Z94.4 - Cost Engineering & Project Management

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IDEAL INDEX. The geometric mean of the Laspeyres index and the Paasche index.

IDLE EQUIPMENT COST. The cost of equipment that remains on site ready for use but is placed in a standby basis.  Ownership or rental costs are still incurred while the equipment is idle.

IMPACT COST. Added expenses due to the indirect results of a changed condition, delay, or changes that are a consequence of the initial event. Examples of these costs are premium time, lost efficiency, and extended overhead.

IMPERFECTION. A deviation that does not affect the use or performance of the product, process, or service. In practice, imperfections are deviations that are accepted as-is.

IMPOSED DATE. A date externally assigned to an activity that establishes the earliest or latest date in which the activity is allowed to start or finish.

IMPOSED FINISH DATE. A predetermined calendar date set without regard to logical considerations of the network, fixing the end of an activity and all other activities preceding that ending node.

IMPOSSIBILITY. An inability to meet contract requirements because it was in fact physically impossible to do so (Actual Impossibility).

IMPRACTICABILITY. Inability to perform because of extreme and unreasonable difficulty, expense, injury, or loss involved. This is sometimes considered Practical Impossibility.

IMPUTATION (OF PRICE MOVEMENT). The assignment of known price change to a certain commodity on the basis of the assumed similarity of price movement.

INCOME. Used interchangeably with profit. Avoid using Income instead of Sales Revenue. (See PROFIT.)

INCREMENTAL COSTS (BENEFITS). The additional cost (benefit) resulting from an increase in the investment in a project. Syn: Marginal Cost (Benefit).

INDIRECT COSTS.  (1) in construction, all costs which do not become  final part of the installation, but which are required for the orderly completion of the installation and may include, but are not limited to, field administration, direct supervision, capital tools, startup costs, contractor’s fees, insurance, taxes, etc.; (2) In manufacturing, costs not directly assignable to the end product or process, such as overhead  and general purpose labor, or costs of outside operations, such as transportation and distribution. Indirect manufacturing cost sometimes includes insurance, property taxes, maintenance, depreciation, packaging, warehousing and loading. In government contracts, indirect cost is often calculated as a fixed percent of direct payroll cost.

INDIVIDUAL PRICE INDEX. An index which measures the price change for a particular commodity and which may be computed as the ratio of its prices at two points in time.

INEFFICIENCY. Level of production or performance that is legs than that achieved under normal working conditions. Some of the causes that may lead to inefficient performance are changes, delays, and differing site conditions.

INFLATION. A rise in the general price level, usually expressed as a percentage rate.

INITIAL COST. (See FIRST COST.)

INITIAL INVESTMENT COST. (See FIRST COST.)

I-NODE (ADM). The node signifying the start of the activity (the tail of the arrow).

IN-PLACE VALUE. Value of a physical property, ie, market value plus costs of transportation to site and installation.

IN-PROGRESS ACTIVITY. An activity that has been started but is not completed on the reporting date.

INPUT-OUTPUT ANALYSIS. A matrix which provides a quantitative framework for the description of an economic unit.  Basic to input-output analysis is a unique set of input-output ratios for each production and distribution process.  If the ratios of input per unit of output are known for all production processes, and if the total output are known for all production processed, and if the total production of each end product of the economy, or of the section being studied is known, it is possible to compute precisely the production levels required at every intermediate stage to supply the total sum of end products.  Further, it is possible to determine the effects at every point in the production process of a specified change in the volume and mix of end products.

INTANGIBLES. (l) in economy studies, conditions or economy factors that cannot be readily evaluated in quantitative terms as in money; (2) in accounting, the assets that cannot be reliably evaluated (eg, goodwill).

INTERFACE ACTIVITY. An activity connecting an event in one subnetwork with an event in another subnetwork, and representing a logical or imposed interdependence between them.

INTERFACE NODE. A common node for two or more subnets representing logical interdependence.

INTERFERENCE. Conduct that interrupts the normal flow of operations and impedes performance. A condition implied in every construction contract is that neither party will do anything to hinder the performance of the other party.

INTERIM DATES. Dates established in the contract designating the start or the completion of designated facilities or features of a facility. Interim dates are also referred to as Intermediate Access or Intermediate Completion Dates.

INTERMEDIATE EVENTS. Detailed events and activities, the completion of which are necessary for and lead to the completion of a major milestone.

INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS. Commodities that have been processed but require further processing before they become finished goods (eg, fabric, flour, sheet metal).

INTERMEDIATE NODE. A node where at least one activity begins and one activity ends.

INVENTORY. Materials, products in process, and finished products required for plant operation or the value of such material and other supplies, ie, for those maintenance, catalyst, chemicals, spare parts.

INVESTMENT. The sum of the original costs or values of the items that constitute the enterprise; used interchangeably with capital; may include expenses associated with capital outlays such as mine development.

INVESTMENT COST. Includes first cost and later expenditures that have substantial and enduring value (generally more than one year) for upgrading, expanding, or changing the functional use of a facility, product, or process.

ITEM. A commodity designated and defined specifically for direct price, observation.

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