Mark Sanders
Director of Projects at Alpha 3 Consulting
International Speaker, Published Author
Top Tier Project Management Consultant
Pennsylvania, USA
About
Mark is a recognized industry expert in project delivery with over 20 years of experience as an engineer and manager. He has successfully managed projects in the electric utility; fossil, nuclear, and renewable generation; oil and gas; and transportation sectors.
Mark speaks frequently at conferences on topics including project development, scheduling, budgeting, and execution; project management; evaluation of issues related to delay, inefficiency, changed conditions, and extra work; and contract cost analysis.
Currently, he is serving as the Director of Projects at Alpha 3 Consulting, supporting projects in the U.S. energy and transportation sectors. He is also a Senior Consultant and Partner with QDR International, providing project execution and construction claims consulting on international projects, particularly in Latin America.
Mark is a Registered Professional Engineer in four U.S. states – DE, MD, PA, WI. He is acknowledged by AACE International as the Certified Cost Professional (CCP), Certified Forensic Claims Consultant (CFCC), and Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP). He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), and Portfolio Management professional (PfMP).
Title & Abstract for Online Technical Track
No Dumb Questions—A Toolkit for Major Public Infrastructure Investments
Major public infrastructure investments are accompanied by early press conferences that announce scope, budget, and schedule estimates. These announcements and the reporting of them often include point estimates of capital cost without significant discussion of risks and uncertainties.
This presentation presents the application of the AACE International Cost Estimate Classification System to bring more scrutiny to major public infrastructure investment through public questioning of these early cost estimates.
Specific steps are recommended to help to engage the public in the investment decision-making process, and an overview of ongoing research focused on the cost engineering abilities of agencies that develop public infrastructure is provided.
By attending this session, you will be able to:
- Identify significant flaws in the communication of estimates for major public infrastructure investments
- Review examples for lessons-learned that could be applied to major investments in your community
- Learn how cost engineering tools can be leveraged to help inform the public
- Learn how agencies may structure and manage estimating and risk review
- Review steps that cost engineers can take to help maximize the value of infrastructure investments