For construction companies, the most effective way to control costs is by conducting multiple comparisons across three key dimensions: time, process, and spatial location. Instead of solely focusing on the total cost within a specific timeframe, analyzing costs from these three perspectives provides deeper insights. For example, in an assembly test plant project, the total cost of the reinforced concrete frame in the east area reached 85.5 million yuan, exceeding the budgeted 78.6 million yuan. While overall cost control in this plant area appeared satisfactory, this does not necessarily mean there were no issues. In fact, an overspend of 500,000 yuan likely occurred in the pile foundation sub-item process.
Therefore, it is essential to break down the overall cost by each process or sub-project. BIM enables real-time cost monitoring, allowing analysis across different construction phases and historically, ensuring materials are requisitioned within limits. Every settlement operation must be tightly controlled and coordinated with contractors. Because conducting cost analysis across three dimensions involves a significant workload, BIM systems must efficiently handle task breakdown and information aggregation in the shortest possible time.
(1) Time Dimension: This involves assessing the profit and loss status of a project at specific stages by comparing actual costs with budgeted costs over various time periods. BIM models can embed practical information, including construction timelines within components. For example, prefabricated components can include construction schedules, allowing comparison between budgeted and actual costs before and after construction phases.
(2) Process Dimension: This entails comparing costs associated with a particular process. For instance, during the installation of partition walls in the assembly test plant, recording cost data throughout the entire process and maintaining quota data used by the company helps with referencing similar projects. This approach supports precise management of specific processes, enabling tangible, evidence-based results.
(3) Regional Dimension: Modern large-scale and complex projects involve varied construction sequences, personnel, and project types. To manage these effectively, projects must be divided into stages, zones, or other segments. Decomposing complex engineering challenges by region allows for better control and management.
To support multi-dimensional cost comparisons, a BIM-based cost control system offers an effective solution by decomposing project information into detailed data for each component, including process, time, and area information. This enables fast, accurate statistics and segmentation within the BIM cost system.
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