Practices and techniques for construction projects cost control- a critical review

Abstract

Cost performance problems and overruns were common and considered the major cause of projects due to not gaining the expected profit margin, With an 86% likelihood of overrun in international buildings projects, and at least 30%-40% of global projects experiencing subpar cost performance and overruns. The poor performance of project costs was attributed to inadequacies of project control systems, as they were responsible for monitoring project costs. Inadequate controlling systems suggest that established controlling tools fail to execute their function. Therefore, a successful control system was crucial to reducing project failure. Thus, The question that drives this study is ‘What were the successful cost practices and techniques commonly utilized in controlling construction expenditures and conserving project anticipated profit?’. Following PRISMA protocol guidelines, the study systematically reviewed the previous literature by searching academic databases for relevant articles. The study aimed to examine successful controlling strategies and tools commonly utilized. Fifteen common techniques were identified and found that budgeting monitoring, resources monitoring, interim valuation, unit costing, and cost variance analysis were successful, provided a comprehensive outline of each method, identified the fundamental ideas underlying technique differentiation, and summarized their benefits and drawbacks. Two controlling system implementation strategies were discussed, they were corrective and proactive approaches. A project development stage-based technique selection guide was proposed. The paper also proposed a control framework that integrated proactive and corrective measures into project control to inhibit overruns. The research also examined project controlling technique selection factors that should be considered when choosing the one.