The Industry Benchmarking Conference (IBC) Cost Engineering Committee (CEC) was formally organized in 1997 and is an approved subcommittee of the IBC. The purpose of the CEC is to extend the IBC forum to cost engineering practices with a focus on cost and schedule metrics. By using these cost and schedule metrics and research findings, companies can improve their project and business results. Participants in the CEC should represent the cost engineering function in their organization or have a strong commitment to improving project and asset cost engineering practices.

The main output of the CEC is the Cost Metrics Report and associated tools. The cost metrics in these reports are developed from data in the IPA Project Evaluation System (PES®) downstream database. Companies can use the metrics in these reports to do the following:

• Support conceptual estimate and schedule development.
• Support estimate and schedule reviews (particularly contractor submittals).
• Assess company performance against industry norms.
• Support calibration and improvement of company tools and databases.
• Improve asset cost evaluation and concept development.