Grade-1 Cost Engineer Examination cheat sheet

Cost management covers the full process: investment estimate, design estimate, construction drawing budget, bid price, contract price, construction cost, completion settlement, and final accounts.

The construction and installation engineering cost consists of labor cost, materials cost, construction machinery use cost, enterprise management fee, profit, and taxes (the 'cost plus fee plus tax' structure).

Labor cost is calculated as: quota labor consumption × labor wage unit price; it includes basic wage, wage subsidies, production worker auxiliary wages, employee welfare, and labor protection.

Material cost = (material net consumption + loss) × material unit price; loss rate = loss amount / net consumption × 100%.

Construction machinery use cost = depreciation + major repair + regular repair + installation and dismantling + field transportation + fuel and power + operator wages + taxes.

Enterprise management fee is calculated on a base of labor cost, or labor cost plus machinery cost, depending on the regional rule; profit is typically based on labor cost plus machinery cost.

Taxes under general tax method: VAT output tax = pre-tax cost × 9% (current construction VAT rate); under simplified tax method, the rate is 3%.

The Bill of Quantities (BOQ) pricing uses comprehensive unit price = labor + materials + machinery + enterprise management + profit + risk; it excludes taxes and fees.

Cost control methods include earned value analysis: CV = BCWP − ACWP; SV = BCWP − BCWS; CPI = BCWP / ACWP; SPI = BCWP / BCWS.

The investment estimate at the design stage uses the quota method or the index method; the construction drawing budget uses the quota method or the BOQ method.

The BOQ pricing method: total cost = Σ (engineering quantity × comprehensive unit price) + fees + taxes.

Comprehensive unit price = labor cost + material cost + machinery cost + enterprise management fee + profit + risk fee.

Quota pricing method: unit price = labor + materials + machinery; then add enterprise management fee, profit, fees, and taxes according to the quota.

The bill of quantities must specify: project code, project name, project feature, unit of measurement, and quantity; it is compiled by the tenderer.

Engineering quantity calculation follows the national measurement code (e.g., GB 50854 for building construction); the code is mandatory for state-funded projects.

The measure project cost includes: environmental protection, civilized construction, safety construction, temporary facilities, night construction, secondary handling, large machinery, scaffolding, and completion cleaning.

Other project costs include: provisional sum, provisional daywork, general contractor service fee, and total contract price service fee.

The bid price is composed of: cost, profit, and tax; the bidder may adjust enterprise management fee and profit but not taxes or statutory fees.

Earthwork measurement: excavated volume = (base length + 2 × working face + 2 × slope coefficient × depth) × (base width + 2 × working face + 2 × slope coefficient × depth) × depth + 1/3 × slope coefficient² × depth³.

For a foundation pit with slope, the volume formula: V = (a + 2c + kH) × (b + 2c + kH) × H + 1/3 k²H³, where a,b are base dimensions, c working face, k slope coefficient, H depth.

Concrete volume for beams: measured in cubic meters, calculated by cross-sectional area × beam length; beam length is taken as clear span plus half the support length at each end.

Rebar measurement: weight = length × unit weight; unit weight (kg/m) = 0.00617 × d² (d in mm).

Formwork area is measured by contact area with concrete; for beams, the area = beam bottom + both sides; for slabs, the bottom area.

Masonry measurement: volume = wall length × wall height × thickness, deducting openings larger than 0.3 m² and embedded concrete components.

Roof waterproofing area = roof horizontal projection area × slope coefficient + additional layer area; the slope coefficient depends on the roof gradient.

Pile foundation measurement: bored pile volume = design cross-sectional area × design pile length (including pile cap).

Scaffolding measurement: for buildings, the area is the building's horizontal projection area; for independent columns, the volume is calculated.

When analyzing a contract price adjustment case, first determine the contract type (fixed price, adjustable price, cost-plus-fee) and the risk-sharing clauses.

For engineering quantity deviation, use the BOQ clause: if the actual quantity deviates by more than 15% from the BOQ quantity, the comprehensive unit price may be adjusted.

For material price fluctuation, apply the price adjustment formula: ΔP = P0 × [A + B × (Ft/F0) − 1], where A is the non-adjustable portion, B the adjustable portion.

For a claim, the critical path method is used to analyze time impact; cost impact is calculated by the actual cost method or the contract rate method.

In a settlement case, the completion settlement is based on the contract, design changes, site visas, and claim documents; the final account includes the settlement plus other costs.

For a cost overrun analysis, compare the budgeted cost with the actual cost, and use the earned value method to identify whether the overrun is due to schedule or cost.

For a bid evaluation case, the evaluated bid price = bid price + adjusted amount for deviations; the lowest evaluated price is not necessarily the lowest bid price.

For a progress payment case, the payment = completed project cost − retention money − advance payment deduction − other deductions; retention money is usually 3%-5% of the contract price.

For a change order case, the new rate is determined by: (1) the contract rate if applicable; (2) a rate derived from similar work; (3) a new rate agreed by both parties.