Abstract: With the continuous development of the construction industry, cost control during the construction phase of engineering projects has attracted more and more attention. Due to limitations such as information isolation and low processing efficiency, traditional cost control methods can no longer meet the high requirements for cost control in modern engineering projects. The emergence of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology provides new solutions for dynamic cost control during the construction phase of engineering projects. Based on this, this article discusses in detail the dynamic control of costs during the construction phase of engineering projects based on BIM, with a view to providing useful reference for practice and research in related fields.
Keywords: BIM technology; project construction; cost control
BIM technology realizes the integration and sharing of information at all stages of engineering projects by building three-dimensional digital models, providing more accurate and timely data support for cost control. During the construction stage, BIM-based dynamic cost control can improve the accuracy and efficiency of cost control, optimize the cost control process, enhance the cost control awareness of all participants, and realize the dynamic correlation between cost control and construction progress.
1 Problems existing in the dynamic control of costs during the construction phase of engineering projects
1.1 Imperfect cost control system
During the construction phase of engineering projects, the improvement of the cost control system is directly related to the effectiveness of cost control. However, the current cost control systems of many engineering projects during the construction phase have many imperfections. First, the cost control objectives are unclear. Some engineering projects lack clear cost control objectives during the construction stage, causing cost control work to lose direction. This makes it impossible for all parties involved to form a unified awareness of cost control and to effectively carry out cost control work. Second, cost control responsibilities are not implemented. During the construction phase of a project, cost control responsibilities should be clarified to each participant to form an effective responsibility network. However, some engineering projects often have unclear responsibilities and buck-passing during the construction process, resulting in the inability to effectively implement cost control. Third, the cost control process is not standardized. Standardized processes are an important guarantee to ensure that cost control work is carried out in an orderly manner. However, there are many irregularities in the cost control process during the construction phase of some engineering projects, such as cumbersome processes and missing links. These problems not only affect the efficiency of cost control work, but also increase the difficulty of cost control.
1.2 Lack of cost control methods
With the continuous development of science and technology, cost control methods during the construction phase of engineering projects also need to be continuously updated and improved. However, some current engineering projects still use traditional cost control methods during the construction phase, such as manual statistics, manual calculations, etc., which are inefficient and cannot meet the requirements of modern engineering projects for cost control accuracy and efficiency. First, the traditional cost control method mainly relies on manual data collection and processing, which is heavy workload and error-prone; second, the data is not updated in a timely manner, resulting in lagging cost control information and unable to provide effective support for decision-making; third, the lack of full-process and all-round cost monitoring of the project can easily lead to cost overruns and waste. Therefore, how to update cost control methods and introduce advanced technologies and means is one of the issues that needs to be solved urgently in the dynamic cost control during the construction phase of current engineering projects.
1.3 Lack of awareness of cost control
The strength of cost control awareness directly affects the implementation of cost control work. At present, some project managers and construction personnel have insufficient understanding of the importance of cost control and lack of initiative and enthusiasm for cost control, resulting in frequent material waste, labor overtime, etc. during the construction process, increasing unnecessary expenditures. The weak awareness of cost control is mainly reflected in the following aspects: 1. Managers have insufficient understanding of the importance of cost control and lack an overall concept and long-term vision; 2. Construction workers lack awareness of saving and cost and waste materials and labor at will during the construction process; 3. There is a lack of communication and collaboration among all participants, and they are unable to form a unified awareness and action of cost control. The existence of these problems prevents cost control from being effectively implemented and increases the cost risk of the project.
1.4 Cost control is out of touch with construction progress
During the construction phase of an engineering project, cost control is closely linked to construction progress. Some engineering projects ignore the correlation between the two during the construction process, resulting in a disconnect between cost control work and construction progress. This will not only affect the smooth progress of the construction progress, but also increase additional costs and reduce the overall benefits of the engineering project. The disconnect between cost control and construction progress is mainly manifested in the following aspects: 1. The lack of a unified cost control and construction progress management platform results in the inability to share and update information in real time between the two. 2. Managers often only focus on construction progress and ignore cost control, resulting in actual costs exceeding the budget. 3. Problems such as design changes and untimely material supply often occur during the construction process, causing construction progress to be hindered and additional costs added.
2 Advantages of dynamic cost control during the construction phase of engineering projects based on BIM
2.1 Improve cost control accuracy
BIM technology can achieve refined management during the construction phase of engineering projects by constructing three-dimensional digital models. In terms of cost control, the introduction of BIM technology can greatly improve the accuracy of cost control. The BIM model can accurately calculate key data such as project quantities, material usage, and labor hours, avoiding errors and omissions in traditional manual statistics and manual calculations. At the same time, BIM technology can also update data in real time to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of cost control information. This helps managers more accurately grasp cost dynamics during the construction process and provides strong support for decision-making.
