Data complexity does not improve knowledge

When a new engineering project begins, there often are lengthy discussions and disagreements over how to set up the financial cost codes to be used. This situation can be compounded by a high staff turnover on engineering projects. We found that discussions about coding held 20 years ago are mostly unchanged from those today, though the needs of projects and their cost accounting are often separate from firms’ long-term asset management financial requirements. Here we provide insights for the structuring of cost codes to better manage and understand projects so that engineering risks are properly mitigated and project resources can be deployed more effectively. These lessons can be applied in many other areas of the planning, monitoring and controlling aspects of management