Cost Control for Construction Projects

Both are estimated amounts used at tender stage for things whose cost is not known exactly:

• Prime cost (PC) sum – for items you know clearly (equipment, materials…) but whose exact current price you cannot fix yet.
• Provisional sum – for part of the scope of work that is not yet defined or whose data is not ready, so you cannot price it in detail.

1. Accurate cost estimation from the start.
2. A realistic budget that includes contingency for unexpected and emergency costs.
3. Effective planning – a realistic WBS and logical relationships.
4. Control the budget over time – track every cost to see what costs more without results.
5. Change management – act before the cost of the problem exceeds the cost of the change.
6. Risk management – study the risks and be ready for them.
7. Subcontractor and supplier management – monitor them closely; they are one of the biggest budget drivers.
8. Lessons learned – use previous similar projects and keep a lessons-learned log.

The data model appends queries by column name. If a column is called "Work Date" in one query and the name in the other query differs even by one space, Excel treats them as two different columns, so you get extra empty columns.

Fix: copy the column headers from one table and paste them into the other so the names match exactly, then recreate the queries, add both to the data model and append them again.

Stay on the sheet you are building and continue from minute 17:21 of the video. Where a step is shown as a screenshot, pause the video and apply the steps in the same numbered order.

Tip: after each connection/query you create, check that you have the same number of queries and connections as in the video. If the count differs, you have missed a step.

No. As long as the units of the first update are already stored in a financial period, update the same project directly: increase the % complete and add the new actuals.

If you want a backup of the first update, export the project or copy it first, then add the second update data to the current version.

The macro looks for the first empty row in the table, treats it as the end of the table and pastes the data from the "data_entry" sheet there. If your table has an empty row (for example row 2), the macro keeps pasting in the same place.

1. Add your data for the first time and resize the table to include the pasted data.
2. Delete the empty row – the data will then accumulate.
3. Make sure the button is assigned to the macro.

Also turn off the option highlighted below so there are no subtotals in the "data_entry" sheet:

The downloaded files may already contain relationships. To view or delete them and create your own:

1. Select any cell in the pivot table.
2. Open PivotTable Analyze in the ribbon.
3. Choose Relationships.
4. In the Manage Relationships window, delete or edit the existing relationships, then create the ones you need for the report.