Abstract:
The wealth of any nation is gauged by its performance in infrastructure provision through its
construction industry. The construction industry is large, volatile, and requires tremendous
capital outlays (Kaliba, Mundia & Kanyuka, 2008).
Cost is a comprehensive index, which is not only closely related to the efficiency and
competitiveness of an enterprise, but also reflects the superiority and inferiority of its
management in various aspects. Cost control is the main means of reducing the cost of
products and it serves as the precondition for the enhancement of estimation and economic
returns of the business. Cost monitoring concepts have been in the international construction
companies for many years. Hence, it needs to analyze the Sri Lankan context of cost
monitoring in construction companies.
The main objective of this research work is to discover the current cost monitoring practices
in Sri Lankan construction companies, find out the drawbacks of existing CMSs,
professional’s adaptation to the ICMSs and other affective characteristics related to the
implementation of an automated CMS and to give some recommendation to implement an
enhanced Project Management System in construction firms, in which cost management,
planning and control can be gradually integrated, in order to overcome the existing
limitations of the current cost monitoring systems.
This research is based on the literature review and the data collected through questionnaire
surveys and interviews among 57 professionals in the construction companies in Sri Lanka.
With the findings of this research, it is expected to guide construction professionals towards
enhancing the current cost monitoring systems in order to become more proactive, and be
able to deal with the dynamic, uncertain and complex construction environment that exists in
most of the construction projects in Sri Lanka.
Key words: Cost, Cost Monitoring Systems, Projects, Integrated Cost Monitoring Systems (ICMS), Performance
Indicators, Construction Industry.
