Specializing in preconstruction cost control services.
Delivering precise cost control expertise and client-focused solutions - from concept to contract.
Veritas Cost Consultants specialize in preconstruction cost control services from benchmarking to cost modelling and more.
From cost estimates and programming through contract documents, reconciliation of scope to budget, and bid review - we offer full scope, high-touch, cost control services. We feel it is important to be attentive to our client’s needs, to be responsive to their requests and to be fully committed to each project. We have developed a process, which highlights our approachable, collaborative, highly skilled team combined with the precision, clarity, and valuable expertise we offer.
We believe this innovative approach serves our clients with the best possible outcomes.
What we do
Parallel Estimating
We offer a robust comparison of cost opinions from the contractor market against our internal bid data. At each design milestone, two independent firms produce estimates from identical documents. We reformat these estimates for easy comparison and analysis, then summarize potential differences and opportunities to facilitate value optimization and reconciliation with the project budget.
Benchmarking
A systematic process of comparing similar projects, using your specific location and timing as a baseline.
Cost Modeling
Cost models evaluate project elements like siting, massing, and architectural and mechanical systems using an elemental estimate format. Created from source materials and data, these models are compared against budgets and refined through iterations to develop a preferred design concept. The final model then serves as the basis for subsequent design stages.
Target Value Models
Providing cost control for individual design disciplines. They use typical design parameters (e.g., structural steel tonnages, exterior enclosure ratios, air handler volumes) to establish and continuously validate target values as the design progresses. This approach provides early warnings, improves schedule control, and prevents costly redesigns.
Continuous Estimating
We provide monthly updates and active monitoring throughout the design phase, between key project milestones. We set a reconciled baseline at each milestone and integrate corrective measures to prevent substantial redesign efforts, thereby maintaining the project's schedule and budget. The process is streamlined by leveraging cost tracking and Building Information Models (BIM) within an integrated design framework. We utilize BIM for quality control, giving us a more accurate cross-reference for take-offs than would be possible with traditional 2D drawings. This approach includes real-time feedback to provide current estimates on design scope items.
Value Optimization
This is a workshop that brings together decision-makers from the owner, design, construction, and estimating teams to develop and track cost-control alternatives and strategies. This collaborative process ensures all ideas are discussed and informed decisions are made, with a complete record of cost reconciliations, savings, and alternatives provided for use in later design stages.
Risk Analysis
Designed to set appropriate contingency levels and avoid unnecessary redesigns. Once line-item estimates are fully understood and reconciled, we conduct a thorough assessment of future development and potential conditions. This analysis informs the appropriate contingency levels for both anticipated and unanticipated changes that are likely to occur during the project lifecycle.
Program Analysis
Leveraging program data from our projects allows us to analyze the program mix and provide you with a more precise cost estimate, saving you time and resources.
Options Analysis
Facilitating key design decisions by documenting design parameters and comparing the itemized costs of various alternatives. We compile relevant cost data alongside drawings, narratives, itemized scopes, and discussions to ensure a complete understanding of each option's attributes and implications.
Procurement Strategies
Developed to assess design, client needs, risk, market conditions, and project complexity to control scheduling and cost negotiations. The chosen approach influences service, quality, cost, and overall schedule.
Program Estimating
Using system-weighted square-foot cost data to provide real-time program sizing and prioritization. Our unique approach attributes all costs, including head-end equipment and distribution, to the specific space where they belong. By tracking how program changes affect costs, we save design time, reduce effort, and provide critical insight into your project's primary cost drivers.
Who we are
Marisol Serrao, Principal
Marisol is a Principal based in Boston. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Salem State University. Having worked in the construction industry since 1996, Marisol brings a vast amount of administrative and marketing knowledge to the firm.
Marisol has been responsible for a whole administration team including accounting, marketing, and IT. She has overseen all proposals, qualifications, presentations, a company website, and branding from draft to the final submission. Her firsthand experience has led to streamlined processes, which have improved productivity, automated workflows, better time management, and improved communication. Marisol’s education and background are essential to Veritas’ long-term planning strategies.
Despite the many hats she wears at work, she enjoys the simple things in life like her Peloton, her extended family, travelling to foreign lands, cooking, spending time with her partner, and their 3 teenagers.
Melissa Chabot, Principal
Melissa is a Principal and heads up our LA office. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from Queens University. She enjoys sharing her knowledge by speaking to conference groups on the topic of construction economics and forecasting and is recognized for this nationally. Melissa has extensive knowledge of all building systems from the ground up, with the mechanical and electrical trades being her main passion and area of expertise. Melissa has been involved in many large, complex and sustainable projects.
Melissa’s approach to managing a project is to empower the team to come up with creative cost-effective solutions that benefit the users, owners, and the design integrity of the project. Sustainability, collaboration, and accomplishing difficult objectives are her passions.
Outside of work, she is a weekend warrior and interested in all things cycling (mountain, gravel, road), spending time with her family, live music, hiking, stand-up paddleboarding, getting together with her girlfriends, and growing exotic fruits.
Connect with our Team
From concept to completion, we’re ready to support your project needs. We promise a client-centric approach that empowers ideas, eases concerns, and delivers quality cost saving solutions you will appreciate time and again.