IT helps reducing deviation of construction costs by up to five percent

London, 27 September 2005: Construction is hugely important to the economy as the latest figures published by the Department of Trade and Industry show . With output at £102.4 billion in 2004 current prices, construction activities account for about eight percent of GDP. Constituting major savings potentials, reliable cost estimation processes are increasingly gaining importance in this highly competitive market.

Cost management offers saving potentials to the branch
Professional circles consider construction cost deviations of around eight percent as an average value. Calculating with an annual construction output of £102.4 billion, a reduction of up to five percent equals savings of up to £5 billion. Integrated software systems involving design, CAD, price negotiation as well as exact cost planning and bidding functionalities can now help architects to minimise construction cost deviations. Especially companies with standardised portfolios, e.g. construction of supermarkets, petrol stations or prefabricated houses, can realize enormous savings. If a similar design has already been estimated or exists in the company archive, the old project information is retrieved allowing rapid cost-estimate updating or modification, thereby saving time and costs. A recent survey titled “New business potentials for architects and engineers” conducted by Maisberger Whiteoaks on behalf of Nemetschek reveals that around a third of British architects and engineers cite quantity and cost calculation as an important functional area of an optimal AEC-Software (Architecture, Engineering and Construction).

Study unveils: Majority is not using any software for cost planning
Still, 72 percent of the companies polled in the study are not yet using software for construction cost calculation and quantity determination. Eight percent of British practices are using Excel or even Word for that purpose, which entails numerous disadvantages. Taken the example of adding an interior wall including a window to a planned construction, the changed or additional positions have to be drawn, manually calculated, entered into the spreadsheet and costed whereas integrated software solutions enable an automated data exchange and reporting. What happens when uncertainties about cost estimates and delays in the timetable occur is perfectly illustrated by the example of the Scottish Parliament. The escalating costs of the construction, rising from estimated £50m to £108m – an increase of 116 per cent, have led to widespread criticism. To avoid cases like this, reliability of construction cost estimates plays an utmost important role. For those interested in getting to know more about current developments in the area of cost management and integrated solutions, www.go.evolution.com offers further details.


Business aspects are on the rise
As the market increasingly demands integrated solutions covering the whole building life cycle, architects are reorienting to becoming an entrepreneur for architecture and planning. In the UK, one in four of the respondents still describes himself as a pure designer but a vast majority of 61 percent places itself squarely between the categories of entrepreneur and designer. “This clearly marks an evolutionary process that will be accompanied by new requirements of software products,” states Harald Krohmer, Managing Director, Nemetschek UK Ltd.

Note to editors

About the study
The European-wide study “New Business Potentials for Architects and Engineers” polled 767 architectural practices and engineering companies in eight European countries (Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the UK), thereof 100 based in the UK. The survey was conducted by Maisberger Whiteoaks on behalf of the Nemetschek Corporation to obtain key intelligence on the European market for architects and engineers. Focus was laid on the economic situation of the architectural and engineers’ sector, market outlooks as well as challenges, solutions and market potentials for the branch. The latest campaign launched by Nemetschek, Evolution, takes this topic on, emphasizing the necessity to become aware of the changing environment in respect to market conditions, CAD, legal aspects and the profession of architect and engineer.
The study can be obtained free of charge by registering at www.go-evolution.com

About Nemetschek ( www.nemetschek.co.uk)
The Nemetschek corporation is one of the worldwide leading technology suppliers active in the field of design, build and management of buildings and real estate. The company’s standard software solutions, available in 14 different languages, are employed in over 160,000 companies located in 142 countries. Nemetschek IT solutions create synergies and optimise the entire design, construction and management process of buildings in terms of quality, cost and time input.

About Maisberger Whiteoaks ( www.maisberger.com)
Maisberger Whiteoaks is a Communications Agency for High-Tech companies and solution providers. Founded as Maisberger & Partner in 1989 and headquartered in Munich it serves clients from IT, Telecommunications, Industry, Biotech, Financial Services as well as HR / Education and Tourism / Business Travel – among them ATOSS, BEA Systems, Microsoft, Nemetschek, Softlab, Axaron Bioscience and BTI. Early 2005, the PR-agency employed 30 people and reported 2004 annual revenues of 3.6 million euros.

Additional information is available from:

Maisberger Whiteoaks
Katja Koller
Kirchenstr. 15
81675 Munich
Tel.: +49 – 89 – 419 599 77
Fax: +49 – 89 – 419 599 12
www.maisberger.com
Email: Email Contact

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