Investigation of Cost Data Management Practices in the U.S. Construction Industry

Abstract

Organization and use of data is crucial for a construction company to serve clients in this fast- paced, technology driven world; however, many may not consistently leverage their past bid and completed project data. The purpose of this study was to review and identify present trends and issues in project cost data management processes and to understand what data sharing approaches currently exist within construction companies. The study involved a survey distributed to construction professionals across the United States. A total of 186 survey responses revealed most were trained very little, or not at all, on how to transfer data from estimating software to job cost tracking software. Historical cost data from both successful and unsuccessful bids is typically kept by estimators for use when developing future estimates. This cost data is typically not aggregated into one location, though. Aggregating historical cost data is important and laborious. If data is aggregated, it is done so infrequently and inconsistently. Lastly, many companies do not have a transparent protocol for managing and aggregating data from past projects. The findings of this study are useful for construction practitioners, as well as researchers and construction management educators.