Methodology of Planning the Course of the Cumulative Cost Curve in Construction Projects

Abstract

Appropriate planning and effective monitoring of the execution of construction projects is important with regard to their successful sustainment of implementation. Time and cost are key elements that determine the success or failure of construction projects. The obtaining of a rational S-curve course before the start of a construction project that reflects reality is important for all the participants involved in implementing an investment task. The article proposes an original methodology for planning the course of the cumulative cost curve in construction projects. It uses a method of shaping the S-curve, which is well-known in both literature and practical approaches. On the basis of the authors’ own research carried out in a homogeneous research group of hotel facilities, the areas of the curve for the correct planning of costs in construction projects were designated, which determine the boundaries of the predicted costs accumulated over time. The data for the development of the authors’ research methodology is the result of the authors’ own experience and professional work. The authors carried out Bank Investment Supervision in the years 2006–2019 on behalf of the banks that grant investment loans for non-public contracts. Knowing the total cost and duration of the planned construction project, which were determined on the basis of project documentation, cost estimates, and also their own database regarding planned and completed deadlines and budgets of similar investments, 6th degree polynomials of the real costs of the construction works were determined. This approach enabled the correct planning of costs over time and the determination of planned monthly amounts of construction works to be executed.