How long will you be on site? - Project calculator launched

Contractors and clients can now estimate how long a project will take at the press of a button thanks to a new construction duration calculator.

The web-based calculator from the Building Cost Information Service gives a quick and robust estimate of how long it will take to construct a building, based on basic information about the project.

Using the actual construction duration of over 4500 new build and refurbishment projects in the UK BCIS has developed sophisticated models to predict the most likely time a particular type of building could take.

Calculations are based on eight separate details relating to the project, including the type of work either new build or refurbishment, contract value, date of project, location, procurement route, selection of contractor, client type and building function. 

Joe Martin, Executive Director of BCIS, said: "According to the latest construction industry Key Performance Indicators 48% of projects do not finish on time. We are always hearing in the news that building projects have overrun and in some respects we come to expect this, but more often than not an unrealistic timeframe has been proposed at the outset.

"This calculator’s strength is in the data used to make the estimates. With real timescales from so many varying projects it will be far easier to come up with a reasonable assessment at the start of any project. The added bonus is that it is an online service and so data will be updated and expanded on a regular basis."

The BCIS Construction Duration Calculator is available on an annual subscription basis, for details of subscription costs visit www.bcis.co.uk