Effects of Project Cost Reduction Methods
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The construction industry is experiencing price volatility that equally affects contractors and transportation agencies. While part of this phenomenon can be attributed to instability in cost of fuel and other construction materials, large differences in unit bid items for different projects and among different regions indicate that the problem is more complex. The goal of this paper is to investigate the larger context of this phenomenon from the perspective of transportation agencies. More specifically, the two main objectives are to (a) identify methods that can be used to reduce or contain construction cost and (b) assess potential impacts of the identified methods on project performance measures such as cost, schedule, and quality. The study results indicate that a number of methods have a potential to reduce cost. In general, the methods implemented earlier in project development are perceived to be more cost-effective than the ones implemented in the latter phases of project development. Further, the results of hypothesis testing show that the correlation between first cost and schedule and between first cost and quality are significant.
