Effectiveness Assessment of Transportation Cost Estimation and Cost Management Workforce Educational Training for Complex Projects

Accurate project cost estimating has been known as a major challenge for state transportation agencies (STAs). This challenge could significantly influence project performance and its ultimate success. To yield accurate cost estimates, a successful estimator needs to have expertise in converting the early scope of the project into costs and also visualizing completed facilities from the construction documents at different levels of project progress. Therefore, to achieve the required cost estimation and cost management skills, STAs should organize specialized trainings for both junior and senior cost estimators at different levels. However, very little cost estimates development training or guidance is nationally available, and most STAs have developed their own estimating processes based on history, experience, and available resources. As a result, this study aims to develop national cost estimating and cost management training and also assess transportation junior and senior cost estimation workforce training and education needs. To successfully perform this study, the research team initially collected and reviewed all the existing cost estimation and management training materials from several different resources. Based on the literature review materials, the team developed annotated outlines and twelve training modules categorized into two cost estimation and cost management sections. The final training materials were piloted in Texas and Maryland Departments of Transportation (DOTs) cost estimation and management workshops. Based on the workshop participants' survey results and feedback, the effectiveness of the training modules was assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The outcome of this study helps DOTs to advance the knowledge and skills of their cost estimation and cost management workforce.