CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATING AND SCHEDULING SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20100088240A1
• Filed: 07/01/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Reddi System LLC
• Original Assignee: Reddi System LLC
• Inventors: Ely, Andrew J., Reddi, Radhakrishna
• Application Number:
  US12/496,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20100088240A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/301
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management

Abstract

A computer system for determining an escalated estimated project cost and an estimated schedule for a project including a plurality of activities having a plurality of cost items. The computer system is operable to determine: a critical path for the project based on the amount of critical days to include on the critical path for each activity, a pre-escalation cost for each cost item of each activity, a pre-escalation cost for each activity, a pre-escalation total project cost, a cost escalation for each activity, a cost escalation for the project, and an escalated estimated cost of the project, and the computer system is operable to generate a report of the pre-escalation total project cost, the escalated estimated project cost, and the estimated project schedule based on the critical path.

Claims

1. A system for determining an escalated estimated project cost and an estimated schedule for a project including a plurality of activities, the system comprising:

a computer system having specialized programming for determining said escalated estimated cost and said estimated schedule for said project, based on said plurality of activities;

said computer system having means to receive an input from a user of said plurality of activities for said project, each activity having one or more cost items, and each activity including a number of days for completion, or information sufficient to compute said number of days for completion;

said computer system being operable to receive an input from said user of a start date of said project and, for each activity, an input of an amount of critical days to include on a critical path of said project out of said number of days for completion for each activity;

said computer system being operable to determine a critical path for said project based on said amount of critical days to include on said critical path for each activity;

said computer system being operable to determine a start date and a finish date for each activity based on said critical path;

said computer system being operable to determine a pre-escalation cost for each cost item of each activity, and to determine a pre-escalation cost for each activity by summing said pre-escalation costs for each cost item in each activity;

said computer system being operable to determine a pre-escalation total project cost by summing said pre-escalation cost for each activity;

said computer system being operable to determine a cost escalation for each activity;

said computer being operable to determine a cost escalation for said project by summing said cost escalation for each activity, and being operable to determine an escalated estimated cost of said project by summing said pre-escalation total project cost and said cost escalation for said project;

said computer system being operable to generate a report of said pre-escalation total project cost and said escalated estimated project cost; and

said computer system being operable to generate said estimated project schedule based on said critical path, as determined by the computer system.

2. The system as in claim 1, wherein to determine said escalated estimated project cost, said computer system is operable to:

determine a cost escalation for each cost item of each activity based on a cost escalation curve associated with each cost item; and

determine said cost escalation for each activity by summing said cost escalation for each cost item in each activity.

3. The system as in claim 2, wherein to determine said escalated estimated project cost, said computer system is operable to:

receive from said user a specification of an escalation curve for each one of a plurality of categories of cost items; and

employ an escalation curve specified for a category of cost items when determining said cost escalation a cost item within said specified category.

4. The system as in claim 3, wherein said plurality of categories of cost items includes equipment costs, fuel and lubrication costs, subcontractor costs, materials costs, and labor costs.

5. The system as in claim 1, wherein to determine said escalated estimated project cost, said computer system is operable to:

determine a mid-point of each activity based on said start and finish dates of each activity;

determine a duration from a base date to said mid-point of each activity, where said base date is selected by said user is a reference date used to determine pre-escalation costs for each cost item in each activity;

determine an escalation rate for each activity by multiplying a predetermined periodic escalation factor by said duration from said base date to said mid-point of each activity; and

determining a escalated cost for each activity by increasing said pre-escalation cost of each activity by said escalation rate for each activity.

6. The system as in claim 1, wherein,

said computer system is operable to receive, for each activity, indications from said user of necessary predecessor activities or necessary successor activities;

and

said computer system is operable to determine a chronological order of activities based on said indications of said necessary predecessor or successor activities.