The Discipline That Adds Value
In the diverse European construction industry, many national industries
have already absorbed the positive influence of the profession of construction
economist in the control of the economics of construction. That discipline
has grown into an independent profession, advising building and infrastructure
clients or contractors on how to achieve best value for money in an industry
which can be notorious for swallowing up large sums of that client’s budgets
or costing contractor’s serious losses due to inadequate estimating.
In many of these countries there are also recognised third level degree courses in construction economics in universities and technical college level, including the UK, France, Ireland, Holland, Switzerland and Denmark.
Where it is not recognised as a separate discipline, it has become in
many cases a specialisation for architect, engineers or project managers,
who have used the skills of the construction economist to give added value
to their own discipline.
The Construction Economist
Project Involvement
The involvement of the construction economist ranges from inception to completion of the project:
· Preparing a construction budget,
· The discipline of cost planning to ensure value for money design, and
value engineering
· Advising governments on establishing cost limits for various building
types such as apartment, housing, schools, hospitals etc
· Advice on procurement routes and choice of contracts,
· Preparation of construction estimates
· Administration of cost control during course of construction project
for both client and contractors
· Negotiation of Final Accounts
· Dispute Resolution services
· Capital taxation advise
· Advise to funders in relation to projects they fund
· Advise of development budgets
Construction economists have to deal with the challenges of individual projects, major central re-developments, new towns and maintenance programmes.
In addition their national organisations make valuable contributions to national and international debates on the built environment and economic development. Their role is to ensure that the construction industry performs efficiently and economically – to add value and give value for money.
Papers from Madrid:
Related Links
The European perspective – the challenge and the response
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