CLC: COVID-19 cost assessment toolkit

The Professional Practice Task Group for the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) COVID-19 Task Force has published a methodology for assessing and reporting the cost implications of disruption due to the pandemic.

Launching the Toolkit the CLC said that ‘construction clients and contractors rely on accurate cost prediction as the basis of business plans, financial contracts, and commercial control. The unprecedented nature of the pandemic is affecting the progress and productivity of existing and future contracts, meaning that the information upon which estimates are usually prepared no longer applies.’

The Toolkit acts as a guide to enable better cost forecasting to assist the industry in making informed investment decisions on viability, improving robustness of pipeline and driving long term economic growth. BCIS guidance on adjusting estimates in its online calculators (‘Adjustment for the effect of COVID-19’) is based on this CLC guidance.

BCIS is part of the CLC subgroup looking at the effect of COVID-19 and has been monitoring key costs and providing regular dashboard as part of their briefing for government.

Commenting on the launch of the toolkit, Simon Rawlinson, Chair of the Professional Practice Task Group said: “The Cost Assessment Toolkit will help the construction industry manage the impact of COVID-19 on existing and future contracts. It establishes a standard methodology to incorporate the cost impacts of the virus into estimates, provides clarity on exclusions and through the collection of industry wide data allows clients and supply chains to compare their project costs against an aggregated data set. By providing the tools to measure and therefore improve productivity, the toolkit acts as a guide to ascertain and assess project risks and establish viability for the long term.”

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) works between industry and government to identify and deliver actions supporting UK construction in building greater efficiency, skills and growth.

The CLC’s COVID-19 Cost Assessment Toolkit is available to download here