CONCEPTUAL COST ESTIMATION OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS USING FUZZY LOGIC

Abstract

Owners need clear information about the cost at the early stage; while information about drawings and designs are limited. Cost is a very important standard and should be taken into account during the early stage of any construction project, so cost estimation is crucial in construction related projects. Estimating of project cost is imperative step in early phase in project because it can influence or change the scope of project. The accuracy of the estimation is very important to achieve the objective of any Construction project, where cost overruns can lead to serious obstacles, for instance project termination, especially on the current focus on limited budget. This research aims to develop a fuzzy model for estimating the cost of construction projects in the conceptual stage. Seven factors affecting cost estimation were identified; slab type, area of floor, floor number, number of elevators, type of internal finishing, type of external finishing, and type of electro-mechanical work. This model will serve as a tool that could be used by all parties and will facilitate the cost estimation process at the early phases of projects through a more effective utilization of the limited available information. The proposed model was developed using 6,912 rules and 131 real projects. The absolute percentage of errors was 9.16%. The New artificial intelligent approaches have recently gained immense popularity. The proposed model will serve as a tool that could be used by all parties involved in the project. Keywords: construction cost; residential building; Conceptual phase; regression analysis; Fuzzy logic.