218.321

Construction Estimation & Risk

Semester 1, 2025

Assignment 1

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1.   This is a group assignment with no more than THREE members in each group. If you choose to work alone, you may do so, but there will be no concession or difference in the final output standards expected.

2.   Total marks for this  assignment:  100 marks, total  course weightage and contribution of the assessment component: 40%

3.   Submission date: Wednesday, 30 April 2025, no later than 11:50 pm

4.   Online   submission   on  Stream:  COMPULSORY.  NO  HARD  COPY  SUBMISSION  IS REQUIRED

5.   Late assignments will be penalised as per the course guide and the school’s policy.

6.   You must include your names OR IDs, the course number, the course title and the names of the course teaching team on the cover page.

7.   ONLY one student from each group must submit the assignment on stream.

General Comments:

•    Students should form. teams and name the team members using the team choice tool on Stream by 5pm, Wednesday, 31st  March 2025. If you want to do this assignment individually, you also need to form your own team in Stream. Please go to Stream/Assessment /Group Choice for Assignment.

1)  Every member of each group needs to fill a survey for the peer-to-peer evaluation in Stream by: 1st May, 2025. Your evaluation will be kept anonymous.

Submission Instructions:

•    All calculations of Task 1 and Task 2 need to be provided in an Excel Spreadsheet.

•    Task 3’s report can be uploaded in word/pdf file.

•    Please submit your files to: Stream/Assessment/Assignment 1

•    Ensure the files are named correctly.

o Report_Group ID

o Appendix_Group ID

Learning outcomes cover:

•    Apply advanced estimating techniques to prepare cost estimates for bill preparation, tendering, and cost planning

•   Evaluate design solutions with respect to the cost plans

Task 1 (20 Marks): Cost Planning

Scenario: A client has approached your project management consultancy with a request to prepare a detailed cost plan for a new school development in an emerging area of Auckland. This new educational facility aims to serve 500 students and includes various functional spaces such as classrooms, administrative offices, and technology laboratories. The client is committed to sustainability and expects the project to achieve an “Excellent” Green Star rating.

Table 1: Project summary

Task: As an experienced Quantity Surveyor in your consultancy firm, you are tasked with

developing a comprehensive cost plan for this school project at Q1/2025. Your cost estimates should be detailed and align with the Elemental Cost Analysis standards as outlined by the New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors.

Your company has inhouse cost database of similar projects, the database provided at Q4/2022, see the appendix, and the cost index provided below:

Table 1: Cost Index

You  may  make  any  assumptions  necessary,   provided  they  are  reasonable   and  clearly documented in your report.

Task 2 (50 Marks)

Scenario: You are employed as a Quantity Surveyor (QS) for a contracting firm. Your company has been invited to submit a tender proposal for supplying and installing various trades for a new high-rise apartment building project in Albany Highway, Albany, Auckland. The building C is one of four buildings blocks of the project,  assume that the other blocks have been completed (Refer to drawing A3).

Task: Prepare and submit a structured tender pricing response based on the provided Schedule of Quantities (SoQ) and drawings (A1 to A22, and S1 to S16).

Tasks:

•    Accurately reflect the quantity, unit rate, and total cost for each item listed in the SoQ.

•    Provide detailed rate breakdowns for items highlighted in red in the SoQ using an Excel spreadsheet, with a clear explanation of how these rates were researched and determined within the current market.

•    Develop a P&G schedule for the tender.

•    Apply and justify a reasonable percentage for escalation, margin, and contingency based on market conditions and project specifics.

•    Discuss any assumptions made during the calculation process and provide a summary of trades involved.

You  may  make  any  assumptions  necessary,   provided  they  are  reasonable   and  clearly documented in your report.

Task 3 (20 marks):

You are asked to prepare a cost impact report for the building C in Task 2 to appraise how various design factors affect the overall cost of a construction project. The report should include:

-    En executive summary of the report aim and the key findings

-    An introduction to the building and the cost implications of design

-    A literature review of cost analysis related to the design factors (detailed below)

-    Analysis  and  evaluation  sections,  to critically analyse the design factors in relation to the overall cost of the building:

-    A  conclusion  that  encapsulates  the  insights  gained  about  design  and  cost efficiency

Design factors for the analysis:

•   Plan Shape: Investigate how the geometry and complexity of the building’s layout impacted the costs related to materials, labour, and time.

•   Building Size: Examine the scale of the building and its correlation with the economic principles of scale, including the unit cost changes.  Storey Height.

Assess the implications of floor-to-floor heights on the use of materials, space utility, and energy efficiency costs.

•   Total Height: Discuss the effects of building height on structural requirements, construction methods, and potentially increased costs for high-rise construction logistics.

•   Planning Efficiency: Analyse the ratio of usable space to gross built area and its implications for cost per square meter of usable space.

•   Grouping of Buildings: Evaluate if the building's interaction with adjacent structures  led  to  cost  benefits  or  increased  outlay,   considering   shared infrastructure or economies of scale.

•   Buildability: Critically examine the design from a construction perspective, discussing how  factors  like the  choice  of materials  and  the  complexity  of architectural features have influenced the ease of construction and thus the overall cost.

Indicative words for task 3: 1,000-2,000 words

Peer Review: 10 Marks

•   Please complete the peer evaluation survey on Stream, available from April 23rd to May 7th May 2025.

•   Your score for Task 3 will be the average of your group members' evaluations, with a maximum of 10 marks.

•   If you are completing the assignment individually, you must still complete the survey and select the option "I am working individually." Failure to complete the survey will result in a score of 0.