Costs and Value – How to Make the School Building Sums Add Up

For every construction project there’s a critical piece of arithmetic. It concerns the balance between short-term capital costs and how much it will cost to operate the new facilities.

For education projects the calculation is even more significant as both sets of costs will probably be borne by the same organisation. The equation may be the same – but recent years have changed the values of the variables.

The traditional procurement approach is to issue a specification, go out to tender and accept the most competitive price. Operating costs were not the major consideration. In a time where construction methods and materials were all pretty similar and energy costs were relatively low, biasing decisions towards short term capital cost seemed like a prudent approach to take.

Value-Based Procurement

But that’s not the world we live in now. Energy costs fluctuate and the trend is unmistakably upward. Switching from fossil fuels to renewables won’t change this. While energy from solar, wind and tides might be technically free, there’s a huge amount of investment to be funded to bring that energy to our homes, offices and schools.

The focus for education construction procurement is shifting towards long term value in line with the recommendations of the Construction Sector Deal. Operational costs have far greater weighting in the decision.

Proof or Promises?

There’s another area where the calculations become more complicated. Capital costs can be controlled by the contract price. How can you guarantee or control the operational costs that will be incurred long after project completion?

Here, you need the certainty of manufactured construction. Repeatable processes and building elements such as SIPs that are fully tested and certified for their performance offer certainty. The contractor’s track record of delivering operational cost reductions in practice should also be a factor.

Not Just Energy

Other operational cost elements include repairs, maintenance and potential modifications. The quality of the build, whether it’s designed to be easily extended or reconfigured, and even the quality of the documentation are all factors in the long-term value equation.

Buildings manufactured using i-FAST panels are designed in a 3D BIM environment to be flexible, easily extendable and easy to maintain. The manufacturing process also delivers dependable quality levels and durability.

Manufactured construction ticks all the boxes if the objective is to achieve better long-term value.

If you’d like to know more about how the arithmetic of education construction is shifting, contact (enquiries@innovaresystems.co.uk) or take a look at our resource centre.