I recently conducted an informal poll of a small number of facility executives – 12 to be exact – who have been good contacts in the past. The questions all concerned construction costs.

There was no consensus among this group, which was not only small but very diverse, spread across the country as well as industry segments. Some reported continuing sharp cost increases, some were seeing a mixed picture, a few reported that costs had flattened out. In the latter category, a facility executive reported that one project had come in 15 percent under budget about five months ago, while bids on a new project were also about 15 percent below budget.

About half of the folks who replied have responded to rising costs by making cuts in the scope of projects, shifting dollars from one type of project to another, or doing more value engineering. “Much more time spent analyzing best practices and materials to obtain a high quality product and look but also adhere to ever tightening budgets” is how one source put it.

One observation stands out: the importance of good advance information about where costs are headed. The earlier that facility executives know that costs will rise, the sooner they can factor that information into the budget – and avoid headaches down the road.