Construction sector
On a construction programme, labour cost is a schedule problem.
Construction margin is lost between the tender and the final account, and labour is where most of it goes. We build the workforce cost into the programme model, so overruns are visible while there is still time to act on them.
What we see in this sector
The problems that keep recurring
The tender assumed a productivity rate nobody has since checked
Rates carried forward from the last job tend to go untested until the final account, by which point the argument is about blame. We measure actual output against the tendered assumption early enough for the gap to still be recoverable.
Labour cost is tracked against budget, not against progress
Spending 60 per cent of the labour budget is only good news if you are more than 60 per cent complete. Tying labour cost to earned progress is the single most useful change most contractors can make to their reporting.
Subcontractor and direct labour are never compared properly
The two are usually costed on different bases, which turns the make-or-buy decision into a matter of preference. We put them on a comparable footing, including the costs that normally sit outside the comparison.
Skilled trades are a single point of failure and nobody has costed it
Where a programme depends on a handful of skilled people, their availability is a schedule risk with a price attached. We put a figure on it, so it becomes something you manage rather than something you find out about.
FAQ
Construction questions we get asked
How does this differ from quantity surveying?
A quantity surveyor measures and values the work. We look at why the labour component is costing what it is: output against the tendered assumption, the cost of rework, what trade availability does to the schedule. The two jobs complement each other, and we work alongside your QS rather than over the top of them.
Can this work mid-programme, or does it need to start at tender?
Both work. Starting at tender gives you a cleaner baseline. Starting mid-programme is more common and still recovers value, because on most jobs the largest overruns are still ahead of you.
Do you work on individual projects or across a portfolio?
Either. Portfolio-level analysis surfaces the systematic problems, such as a productivity assumption that is wrong on every job. Project-level work is better suited to recovering one programme that is drifting.
Talk to us about construction.
If you suspect the cost is going somewhere you cannot see, that is usually enough to start from. Tell us what you are looking at.
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+263 78 151 0571Email us
blessing.zhou@mightyexcelpro.co.zwFind us
97 West Road, Avondale West, Harare