Cost engineering is
"the engineering practice devoted to the management of project cost,
involving such activities as estimating, cost control, cost
forecasting, investment appraisal and risk analysis." "Cost Engineers
budget, plan and monitor investment projects. They seek the optimum
balance between cost, quality and time requirements."
With Regard the project control cycle, Project Management Body Of Knowledge is a good place to get started. Below is short overview get to started.
Some other items to consider are
- Location: Following a short list of regions to consider. Finger Lakes, NY, Willamette Valley, OR, Sonoma County, CA, Napa Valley, CA, Charlottesville/Central Virginia, Santa Barbara County, CA, Walla Walla, WA.
- Resources: This includes labor, raw material, land, regulations (Federal, state and local)
- Regulations: It is important to take a look are Federal, State and Local regulation as they could have impact on cost.
- Tariffs: With on going trade negotiations between USA and other countries it might good idea to review if the project might be impacted by Tariffs
- Communication: Language barriers also can have impact on the project. You might have language translator if the medium of communication is something other than English.
- Measurement Units: Unfortunately the is still following United States customary units, while the rest of the world has moved on. This could have an effect on the project.
- Risk: Some type of risks to consider are Default risk, Inflation risk, Maturity risk and Liquidity risk
Default risk refers to the likelihood that you will fail to get your money back or receive the return you are due. Assessing this risk
means deciding if the company in which the investment is made is
likely to default. Startup companies typically have high default risk
for example.
Inflation risk addresses the chances that the predictable overall economic rise in prices for goods and services will cause the
investment to lose some of its value. Investment in long-term ventures
presents greater inflation risk than short-term investing.
Maturity risk refers to the gamble taken when investors tie up their cash in investments that require a set period. When money is
tied up in long-term investments, it cannot be used for other, perhaps
more profitable, purposes.
Liquidity risk refers to the possibility that an investment may need to be sold to free up cash. An investment's liquidity is how
readily it can be converted back into cash prior to maturation, or if
that's even possible. The easier it is to sell off assets when needed,
the lower the liquidity risk.
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