Cost management

The built environment is in the midst of transformative change. As societal and business needs evolve, there remains a consistent emphasis of achieving value for money.

Informed by our extensive project delivery experience across multiple sectors, we guide our clients to define and deliver value, within their budgetary constraints, offering guidance on Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) versus traditional construction methods, intelligent procurement strategies, and Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV) analyses that span the entire value chain, serving a diverse range of clients, from investors to manufacturers.

Our cost management services

Cost planning, design and value optimisation

  • Cost planning and analysis of kit of parts
  • Appraisal and guidance on MMC versus traditional methods
  • Optimisation of cost, carbon and PMV for sustainable profitability
  • Robust commercial delivery strategy development
  • Value definition, engineering and management informed by an outcome-based approach

Supply chain and procurement

  • Portfolio / aggregated demand procurement strategy development
  • Expertise in contract selection and new models of alliancing
  • Supply chain demand and capability analysis
  • Pre-manufacture procurement strategy development
  • Carbon-intelligent procurement
  • Analysis and appraisal of direct client procurement options

Cost and product benchmarking

  • Cost and product benchmarking
  • Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV) benchmarking and outcome analysis
  • Due diligence and third-party project cost reviews
  • Fund monitoring

Financial administration

  • End-to-end quantity surveying
  • Strategic cost control of construction works
  • Expertise in tendering and contract execution
  • Cashflow analysis
  • Post-contract cost control and reporting

Rooted in outcome-based principles, we developed a Residential Rulebook, a delivery strategy for optimising cost, carbon and Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV), for one of the largest commercial property development companies in the UK.

Discover more of our cost management projects below.

Jamie Hillier

Partner
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With a penchant for tweed and jackets with leather arm patches, Jamie began his career as a quantity surveyor, before climbing the ladder to lead major projects for a Tier 1 contractor.

Eventually expanding his book collection beyond copies of SMM7, Jamie has interest in a broad range of subjects linked to delivering better outcomes for society and the environment.

His strategic insights on MMC and behavioural science have made their way into numerous government, industry and academic publications, including the Construction Playbook, Transforming Infrastructure Performance Roadmap to 2030, the Platform Rulebook and the RIBA DfMA Overlay.

John Handscomb

Partner
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Construction is in John’s blood. Learning from his father who was a planner and project manager, John began his career by working on some iconic projects in both the public and private sector.

As a procurement expert and integrator of new ways of working, John has pioneered the integration of platform principles, DfMA processes and supply chain within over £5bn projects in the last 15 years, for some of the largest building programmes in the UK. Despite his considerable expertise, John keeps it simple, communicating complicated ideas with ease and helping to equip the industry with new knowledge and skills.

Outside of Akerlof, John enjoys his executive role with technology start-up ScanTech Digital, spending time with his family, taking trips down the football, playing a bit of golf with friends and the odd pint. 

Our name is shared with George Akerlof, a Nobel Prize-winning economist.

His seminal paper, Market for Lemons, demonstrated the devastating consequences of making decisions under the conditions of quality uncertainty and unequal information between buyers and sellers, increasing the chance of buyers ending up with a ‘lemon’.

This 50-year-old concept continues to retain parallels within the construction industry.

Through our insight and experience, we can rebalance this information asymmetry on behalf of our clients, levelling the playing field to deliver better outcomes.