National Occupational Standards in
Archaeological Practice

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AJ7 Oversee project costs, quality and progress

AJ7.1 Oversee project costs against agreed budgets

Performance Required

This will involve:

1. ensuring that appropriate contract cost control systems which are capable of providing accurate data and early warning of problems are in place
2. ensuring accurate cost data is provided at agreed contract stages and prepared in a format to facilitate decision making
3. identifying and thoroughly investigating adverse cost trends and variances and obtaining an accurate forecast of the impact on the project budget, with the support of professional advisors as appropriate
4. identifying realistic opportunities for cost-savings, recommending appropriate measures to restore costs and expenditure to budget and confirming action agreed between contracting parties
5. identifying circumstances where parties are in breach of their contractual obligations regarding payments and financial control and recommending appropriate action

Occupational Context

1. Contract cost control systems:
   • financial reporting systems
   • interim valuations
2. Cost data:
   • work completed
   • liabilities to sub-contractors and suppliers
   • valuations
   • payments
   • forecasts of expenditure
3. Opportunities for cost saving:
   • resource management and logistics
   • applications of new technology
   • energy management
   • plant and labour which better meet project requirements
   • variations in quality
4. Appropriate measures to restore costs and expenditure to budget:
   • improve operational management
   • improve financial management
   • use of alternative sub-contractors / suppliers
   • use of alternative methods
   • vary project requirements (design, materials, specifications)
   • reduce variations
   • improve quality control
5. Appropriate action
   • re-negotiate the contract
   • determine the contract
   • seek legal remedy
   • initiate contract claim

Knowledge Requirements

You need to know about:

Cost control systems

• Types of cost control system
• What types of cost control systems are appropriate to projects of different scale and complexity

Cost savings

• Strategies for achieving cost saving during work in progress

Implications of varying the contract

Required Skills

You should demonstrate:

• How to operate cost control systems
• How to use data from cost control systems to take appropriate corrective action

Evidence Required

You should provide evidence that you can oversee project costs against agreed budgets

The candidate should be questioned, based upon the documentation provided, to explore the following:

• monitoring contract costs against agreed budgets, meeting all of the performance criteria

Evidence Rules

The candidate should have been involved in at least 2 substantive projects.

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Today's date: 31/7/2010
This page last updated: 6/8/2007 11:58