Owners of large capital projects often choose integrated delivery to guarantee the greatest possible control of cost and schedule and the highest quality outcome possible. The design phase of each project comprises myriad crucial decisions that culminate with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP).

The GMP estimate comes at the end of the design process, but there are many milestones from start to finish where design changes help determine the project’s overall price. Accurately estimating the costs of materials and labor ensures a workable budget. 

Haskell’s Preconstruction department is responsible for providing in-depth, accurate estimates based on data collected across the industry, including details on global inflation rates, subcontractor prices and pricing of individual materials.

“The early stage of the design phase is the easiest time to make decisions,” said Preston Robinson, Director of Preconstruction. “That’s where we have the most impact. There’s a lot that goes into making design changes, so the earlier we have data, the better it is for our clients. More informed decision making in early design results in more accurate conceptual estimates.”

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In recent years, price and supply chain volatility have disrupted traditional estimating expectations. Haskell’s Precon team adapted by creating business intelligence tools to inform planning, purchasing and procurement and powering it with its own data sets and those from subcontractors and third parties. Employing up to 10 different sources, the team’s dynamic report tracks and parses inflation in a variety of methods:

• Across the construction industry by sector
• By location, tracked internationally, nationally and by state and city
• Across more than 40 different types of materials
• Across more than a dozen different commodities

With this wealth of data, Haskell provides customers with cost estimates earlier in the project lifecycle with accuracy exceeding industry standards. At the same time, the Preconstruction team has an eye toward continuous improvement and leveraging more and better data as new technology arises. 

“As we look into the future, we will continue to invest in Preconstruction and find ways to improve our efficiency, work product, and estimate accuracy,” Robinson said.

The organizational process involves consolidating data from across Haskell departments and ensuring the information is uniform and accessible. Robinson and his team have focused on turning nearly 100,000 data points into organized, actionable analytics that are useful now and will feed more robust tools as artificial intelligence is further integrated.

“The most successful companies are those who know their own data and leverage that knowledge to make informed business decisions,” Robinson said. “The Precon team is marching in that direction and will be ready to take advantage of new tech as it becomes available.”

At Haskell, we take our clients’ goals as our own. We innovate constantly to ensure that we deliver world-class solutions with the best possible effectiveness, efficiency and performance. Contact us to discuss your facilities needs.