Addressing Budget Overruns and Variations: Tracking Project Outcomes in Schools

It’s become increasingly clear that project variations are now standard practice, with school organisations frequently accepting budget overruns from builders.

We decided to track project outcomes internally after losing some price-based tender work to competitors. We aimed to assess whether the tendered price and timeline were met and if the client's initial vision was maintained.

Our Conclusion 

Our analysis reveals that school business managers and principals frequently accept budget overruns from builders due to the challenges inherent in the tender process.

The tender process is often lengthy and complex, placing significant time pressures on decision-makers. With multiple bidders offering varying terms, schools may struggle to choose the builder that will provide the best value for money.

Moreover, the complexity of many construction projects makes accurate pricing challenging, even with detailed tender documents. Builders might initially under-quote, leading to unforeseen costs emerging later. This can result in budget blowouts as builders seek to recover additional expenses through variations or cost-cutting measures. Unfortunately, these solutions can compromise work quality and increase the likelihood of warranty claims.

The Solution

Explore the benefits of the modern design-and-construction process, which offers a proven end-to-end solution while streamlining the tender process.

You can still tender your project while working with a design-and-construct company. This approach simplifies tendering by leveraging the expertise of in-house design teams, which produce designs tailored to specific requirements.

The design-and-construction process ensures that the project vision is methodically realised within the client’s budget by having both design and construction teams collaborate, providing a seamless and efficient outcome.