2.2 Optimize cost control process
BIM technology has powerful information integration and collaborative working capabilities, which can optimize the cost control process during the construction phase of engineering projects. Through the BIM platform, all participants can share cost control information in real time, strengthen communication and collaboration, and reduce information islands and duplication of work. This can not only improve the efficiency and quality of cost control work, but also reduce cost risks during the construction phase of engineering projects. At the same time, BIM technology can also realize the automation and intelligence of the cost control process, further reducing the workload of managers and improving the efficiency and accuracy of cost control work.
2.3 Enhance cost control awareness
The visualization characteristics of BIM technology can help engineering project managers and construction personnel better understand the importance of cost control. Through the BIM model, the cost changes during the construction process can be visually viewed, and cost control problems can be discovered and solved in a timely manner. This intuitive and visual management method can enhance the cost control awareness of all participants and improve the initiative and enthusiasm for cost control. At the same time, BIM technology can also provide rich cost control data and reports to help managers more comprehensively understand the cost situation during the construction process and provide strong support for cost control decisions.
2.4 Realize the dynamic correlation between cost control and construction progress
Usually, material cost accounts for about 60% of the finished product consumption cost. Controlling material cost is mainly to control the usage quantity of construction consumption. By introducing BIM technology, the entire production process can be simulated in advance, the design and construction plans can be optimized, and the construction process can be dynamically fed back, thereby continuously updating the optimal solution for consumption. BIM technology can realize the dynamic correlation between cost control and construction progress during the construction phase of engineering projects. Through the BIM platform, managers can monitor construction progress and cost changes in real time, and adjust construction plans and cost control strategies in a timely manner. This helps ensure the smooth progress of the construction progress, avoid additional cost expenditures, and improve the overall efficiency of the project.
In addition, BIM technology can also realize intelligent prediction and analysis of construction progress and cost control, help managers discover potential cost risks and schedule problems in advance, and provide strong support for timely response measures. The dynamically related management method can ensure that cost control and construction progress during the construction process are always coordinated, thereby achieving overall optimization and maximizing benefits during the construction phase of the project.
3 BIM-based dynamic control strategy for cost during the construction phase of engineering projects
3.1 Establish a BIM-based cost control system
During the construction phase of engineering projects, it is crucial to establish a BIM-based cost control system. This is not only the basis for cost control work, but also the key to ensuring the smooth progress of the project and maximizing benefits.
1) The cost control system should clearly define the cost control objectives. These goals should be both specific and feasible, and can guide cost control efforts throughout the construction phase. Through BIM technology, project costs can be analyzed in detail, thereby formulating more accurate and reasonable cost control targets.
2) The cost control system needs to implement cost control responsibilities. Each participant should clarify their responsibilities and tasks in cost control and form an effective cost control responsibility network. The BIM platform can provide real-time cost control information, help all participants better perform their responsibilities, and achieve comprehensive coverage of cost control.
3) The cost control system should standardize the cost control process. Through BIM technology, the cost control process can be optimized and unnecessary links and duplication of work can be reduced. All participants can work collaboratively on the BIM platform to realize real-time sharing and updating of cost control information, improving the efficiency and quality of cost control work.
3.2 Adopt advanced cost control methods
In the cost control during the construction phase of engineering projects based on BIM, the use of advanced cost control methods is the key to improving the cost control effect.
1) BIM models can be used for automatic statistics of project quantities and accurate calculation of material usage. By building a three-dimensional digital model, BIM technology can accurately calculate the engineering quantities and material usage of each component, avoiding errors and omissions in traditional manual statistics and manual calculations. This can not only improve the accuracy of cost control, but also reduce unnecessary cost expenditures.
2) BIM technology can be used for construction progress simulation and cost prediction analysis. By simulating construction progress, cost needs and changes at different construction stages can be predicted, thereby formulating a more reasonable cost control strategy. This helps to identify potential cost risks in advance and take corresponding countermeasures to ensure that cost control during the construction phase is always under control.
3) BIM technology can also be used for dynamic cost analysis and optimization. During the construction process, actual costs often deviate from budgeted costs. Through the cost dynamic analysis function of BIM technology, cost changes can be monitored in real time, the causes of deviations can be found and corresponding corrective measures can be taken. This helps keep actual costs within budget and ensures the economic benefits of the project.
3.3 Strengthen cost control awareness training and assessment
Enhancing the cost control awareness of project managers and construction personnel is an important prerequisite to ensure the effective implementation of cost control work. At the same time, this part is also the weakest link in enterprise management.
