Here's how you can effectively manage project budgets in the mechanics industry.

In budget planning it is important as a quantity surveyor to make sure that all aspects of the project have been considered and allocated a cost budget even it is still a concept idea from the client. Then the budget is regularly visited and adjusted as the detail design progresses.

This in its entirety explains what a Quantity Surveyor does. Putting a cost equivalent to every activity is almost as important as executing the activity itself. It is important to plan the cost involved in all activities regardless of the industry to enable the success of that activity. Planning enables you to source for funds needed to achieve different milestones of the activity form inception to eventual completion.

This is a basic thing to be done before executing any project. Continuous monitoring/review of budget helps in keeping the project on the right Budget, and it's not limited to the mechanics industry. Every organisation needs an experienced professional cost manager at every phase of their projects to ensure that the material cost, labour and other cost implications are properly allocated and carefully managed.

Cost tracking does a lot more than we give it credit for during project executions. Besides telling you if the project is going on track, it alerts you of potential problems, fraud, records incidents, gives you data for future projects amongst so many other advantages. It also enables you plan the execution of the project effectively. It informs you early enough to make tough decisions like cutting off unnecessary spending amongst others which ultimately will be in the best interest of the project.

Cost tracking in every operations is very pivotal. Your ability to tracked and monitor daily/and or weekly cost operations helps the management team to make informed decisions on cost implications to each items of work. Allocation of scheduled cost to each items should be backed up with immediate cost tracking process.

I absolutely love that the cost of labour here speaks not just on the remuneration given directly to the labour but also touches on the other intangible aspects that affect the the productivity of the labour like training, softwares, tools and equipment, amongst others. Labour management is key to a well executed project. How much you invest in your labour management will determine its output on your project.

In my experience, no matter how careful you have planned a project, it is always important to set aside a contingency fund. Executing projects can come with surprises which may not be planned for. These surprises are usually out of the control of man and have to be managed when they occur. These are incidents that the contingency funds come in very handy. It is always important to have a safety net to handle these unexpected incidents and allow the project run continuously without too much harm to the project plan. Most times, these contingency funds are domiciled with a party separate from the project execution team and is only activated after all possible options have been exhausted.