STATISTICALLY PREPROCESSED DATA BASED PARAMETRIC COST MODEL FOR BUILDING PROJECTS

For a construction project to progress smoothly, effective cost estimation is vital, particularly in the conceptual and schematic design stages. In these early phases, despite the fact that initial estimates are highly sensitive to changes in project scope, owners require accurate forecasts which reflect their supplying information. Thus, cost estimators need effective estimation strategies. Practically, parametric cost estimates are the most commonly used method in these initial phases, which utilizes historical cost data (Karshenas 1984, Kirkham 2007). Hence, compilation of historical data regarding appropriate cost variance governing parameters is a prime requirement. However, precedent practice of data mining (data preprocessing) for denoising internal errors or abnormal values is needed before compilation. As an effort to deal with this issue, this research proposed a statistical methodology for data preprocessing and verified that data preprocessing has a positive impact on the enhancement of estimate accuracy and stability. Moreover, Statistically Preprocessed data Based Parametric (SPBP) cost models are developed based on multiple regression equations and verified their effectiveness compared with conventional cost models.