Introduction

All construction consultancies recognise the value of information from previous projects and most make some effort to record it systematically.  However, many firms find it hard to capture and record the information consistently.  Where a firm has a number of different offices the collection and comparison of data may present a particular problem.

Individual cost consultants invariably have their own ‘databank’ but this may be anything from a comprehensive formal database of past projects to simple personal knowledge and experience.  BCIS can now offer to collate cost analyses and provide a bespoke database of firm’s own projects.

Real project information submitted by subscribers is at the heart of the construction industry data provided by BCIS through its BCIS Online service.  The BCIS database includes details of more than 15,000 projects, together with their tender costs.  Users can search for relevant analyses, update project costs, select average prices and view indices.  All information can easily be adjusted for date and location and downloaded in a range of formats into spreadsheets, word processing, bespoke cost estimating packages and proprietary cost estimating packages.  

The more information that is available within the BCIS database, the more data it will be possible to select at the cost planning stage, and the stronger the benchmark comparisons will be. In an ideal world BCIS would include cost analyses from all construction projects.  Technology now enables us to move closer towards that situation.

A firm’s own cost analyses are invariably more useful than those from external sources. BCIS subscribers who regularly submit analyses to BCIS can already find their own projects on the BCIS Online service alongside those from other subscribers.  It is possible to search specifically for schemes from the subscribers firm using the 'Analyses Ownership' criterion on the 'Refine' page.  The summary of projects shown on the 'Results' page includes a prominent acknowledgement of the source.

Current BCIS data collection is geared to maintaining a statistically representative industry database.  However, BCIS can now offer a BCIS Data Hosting services so that firms can now develop their own private BCIS Online.  This will allow them to select from their own projects and BCIS projects in the same manner.

 Advantages to the firm include:

• A consistent records of all of the firms’ projects
• Benchmarking of the firms’ projects to industry averages
• Provision of cost analyses to clients
• Availability of cost analyses in an exportable form compatible with most QS cost planning software
• Ability to apply the power of BCIS Online search, updating, adjustment and statistical analysis facilities to the firms’ own data
• All cost data validated by BCIS
• Links to in house project records

BCIS will:

• Produce cost analyses in the standard BCIS format from information supplied
• Input analyses onto the BCIS Online database
• Provide a secure home for firms project analyses on BCIS Online
• Provide user only access to confidential analyses where requested
• Provide access to third parties or clients on request
• Identify the project by the firm’s own reference
• Ensure analyses are in a standard format that can be exchanged and manipulated using third party software.
• Continue to develop the facilities and industry compatibility of BCIS Online

BCIS envisage that any agreement would provide for the publication of a proportion of the data (thereby maintaining the integrity of the BCIS Online database).  With BCIS Data Hosting it is clear that some data would never be published although BCIS hope that they would be available for benchmark analysis to inform the industry.

 Data can be supplied as analyses at various levels of detail:

• Analyses
• Elemental
• Group Elemental
• Total Building Level 

Or as unanalysed contract documents Contract documents including:

• Bills of Quantities
• Contract Sum Analysis
• Target Costs

For a firm adopting the BCIS Data Hosting solution an objective would be to optimise the collection of relevant cost data.  Data produced at tender stage may be received in a number of formats.  Cost analyses can be prepared from any tender document where the costs can be captured or analysed into elemental form and specification and design information is also available.  These include:

• With design and build projects most contract sum analyses will provide the cost analysis and the employers requirement and contractors proposal, the specification and area.
  
  
• Most Bills of Quantities software will re-sort costs into elements and a concise, or in some cases, a full elemental, analysis can be prepared from a trade bill.  The Bill should also supply most of the specification and ancillary data.
  
  
• Schemes do not need to have been tendered – negotiated contracts can also be a valid source of cost analyses.
  
  
• On projects procured on specifications and drawings, depending on how the contract sum analysis documents are structured the pricing document may well provide the basis for the cost analysis and the specification and preliminaries the ancillary data.
  
  
• On a partnering or framework agreement a cost plan or target cost is agreed normally in elemental form, these are perfectly acceptable as cost analyses as long as they are flagged as such.
  
  
• BCIS could also produce project cost indices from projects where a quantified schedule of works forms part of the tender. 

 Data is only as rich as originally supplied.  BCIS would review, together with the participating firm, the relevant sources of cost data and reach agreement on a methodology for the submission of data.

Confidentiality

The BCIS Online service is only available to subscribers. The coding of analyses dictates whether they remain confidential, anonymous, are published on a time delay or published immediately.  BCIS has many years experience and internal systems to ensure that this coding is correct thereby minimising the risk of confidential data being made accessible to third parties.