Introduction:
Time, Cost, Quality.
It is a new world of hybrid workplaces, IoT, and a whole range of new metrics to measure, however, there are some things which will always remain. Cost data and how it is used to benchmark delivery performance is one of them.
Most companies don’t utilise the wealth of cost data they capture on projects and ultimately miss out on the opportunity of making their capital work better for them.
The Cost Mark tool provides an efficient method of capturing and baselining costs that can be used to build up an effective benchmark, against which a capital plan can be created.
The Tool:
The report shown below is based off demonstration data created specifically to highlight the capabilities of using Power BI to build a scenario planning tool. Although the data isn't 'Real', it is still 'Realistic' as it has been sourced from the multiple cost fit out guides that are published each year. Thus the following is not meant to be an accurate representation of fit out costs in Asia Pacfic but rather highlight what is 'possible' when the data is accurately captured and used.
Note: Click on the following Icons when you see them to see tool tips on how to use the tool as well as to change preferences.
Getting the Data:
As already mentioned, the above model is built using an engineered demo set of data.
The following outlines the approach that would be used to capture the data needed and to develop a standardised model. This can either be conducted as part of a company's typical procurement process, utilising their existing technology or tools, or it may be a simple task run in Excel.
The key is that the Standard Project approach has the same fixed set of variables, Bill of Quantities and Design Standards so that any cost variances can be attributed to the project location.
Using the Tool:
Insights & Analysis
Using the mined data to understand the variability of costs across different project locations. There are 2 specific views on this data.
Regional Review
City|Baseline Comparison
Regional Review: Useful to see the variance in cost categories by each country/city location. Categories of interest can be quickly identified, and further information uncovered.
City | Baseline Comparison: Used to compare the unit cost rates between City locations. Select your 'Index' city that you want to baseline all others against and see where it ranks in terms of cost.
Cost Calculator
The Cost Calculator utilises the same data but normalises the costs breaking them down to per unit parts. Standard input parameters are then fed into an algorithm that allows for the build-up of a cost profile specific to a location.
Set Your Preferences: The first page is used to capture key user inputs that configure the output from the model. Note: Power BI is integrated into Microsoft’s Power Platform and as such the PowerApps for Power BI visual is a great tool that can be used to capture and feed data into a model. A Power App has been built to better facilitate data capture in this tool, but for the purpose of the demo, only the native "What if" parameters have been used.
The following video shows the Preferences page being completed before submission in use.
The inputs are fairly self-explanatory for those in corporate real estate. However, there is one especially important point to check before the form is submitted. The values in the 'Calculated Density Type' in Step 2 match what has been entered into the 'Density Type' drop down in Step 3.
If there is a mismatch, the tool will return several visual warnings to let you know there are corrections needed.
The values MUST match.
Charticulator: The Density Type Indicator was a chart created using Charticulator as no standard or custom visuals were available that provided the functionality needed.
Once valid preferences have been entered the Submit button can be clicked. This loads the calculator which builds up a total cost and a cost/unit of measure based on the information set in the preferences.
Key Metrics
The results include the 'Key Metrics' panel which provides some simple metrics to support business case submission. Additionally the Projected Ratio line chart provides a projection based on current head count and growth rate % to determine if there will be enough space over the life of the lease. Again this is busines case metric that supports viability of the scenario.
Further Configuration
Clicking on the Menu opens up additional slicers that allow for more control over individual cost groups so you can configure the scenario to your specific requirements. The following video shows an example of configuring the sliders to get a new adjusted calculated cost.
Conclusion:
The purpose of this build was to show the extended capabilities of Power BI and to create a fully working 'What if' scenario planning tool for Corporate Real Estate professionals. This is a demonstration only. Of course, every company has different needs and requirements and this is not intended to meet them all, but it should open the doors to what is possible, when you make the meaningful measurable.
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