CAN UNDERESTIMATING PROJECT DURATION COST YOU MONEY?
The short answer to the above question is yes, it can cost you a lot of money. The longer answer will be explored below. But first, why is underestimating project duration a problem while overestimating isn’t? Well, if you overestimate project duration and finish it sooner, all that means is you have to move up plans to move into the building. You might have to move up the painters or the furniture if you’re doing a major overhaul, but it really only presents a scheduling change. Overestimating project duration isn’t a major problem, and can actually be a good thing. Now, let’s look at how underestimating project duration can cost you money.
Increased Labor Expenditures
A project that runs even a day over schedule will result in increased labor expenditures. Many jobs goes weeks or months over schedule, which means you have to pay for all those unbudgeted man hours. Most roofing labor isn’t particularly cheap, especially if you have supervisors and foremen on the project. You can very quickly be staring down a 5-digit labor bill for a job that runs 3-4 weeks over schedule. This is one of the greatest benefits of silicone coatings: they go down quickly and don’t require large crews during installation.
Pushing Back Other Plans
Underestimating project duration can result in pushing back other projects. It can delay moving in, opening a new facility, production, or more work on your building. This is much more serious than moving these appointments up, because they cost you time that you can’t get back. On top of that, if you’re using a busy contractor for something and try telling them to push you back 3-4 weeks, they may tell you you’ll have to wait a few more months before they can come back.
Conclusion
Underestimating project duration is an extremely easy mistake to make, and smart people make it everyday. The best ways to avoid it are to build a buffer into your schedule and use professional council. Your consulting can come from either from a general contractor or the individual contractors. Correctly or closely estimating project duration is essential to helping your next roofing project go smoothly.
