Reading the Project Cost Summary
Key columns
- Planned Qty / Actual Qty – budgeted vs. installed
- Budget Cost / Actual Cost – planned vs. real spend
- Unit Cost (Planned vs. Actual) – $/unit comparison
- Variance – the gap between actual and planned unit cost
What to look for
- Negative variance (green) = under budget
- Small positive (< 5%) = monitor
- Large positive (> 10%) = investigate immediately
Remember: A 12% productivity drop causes a 14%+ cost increase — the relationship is inverse. Small percentages matter more than they look.