In view of this situation, it is crucial to strengthen cost control awareness training. First, strengthen cost control publicity. Strengthen publicity and education on the cost control awareness of participants, cultivate the cost control awareness of all employees, and introduce strategic cost management ideas to guide each participant to understand that cost control is an important strategic factor related to the multi-faceted market competition of their enterprises. Second, corresponding incentive mechanisms and assessment mechanisms should be established. By setting up cost control incentives and penalties, all participants are encouraged to actively participate in cost control work and achieve good results. At the same time, cost control work is linked to personal performance and promotion to enhance the sense of responsibility and initiative of all parties involved. This helps to create a good atmosphere of full participation and joint advancement, and improves the execution and effectiveness of cost control work.
3.4 Realize cost control and real-time monitoring of construction progress
During the construction phase of an engineering project, realizing cost control and real-time monitoring of construction progress is the key to ensuring the smooth progress of the project. BIM technology focuses on the assistance of modern technology. The BIM cost management platform realizes real-time monitoring of costs through the association of cost data with models and progress information. Combined with the platform's built-in early warning process, it can help managers analyze and resolve deviations in a timely manner to ensure the achievement of goals.
1) Use the BIM platform to monitor construction progress in real time. By comparing the actual construction progress with the planned construction progress, progress deviations can be discovered in a timely manner and corresponding adjustment measures can be taken. This helps ensure construction progresses as planned and avoids delays and additional costs.
2) Use the BIM platform to monitor cost changes in real time. Collect the physical information of the project into the BIM system, use its calculation and analysis functions to obtain the data difference between the actual construction cost and the planned cost in a timely manner, and accurately grasp the cost dynamics during the construction process by updating the cost data in the BIM model in real time. When the actual cost exceeds the budget, measures can be quickly taken to adjust and optimize to ensure that the cost is controlled within a reasonable range.
3) To achieve cost control and real-time monitoring of construction progress, it is necessary to strengthen communication and collaboration among all parties involved. Through the real-time sharing function of the BIM platform, all parties involved can learn about construction progress and cost changes in a timely manner, discuss solutions together, and advance the work collaboratively. Supervisors conduct project reviews on the platform, owners conduct project progress inspections on the platform, and contractors communicate with subcontractors and suppliers on the platform in a timely and effective manner. The BIM information management platform, lightweight BIM models, and mobile clients are used to achieve mobile office, seamless browsing of on-site construction pictures, and timely communication among all participants during production, so that the plan is issued in a reasonable and timely manner. BIM allows all parties involved to improve work efficiency while also avoiding cost increases caused by information lag. This helps to form a teamwork model with close coordination and efficient operation, and improves the overall efficiency of the construction phase of the project.
3.5 Continuously optimize cost control strategies
In the process of dynamic cost control based on BIM during the construction phase of engineering projects, optimizing cost control strategies is an important way to improve the level of cost control.
1) Cost control strategies should be continuously adjusted and improved based on the actual conditions and problems during the construction process. For example, when encountering unforeseen factors such as material price increases and design changes, cost control strategies should be adjusted in a timely manner to cope with these changes. Therefore, by flexibly adjusting cost control strategies, we can better adapt to various changes and challenges during the construction process.
2) Cost control work should be summarized and evaluated regularly. By comparing and analyzing the difference between actual costs and budgeted costs, as well as the implementation effect of cost control strategies, we can identify existing problems and deficiencies in cost control work. Develop corresponding improvement measures and implement them in response to these problems and shortcomings, and continuously improve the quality and level of cost control work.
3) The continuous optimization of cost control strategies should be regarded as a long-term task. With the continuous advancement of science and technology and increasingly fierce market competition, cost control during the construction phase of engineering projects is facing more and more challenges and requirements. Therefore, all participants should always pay attention to and attach importance to cost control work, actively explore and apply new cost control methods and technical means, and continuously improve their cost control capabilities and competitiveness. By continuously optimizing cost control strategies, we can continuously improve the cost control level during the construction phase of engineering projects, reduce project cost risks, improve overall project benefits, and lay a solid foundation for the sustainable development of enterprises.
4 Conclusion
BIM-based dynamic cost control during the construction phase of engineering projects brings new opportunities and challenges to the modern construction industry. In order to give full play to the advantages of BIM technology in cost control, it is necessary to establish a BIM-based cost control system, adopt advanced cost control methods, and strengthen cost control awareness training. At the same time, realizing real-time monitoring of cost control and construction progress, and continuously optimizing cost control strategies are also the keys to ensuring the success of dynamic cost control based on BIM.
[Fund Project] Southwest Jiaotong University Hope College's 2023 school-level quality engineering project "Research on smart education in the context of the digital era – taking "Intelligent Construction Technology and Equipment" as an example" (No. 2023013).
