If the scope of work has changed. Reducing construction costs How to reduce the estimate to the desired amount

The state allocates a lot of money for the construction and repair of housing, the construction of infrastructure and social facilities. But a considerable part of them goes into the ground, or rather, is distributed among the pockets of the participants in the construction process. How to improve the efficiency of the use of budgetary funds and optimize cash flows in branch? RG is talking about this with the director of the pricing department in construction and expert and analytical work of the Association of Builders of Russia, the president of the Union of Estimators Pavel Goryachkin.

Pavel Vladimirovich, how can you increase the efficiency of using public funds allocated for construction?

If we start "from the stove", then, firstly, by optimizing the regulatory framework. The fact is that the regulatory documents that determine the cost of construction and repair are hopelessly outdated. They are based on the construction technologies of the fifties and sixties of the last century. The current norms and prices for construction, repair and construction, installation and commissioning works do not take into account the use of high-quality and high-performance machines and mechanisms, new technologies and materials. But since these standards are mandatory, construction organizations forced to budget and executive documentation outdated prices with clearly overpriced and inadequate cost indicators. It turns out like this: in fact, construction is going on new technology, more effective solutions are used, other materials are used, and this construction is estimated according to standards that are too high. A situation arises when the state itself creates the conditions for overestimation estimated cost works.

What's the use of this for a contractor?

It's up to the contractor. We often encounter a situation where builders are not interested in new standards for certain types of work, because it is more profitable for them to work according to overstated, outdated ones. Companies sometimes turn to us with some new technologies, we make the appropriate standards, calculate the cost of construction, show them, but they refuse to apply - they say, it turned out too cheap.

At the facilities where private investments, private developers work, they know how to count money, because they are their own. And it is often not very sweet for contractors to work at off-budget facilities: they do not inflate estimates there. But for the state customer, the budget money is someone else's. And the object itself is often perceived as a source of personal gain. If there is an opportunity for legal grounds declare the cost of work more than in reality, which contractor will refuse this? It's no secret, after all, that the word "rollback" from all spheres of the economy is primarily associated with construction. And, alas, it is so.

During the construction of what objects does the inflation of estimates occur?

On construction sites where budget resources. It's not just housing construction. We have a huge number of infrastructure, transport construction projects, construction projects associated with energy, oil, gas. Finally, there are municipal programs overhaul. That is, the volume of construction with the participation of the state is huge. And on estimates, the state can save up to 15% of funds.

To solve this problem, you need to optimize regulatory framework, which determines the cost of construction. Meanwhile, over the past 20 years, new estimated norms have practically not been developed, and published norms for new building materials and technologies are few and developed according to the methodology of the Soviet rationing system in construction. Estimates for construction are constantly revised upwards, often at times. Reliability of determining the estimated cost of construction in project documentation raises doubts. In many projects (about 85%) the cost is significantly overestimated.

What are the current building standards?

Today there is a system estimated standards GESN-2001. However, the norms and indicators of this base almost do not differ from the SNiP-84 and SniR-91 developed in the Soviet era, except that they are slightly edited. Some of the changes are purely cosmetic. Adjustment of indicators is carried out without the necessary justifications and economic calculations, without formal procedures, regulations and examinations, without a professional assessment of individual standards and databases as a whole. Outdated estimated standards are constantly reissued with minor changes and are presented as new developments. The activities of the state institution, whose responsibilities include the creation of new regulatory documents, have actually been reduced to the sale of dubious estimated standards for a lot of money and paid services to coordinate various individual indices and prices. This creates additional financial burden on construction organizations and distorts the reliability of the estimated cost for objects of budget financing.

Now we are reaping the fruits of the rule-making activities of officials both at the federal and regional levels. Return to administrative methods of pricing in construction in last years, attempts to stifle the emerging market for engineering and consulting services in construction have already resulted in excessive growth in construction costs. This causes distrust in the work of estimators, and their calculations are regarded as documentary evidence of inefficient, and often corrupt, construction management - and, alas, quite rightly.

And how exactly does inflation happen? What violations are allowed?

There are many such violations, I will list the main ones. This is the production of works without an approved working documentation; constant adjustment estimated cost due to various kinds of additional work; discrepancy between indicators of consumption of materials during write-off and production norms for the consumption of materials (especially for hidden work); purchase of materials at obviously inflated prices; inconsistency of transport schemes for the delivery of materials; overestimation of the volume of work performed; incorrect application of norms and prices for work on new technologies, when imported equipment and modern materials are used; cost accounting for the operation of used imported construction equipment purchased by the contractor as new; overestimate the cost of preparatory work, difficult to verify; payment for work performed earlier at current, higher prices; the use of inflated individual rates and indexes for recalculating the estimated cost, agreed on the basis of collusion with individual officials and government agencies etc.

In addition, significant delays in holding tenders, concluding state contracts and opening financing lead to an unreasonable increase in the cost of work; frequent change of contractors - especially at large facilities with long construction periods; the use of low-quality materials and outdated technologies; inability to organize an efficient production process of construction; low qualification of workers and engineering and technical personnel; imperfection of the legislation.

How can the situation be changed?

