Project Scheduling, Cost Planning & Value Engineering Skills

This course focuses on 2 modules. The first week of training will identify how to deliver reliable cost and schedule estimates during the early concept and planning stages of a proposed project.

The second week of training will explore the Value Engineering (VE) concept: a creative, organized approach with the objective of offering project stakeholders an opportunity to optimize project value, reduce life-cycle costs, address financial issues, and eliminate unnecessary costs.

This Project Scheduling, Cost Planning & Value Engineering Skills training course adopts a systematic step-by-step methodology to support the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control and closure of projects.

It covers the key elements of roles and responsibilities, planning techniques, forming and managing a multi-disciplinary project team to generate solutions and recommend alternatives; capturing stakeholders requirements and expectations; developing conceptual cost estimates and models; undertaking life-cycle costing analysis; and producing a high-level project plan to guide project execution and control.

Practical applications are covered in detail, along with presentations of case studies designed to help participants master the course materials.

This training course will feature:

• Gaining knowledge of techniques used in project estimating, from the conceptual stage to the final detailed estimate

• Understanding the different types of estimates used to confidently and progressively estimate project costs and schedule

• Identifying risk sources and minimize their impact with and without contingency

• Developing effective team management, performance monitoring and control systems

• An integrated approach to scope, time, resources and cost management into a dynamic and manageable model

What Are The Goals?

By the end of this Coventry Academy training course, participants will be able to:

• Manage and mitigate schedule, cost, scope, and resource risks associated with the project

• Develop a project recovery plan for budget and schedule overruns

• Identify value mismatches through the ratio of whole life costing

• Capture & incorporate stakeholders’ input in the development of the project charter & plan

• Know the fundamental concepts of Value Engineering and Analysis

Who Is This Training Course For?

This Coventry Academy training course is suitable to a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit: 

• Those who have a role in various projects such as cost estimators, project schedulers, project designers, project planner, contracts professionals, project procurement and purchasing staff, and project control and business services professionals who have the responsibility for preparing cost / schedule estimates and project proposals in client and contracting companies

• Those who are interested in knowing more about estimation and control in a project environment

• Anyone involved in project initiation, engineering design, and critical assessment of projects

• All those responsible for making significant decisions concerning plans and budgets for large and complex projects

• Project or Program Sponsors, Project Managers, Cost Estimators, Cost Controllers, Engineers, Designers and Project Staff

• All those aspiring to deliver better value in all sectors of the economy from major projects in construction, manufacturing, petro-chemical, healthcare, education legal and public services

Course Outline

Module 1: Project Scheduling & Cost Planning Skills

Day One: Project Estimating Basics

• Basic project management definitions

• Triple constraints – Time, Cost, Scope

• Project selection methods

• Defining project scope

• Cost & schedule estimation, Cost budgeting & control

• Project schedule management using the Critical Path Method

Day Two: Developing Project Budget & Schedule Control

• Resource requirements

• Direct & indirect project costs

• Planning and scheduling limited resources

• Options for accelerating the schedule

• Crashing the schedule - How?

Day Three: Managing the Risk

• Risk identification, analysis & management

• Contingency reserve

• PERT, probability and standard deviation formulae

• Network activity risk profiles

• Application: Estimating project duration

• Project risk strategies

Day Four: Measuring Project Performance

• Critical chain analysis and use of buffers

• Comparison of unbalanced with balanced schedules

• Measuring planned progress on schedule

• Risk distribution in contracting

• Actual progress and work conditions

• Managing variable conditions

Day Five: Managing and Recovering Project Estimates

• Schedule variances & cost variances

• Progress control charts -trend analysis

• Schedule and cost variance forecasting

• Schedule and cost recovery analysis

• Schedule and cost recovery plan

• Project recovery baselines and controls

Module 2: Value Engineering Skills

Day Six: Understanding Value Engineering and its Application

• Course Introduction and Post-Course Assessment

• What is value? What is Value Engineering (VE)? Why is it important?

• Defining Value Engineering concepts and principles

• VE Study definition, scope and project phases

• VE team and stakeholders’ analysis and management

• Introducing the case study

Day Seven: The Information and Function Analysis Phase – Expressing Project Needs and Constraints

• The VE Job Plan

• The Information Phase – steps and procedures

• The need for Function Analysis in projects

• Identifying functions and selecting Function Diagrams

• Function Analysis System Technique (FAST)

• Workshop: FAST Diagram

Day Eight: The Creative Phase - Inspiring Creativity in Your Team

• Function Cost and Worth

• Finding value mismatches

• Facilitation skills and overcoming creativity blockers

• Creativity and Creative thinking within the project environment

• Data collection and Creativity Output

• Workshop: Brainstorm Case Study Alternatives

Day Nine: The Evaluation Phase - Making Informed Project Decisions

• Effective Decision-making in project environment

• Project evaluation methods: Subjective evaluation and quantitative evaluation

• Paired comparison and Analytical Heretical Process (AHP)

• Project life-cycle costing and Net Present Value

• Output of the Evaluation Phase

• Workshop: Cost estimating Techniques

Day Ten: The Presentation and Reporting Phases – Getting Results through Effective Communication

• Selection of alternatives and action planning

• Reporting VE findings to Senior Management and project stakeholders

• Oral presentation techniques & interpersonal skills

• Study Levels of the VE Certification by SAVE International

• Review of VE Case study Reports and Wrap-up discussions

• Post-Course Assessment

The Certificate

• Coventry Academy Certificate of Attendance will be provided to delegates who attend and complete the course