cost Estimator by Using Rule-Based Method

Despite the presence of various construction project cost estimate softwares, human experience and knowledge cannot be disregarded. This fact has been proven in practice, where the success of construction cost estimate process is mainly based on knowledge of human estimator. The main question concerns what human knowledge determines the success of the construction cost estimation process. To address this question we have applied Delphi technique and the output is eleven factors that are enough to precisely represent construction cost estimator knowledge. Then we have used First Order Logic (FOL) to represent these factors in terms of predicates and rules. These FOL rules could be used for evaluating construction cost estimator knowledge in five classes: fail, pass, acceptable, good, and very good. As a validation process we have done experiments using history data and the results have proved the accuracy of our proposed method.

Research on Computer Technology in Construction Cost Management

Computer technology has been comprehensively popularized in all walks of life with its continuous development. The construction cost management industry is surely no exception. To improve the application of computer technology in construction cost management industry, this thesis would respectively discuss and analyze the importance of computer technology application in construction cost management, status quo of computer technology application in construction cost management, measures of improving computer technology application in construction cost management as well as the development prospect of computer technology application in construction cost management. The author is striving to arouse the attention and exploration of relevant departments as well as practitioners in the same industry.

Comments on the development trend of the construction cost management in the new period

Building construction projects generally needs a long period, and there are many fixed factors in the process of building, therefore, the management of the project cost is a little difficult. On the basis that the quality of construction is not affected, the effective management of the project cost can effectively control the costs so that the economic and social benefits of the construction unit will be raised, and then continue to promote the development of construction industry in China.