THE SITUATION

Real estate leadership needed to reduce budget variance at completion across the portfolio. Completed projects were finishing well over their approved budgets, and at a scale of tens of millions of dollars a year, that unpredictability was a serious problem: capital must be used both effectively and efficiently, and persistent overruns erode confidence in the entire capital plan. Predictable, well-calibrated budgets were a performance mandate — with penalties tied to missing the target.

THE RISK

Without reliable estimating tools, consistent cost discipline, and independent challenge of change orders and single- or sole-source bids, the high overrun rate would persist — exposing the organization to tens of thousands of dollars in penalty fees and leaving leadership unable to trust its own budgets. No one inside the delivery chain had a natural incentive to challenge optimistic numbers; that independent scrutiny had to be built in.

WHAT WAS DONE

• Developed cost-estimating tools and standardized methods for the portfolio

• Trained project management and workplace-solutions teams in cost management

• Assisted teams in challenging change orders and single- or sole-source bid

• Audited hundreds of completed projects to build an evidence base

• Delivered annual benchmark reports for infrastructure and tenant-improvement projects, drawing on a database of more than 3,000 projects

• Implemented performance indicators to track budget variance year over year

THE OUTCOME

Over a four-year mandate, average project cost overrun across the portfolio was more than halved — falling from the mid-80% range to the mid-30% range — as the estimating tools, training, and cost controls took hold. The work was underpinned by a benchmarking database of more than 3,000 projects, giving leadership defensible, data-grounded budgets and steadily restoring confidence in the capital plan.