Every project review blamed cost overruns on labor or materials. But cumulative losses reached $4.2M over three years, and nobody could explain why estimating never improved.

Value of Systematic Investigation

One cost accountant pulled raw data for 83 completed projects and coded every variance by type, timing, and cause. Working quietly without the pressure of weekly meetings, he found that 71% of overruns occurred in the first three weeks of projects. The issue wasn't labor rates or material costs but mobilization inefficiency and site preparation errors. His patient, detailed work cracked a problem that group discussions had missed for years. The solitary analysis environment enabled pattern recognition impossible in rushed team settings.

Problems With the Approach

The findings took four months to produce, during which ten new projects launched with the same flawed processes. Faster, collaborative analysis with project managers might have reduced the research quality but saved money through quicker intervention. The accountant also struggled to translate technical findings into operational changes that field teams would accept.