Innovation @ Copperleaf: Jessica Saini on the Launch of Unit Cost Models

In this article, Jessica Saini, Copperleaf Product Manager, discusses the launch of Unit Cost Models, the latest innovation in the Copperleaf decision analytics product suite. Unit Cost Models is a new option that can be added to Copperleaf Portfolio™.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about Unit Cost Models and why it was developed?

“Making rational and accurate business cases is challenging and often fraught with personal biases, lack of information, and inconsistent results. Asset-intensive organizations need the ability to calculate class 5 estimates more accurately and consistently when creating business cases for new projects.

We developed Unit Cost Models to help capital planning teams speed up the process of entering proposed investments—to reduce plan approval times and support regulatory submissions. Our solution systematizes estimates for capital costs, operating and maintenance (O&M) costs, and resource demands (such as project management hours and labor hours), resulting in more standardized and defensible business cases.”

Q: What are the benefits of using Unit Cost Models?

“Unit Cost Models offers several key benefits:

• Increase the accuracy and consistency of estimates
  • Eliminate personal bias by adopting a shared set of cost models across your organization
  • Reduce errors that can occur when creating manual estimates
• Save time and costs
  • Implement a robust process for costing investments to:
    • Reduce the time it takes to create an investment and obtain an initial cost estimate
    • Minimize approval time
    • Provide greater transparency to regulators to reduce plan approval timelines
• Create better investment plans
  • Increase project execution success with more accurate resource estimates
  • Realize a higher capex execution rate and return on your investments

Q: How do clients create the cost models needed to realize these benefits?

“Unit Cost Models is equipped with a universal cost model template that can easily be adapted to your organization’s needs. This universal template has been tested and proven by organizations across multiple industry sectors. Clients can also leverage Copperleaf’s best-in-class consulting team to develop customized cost models for any unique business needs.”

Q: Who will benefit from this new feature?

“Unit Cost Models provides the ability to estimate capital, O&M, and resource requirements with just a click of a button. This will benefit any organization that wants to quickly create forecasts based on units of work performed.”

Q: How is Unit Cost Models integrated with Copperleaf’s product suite?

“When a business case is being created in Copperleaf Portfolio, the planner can simply enter the resource usage and create an estimate automatically. Unit Cost Models automatically populates the forecast page with a detailed cost estimate that aligns with your organization’s business requirements.”

Interested in finding out more about Unit Cost Models and how they can help you create better, more defensible business cases? Book a demo to learn more.