White Papers

"What people often think is that cost engineers are budget engineers, but there is much more to them..." - the quote by Ko des Bouvrie - the founder of Cost Engineering, who created the company more than 25 years ago together with Chris Hagedoorn. He is 75 years old now, but a big smile on his face showed how much he still enjoys working in his profession as a self-proclaimed 'eager beaver'. Learn more about…

In this age of advanced digital technology, skilled projects controls personnel should spend less time on data collection & formatting and more time on data analysis and key message delivery. That’s the message this paper eventually proves. Based on the research, this is achieved by having an industry developed and tested software tool that incorporates the complete scope of the project controls function within its scope; utilize it to do the leg work on data…

It is tempting to think that you can simply take an existing plant and create that same asset in a different location for the same cost. Sadly, there’s no such thing as identical projects. However, management often seems to think so. What to keep in mind when building a plant abroad? This article zooms into some of the location and productivity factors and gives an insight on how to obtain them.

The world has been relying on coal, oil, and gas for decades. Due to the increasing energy demand, a popular question is where to get the energy from in the near future. To utilize clean energy resources, offshore wind energy is one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy. However, it is often criticized for being too expensive.

ITER (“The Way” in Latin) is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today. On behalf of the ITER Organization, Cost Engineering used its software Cleopatra Enterprise to estimate the assembly and installation costs of over 20 of the project’s core systems. The result after 12 months collaboration was a large set of very well structured estimate reports, each containing the estimate methodology, estimate basis, allowances, laqbor rates, productivity & cost factors, indirect costs, exclusions, contingency and escalation.…

Improving CAPEX and OPEX process engineering design by quickly estimating project cost.

As a global technology leader, LyondellBasell delivers state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, catalysts and services. For our turnaround operations we were looking for a more advanced way to estimate the costs of our turnarounds. Recently we have incorporated Cleopatra Enterprise software because it is not just a global cost estimating tool, but it is also perfectly suited for turnaround projects and maintenance activities.

At Cost Engineering we are constantly innovating our products and services. The new Cost Management Module in Cleopatra Enterprise is the next step into the future. With the combination of Estimating, Project Analysis and Cost Management Cleopatra Enterprise offers a total cost management software solution which is unique in the market. Now you have the opportunity to be absolutely in control. Also have a look at our page about project controls software.

The choice of a cost engineering tool is an important one for every organization. After all it will determine the way you approach cost in the foreseeable future. Choosing between Cleopatra Enterprise and Aspen Kbase is a good example of a choice that cannot be made based on specifications alone, an in depth analysis of the differences is vital to making the right decision.

During the decision making process of investment projects, it is often not possible to wait for the final cost estimate, due to the preparation time. By using ‘characteristic values’ based on executed projects, the estimate accuracy can be significantly improved while reducing the time and effort needed to develop the cost estimate.

Everyone who is, or has been involved in project controls, knows that time is of the essence. A project that is currently heading towards completion within schedule and budget can quickly go wrong if warning signals are provided too late, or not at all. For every day that such a warning signal is delayed you lose the opportunity to take corrective action and prevent the delay or cost overrun from happening.

Improved process design evaluation through enhanced cost analysis integration During these challenging times the oil and gas production, gas processing, petroleum refining and chemical industries need to be able to identify economically viable projects as early in the design process as possible. Every man-hour spent on non-profitable process designs results in opportunity costs that could have made more value for the organization when assigned to efficient and profitable process designs. In order to remain competitive…

Overview of Mining Capital Programs Megaproject Life Cycle & Risk Environment Keys to Project Success Illustrative Case Study

While cost overruns and delays have always been serious issues, companies have grown increasingly concerned about them. Without close control, stakeholders may not realize the severity of delays and cost overruns. One of the biggest missteps is starting construction before design and other project criteria are fully defined.

Cost Engineering is proud to welcome you to the Cost Engineering Event 2015, the fifth edition of the most important cost engineering event in Europe. Nowadays we see more and more pressure for projects to be delivered in time, within the established budget and with the best quality. Therefore, the theme for this year’s Event is “Cost Estimating and Project Control: Closing the loop”. A title that refl ects the necessity of bringing estimating and…