It is necessary to create a new modern regulatory framework that is as open and accessible as possible to all participants in the investment and construction and repair and construction process. If urgent measures are not taken to develop and implement new rules, norms and prices to determine the costs in construction, the cost of project implementation will continue to grow unreasonably. The new base should adequately reflect the achieved technological and organizational level of construction, meet modern requirements for the quality of the final product, applied by effective building materials, the existing level of qualification of workers, used construction machines, mechanisms, equipment and tools in the production of construction, installation and repair and construction works. Now, first of all, it is necessary to focus on the accelerated development of norms and prices for new, efficient technologies in construction and housing and communal services. This is where the efforts of all interested organizations should be concentrated.

The realities of the estimate case often face the fact: the amount for the work has been agreed, it remains only to “adjust” the estimate to it. "Adjustment" of the estimate can occur in the direction of increase, which means "wind up the estimate" or in the direction of decrease, respectively, "cut the estimate". Quite complex processes are hidden behind seemingly simple words.

How to adjust the estimate?

To do this, according to existing regulatory documents on budgeting, it is competent and “plausible” to draw up an estimate so that it would not even be possible to suspect “fitting” to a person who wants to check the estimate.

1. So let's consider how adjust the estimate, reducing it, which is the easiest option. There are several ways for this case. The simplest way is to apply a contractual reduction factor.

If it is not acceptable, then efforts should be made. This means that you will have to do the following:

Remove increasing coefficients associated with reconstruction and overhaul, coefficients that take into account complicating factors, etc.;

Remove limited costs, for example, for winter appreciation, unplanned expenses, temporary buildings, etc.;

Remove from the price all mechanisms and materials that are not used in the work;

Reduce the cost of materials or the cost of a man-hour;

2. Now consider the option of how to wind up the estimate. This process is more complicated than the previous one. However, the presence of several ways provides a certain field of activity.

Cheat estimate possible when performing the following operations:

Use all permissible multiplying factors that are used for reconstruction and overhaul, as well as the factors that are included in the estimate in the presence of complicating factors and conditions of work, etc.;

- supplement the estimate limited costs associated with winter appreciation, unforeseen expenses, temporary buildings and structures, etc.;

- increase the estimated cost materials or the cost of a man-hour is sufficiently "plausible";

- add to budget auxiliary work or to overestimate the volume hidden works. Now you have become aware of ways to “wind up” and “cut” estimates. Any of them, perhaps, will suit you, depending on the requirements of the customer for the development of estimate documentation.

Often in the course of construction and installation work, it becomes necessary to adjust the scope of work. How to apply for additional work? At what cost to accept the object?

The terms of the agreement have been amended.

In the contract building contract a clause is introduced: one of the conditions for specifying the price of the contract may be that the customer makes changes to the project that increase (decrease) the cost of work under the contract in basic prices of 2001 by more than 5 percent. In this case, the increase (decrease) in the price of the contract includes only the cost exceeding 5 percent. That is, additional work up to 5 percent arising during construction (repair) is not paid by the customer. How to issue completed and accepted by the customer, but not paid work in the forms No. KS-2 and No. KS-3? What value should be indicated in the act of acceptance of the object and putting it on the balance sheet (taking into account additional work performed, but not paid for, or without them)?

What does the contract price include?

In this case we are talking on the procedure for changing the price of the contract. It must cover the costs of the contractor and provide for his remuneration (Article 709 Civil Code RF). In this case, the customer is obliged to accept the result of the work and pay the price stipulated by the contract. The specified price covers the entire scope of work provided for by the contract. Therefore, if the parties decide not to change it with an increase in the volume of work by no more than 5 percent, this does not mean that additional work is not paid. Money is transferred for them (after all, donation, which includes the gratuitous performance of work, between commercial organizations prohibited by Article 575 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), but within the framework of the original price of the contract. Indeed, in this case, the question arises of the procedure for entering into Form No. KS-2 those amounts of work that are performed additionally, but do not affect the total price of the contract. After all, if these volumes are delivered without a price, tax authorities there may be a question about the gratuitous performance of part of the work.

Estimated adjustment

Let's try to deal with this problem. Let's say that we have an initial estimate that determines the base cost of the work and the price under the contract (taking into account the conversion factors), calculated as a total for the estimate. It involves covering the costs of the contractor and remuneration, for example, 20 percent of the direct costs according to the estimate (estimated profit). During the construction process, additional works are included in the estimate, the cost of which is 4 percent of the original estimated cost. By agreement of the parties, the total price of the contract does not change. Additional work must be included in the estimate or make an additional estimate for them. But since this would lead to an increase in the total for the estimate (the sum of the main and additional estimates), some position in it must be reduced so that the result that determines the price of the contract remains the same. Since cost items cannot be changed according to the estimate (after all, the old amount of work is not reduced), you can change, for example, estimated profit. In this case, it should be recalculated so that the total for the original estimate (the sum of the original and additional estimates) remains unchanged. This estimate will form the basis for filling in No. KS-2. At the same time, all the works provided for by the new conditions will fall into it, with their own price, but total amount according to No. KS-2, taking into account the reduced rate of return, will remain unchanged.

In addition to the rate of return, other calculated values ​​can be reduced: overhead costs, winter rise in prices, etc. Of course, the question may arise, why, in fact, the contractor should receive smaller amounts to cover these costs? The answer is obvious: since the contractor agreed to perform a new, increased amount of work at the expense of the old price, it means that you need to sacrifice some item according to the estimate. After all, in order to maintain balance, if in one place it has increased, in another it must necessarily decrease. Where specifically - to choose the parties to the contract. The most important thing to understand is that we are not talking about the free performance of a certain amount of work, but only about changing the scope of work for the same price.

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