Factors Influencing the Whole-Life Cost Estimation

What is it about?

The global economy has recently seen significant growth, primarily driven by the construction industry. One approach this sector uses to manage its costs effectively is called whole-life costing (WLC), which looks at the expenses throughout the entire life of a construction project. However, despite its popularity, predicting costs accurately remains a major hurdle. This is largely due to the complex mix of factors that can affect these estimates, which hasn’t been fully studied yet. Our research addresses this issue by examining 51 factors identified in 84 research papers from well-known sources. We take a closer look at how these factors are related to each other by using a systematic review of the literature and a comparison method similar to the analytical hierarchy process. To help clarify these relationships, we utilize the International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) framework, and we illustrate our findings using causal loop diagrams (CLDs). These diagrams are an innovative part of our study, showcasing how different factors are interconnected and influence each other. We identified six reinforcing loops and one balancing loop, which provide insights into how these factors interact over time. It’s important to note that the less significant factors don’t always connect directly to the most important ones; instead, they tend to interact among themselves before linking to the higher-level factors.

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Why is it important?

Our findings give a clearer picture of how the whole-life costing system works. This information can be very useful for construction industry professionals, including cost estimators, quantity surveyors, and academics.

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