12591 Construction Cost Planning and Control

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Design, Architecture and Building: School of the Built Environment
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Postgraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 17553 Construction Cost Planning and Control

Description

This subject includes an examination of cost planning and cost management of development projects including budgeting, preliminary estimating, pricing of construction work, elemental cost planning and techniques for managing cost during design development and construction. It also considers costs-in-use, occupancy costs, functional costs analysis, and the nature of costs over time and the use of historical cost data for forward planning.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1.	understand the terminology and processes involved in construction cost planning, budgeting and cost management of construction projects
2.	use basic skills in the measurement and broad-based costing of construction activities
3.	understand estimating and cost planning procedures throughout the project life cycle
4.	understand the use of published construction cost data
5.	apply conventional methods for cost comparisons between construction alternatives
6.	understand the impact of ESD and sustainability issues on the economics of property development
7.	understand the role of construction cost consultants in the development process.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

Identify ethical issues and operate with integrity, applying informed sound ethical judgments in professional contexts (A.1)
Effectively apply a variety of communication skills in professional contexts (C.1)
Generate innovative and creative solutions to industry/project issues and problems (I.1)
Analyse and advise on alternative design solutions to promote the achievement of value on projects (P.8)
Ability to lead and manage project teams, and work as a project team member at a practitioner level (P.9)
Effectively engage critical and independent thinking in the interpretation of theory and its practical application to construction projects (R.1)

Teaching and learning strategies

Block mode: total of 38 hours.

Learning experiences in this subject will involve students reflecting on their industrial experience and the subject content. Student's reflections should be informed by perspectives drawn from the research on theory and practice in cost management in the construction industry, developing budgets and reports on cost implications of design in development projects. Specific learning experiences involve a combination of experience in developing cost models at various stages of a design in the laboratory, online activities, group discussions and individual readings.

Two tutorials will be completed and submitted at the end of tutorial sessions. These tutorials will apply knowledge and concepts learned in classes. Students will be provided with both informal feedback in the form of tutor discussions and formal feedback in the form of assessment tasks.

The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.

Content (topics)

The principal topics covered in this subject are: the nature of construction costs, specialist terminology relevant to cost planning and management, use of published cost data, various types of estimating applied to construction projects, accuracy of estimating techniques, elemental cost planning, cost comparisons, cost management procedures, and principles of life cycle costing.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Assignment: Prepare a cost plan for a building

Intent:

Assignment 1: Prepare an elemental cost plan for a building - is broken into 2 parts.

Part A - 10% and Part B - 30%

Objective(s):

This task addresses the following subject learning objectives:

1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7

This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.):

A.1, C.1, P.8 and R.1

Type:

Exercises

Groupwork:

Individual

Weight:

40%

Criteria:

Further assessment criteria will be provided during semester.

Part A marks will be alloocated for:

Accuracy (50%)
Detail of calculating BPI (10%)
Detail calculations & rates build-up (10%)
Cost saving advice (20%)
Presentation (10%)

Part B marks will be alloocated for:

Elemental cost plan summary (5%)
Elemental quantity breakdown (65%)
List of exclusion, assumptions, calculations and rate build-ups (10%)
Discussion (10%)
Presentation (10%)

Criteria linkages:

Criteria	Weight (%)	SLOs	CILOs
Understand the concept	10	1	C.1
Understand the process	15	2	A.1
Understand the cost planning process	30	3	R.1
Understand the use of technology in cost planning	30	4	P.8
Understand the impact of project on the environment	5	6	R.1
Understand development process	10	7	A.1

SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Online test

Intent:

An Online test at the end of each Block.

Online test 1 - 15%

Online test 2 - 15%

Objective(s):

This task addresses the following subject learning objectives:

1, 2 and 3

This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.):

A.1, C.1, P.9 and R.1

Type:

Quiz/test

Groupwork:

Individual

Weight:

30%

Criteria:

Further assessment criteria will be provided during semester.

The subject contains an online test at the end of each block. Each online test will be on all the materials covered in each block.

Criteria linkages:

Criteria	Weight (%)	SLOs	CILOs
Understand the concept	15	1	C.1
Understand the process	20	2	A.1
Understand the cost planning process	30	3	R.1
Understand the use of technology on cost planning	35	3	P.9

SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 3: Tutorial exercises using Cost X or other programs

Intent:

Exercises using CostX

Objective(s):

This task addresses the following subject learning objectives:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7

This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.):

A.1, C.1, I.1, P.8 and R.1

Type:

Exercises

Groupwork:

Group, group and individually assessed

Weight:

30%

Criteria:

Assessment 3 is in 2 parts.

Marking criteria and % breakdown for each part of Assessment 3 are:

Accuracy 8%
Item description 3%
List of exclusion and assumption 2%
Presentation 2%

15% per part - totalling 30%

Further assessment criteria will be provided in during semester.

Criteria linkages:

Criteria	Weight (%)	SLOs	CILOs
Understand the concept	5	1	C.1
Understand the process	10	2	A.1
Understand the cost planning process	30	4	R.1
Understand the use of technology on cost planning	35	3	P.8
Understand the development process	10	7	A.1
Understand design options	10	5	I.1

SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.

Required texts

1. Smith, J. and Jaggar, D. (2007), Building Cost Planning for the Design Team, 2nd Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann

2. March, C. (2009), Finance and control for construction, Spoon Press

3. Ashworth, A. (2004), Cost studies of buildings, 4th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall

4. Rawlinsons (2016), Australian Construction Handbook, 34th Edition, Rawhouse

References

1. AIQS (2000-2006), Australian Cost Management Manuals: Volume 1-5, Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Canberra.

2. Uher, T. and Loosemore, M. (2004), Essentials of Construction Project Management, UNSW Press.

3. Ferry, D., Brandon, P. and Ferry, J. (1999), Cost Planning of Buildings, Blackwell.

4. Jaggar, D., Ross, A., Smith, J. and Love, P. (2002), Building Design Cost Management, Blackwell.

5. Smith, J. and Love, P. (2000), Building Cost Planning in Action, Deakin Press.