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Construction & Real Estate Analytics

The Overrun Was Visible in the Data. Weeks Before It Became a Problem.

Construction projects run at 10–30% cost overrun on average. Most of that overrun is visible in the project data weeks before it manifests as a formal variance. We connect your ERP, project management system, QS data, and site reporting into one source of truth - so the cost conversation happens while there is still time to change the outcome.

10–30%Average cost overrun
#1Cross-project visibility in GCC
2–3 wksManagement accounts delay
Book a Construction Data AssessmentConstruction & Real Estate Overview

10–30%

Average cost overrun on construction projects - most of it visible in the data weeks before it manifests

#1

Cross-project resource visibility is the most requested analytics capability among construction CEOs in the GCC

2–3 wks

Management accounts delayed because project cost consolidation is manual - chasing four PMs for four spreadsheets

The Real Problem

The data exists. It just lives in three systems, belongs to four teams, and arrives three weeks late.

Every construction company we work with has data. The ERP has committed costs. The project management tool has the schedule. The QS team has certified work. The site supervisor has the daily cost log. And not one of those systems shares a common cost code, a common WBS structure, or a common definition of what it means for a project to be "on budget."

So the portfolio view does not exist. Each PM reports differently. Finance consolidates manually - chasing spreadsheets, reconciling formats, correcting errors - and produces management accounts that are accurate when they arrive but are already two to three weeks old. By the time the cost overrun is in the report, it has been in the data for six weeks.

Variation orders are managed in email threads. Retention tracking is a spreadsheet that nobody fully trusts. Subcontractor performance is managed by relationship and reputation rather than data. None of it is connected to each other or to the P&L. We fix the data foundation first - then the visibility, the intelligence, and the automated workflows follow from it.

Cost data in three to four systems - none of which agree

ERP, project management tool, QS spreadsheet, site daily report. Different cost codes. Different WBS structures. Different definitions of "on budget." Reconciling them is a weekly exercise, not an automatic capability.

No cross-project view - each PM runs their own reporting

Portfolio health is assembled manually, weekly, by someone chasing four project managers for four spreadsheets in four different formats. By the time it arrives, the situation has already changed.

Variation orders tracked in email threads

Submitted, instructed, valued, approved - or stuck at one of those stages for six weeks without anyone in authority being aware. The total commercial exposure from open variations is unknown across the portfolio.

Management accounts two to three weeks late, every month

Finance is always last to get the data and first to be blamed for the delay. The accounts are accurate when they arrive. The decisions that needed them have already been made on estimates.

Who Feels the Pain

Every function in your construction business has a data problem. Each one is different.

Select your role to see the specific challenges your team faces - and exactly what MDI builds to resolve them.

CEO / Managing Director

“Running a portfolio. Managing it project by project, in arrears.”

What We Hear Every Time

1

No cross-project view - each PM runs their own reporting

Every project manager has a status report. None of them are in the same format, use the same cost codes, or define "on schedule" the same way. Portfolio health is assembled manually by someone in head office who chases four project managers, consolidates four spreadsheets, and delivers a number you cannot fully trust by the time it arrives. Cross-project visibility is the most requested capability among construction CEOs in the GCC - and the least delivered.

2

Cash flow surprises because subcontractor invoices are not tracked against certified work

A subcontractor submits a progress claim. It goes to the quantity surveyor for certification. It goes to finance for processing. The certified amount versus the claimed amount versus the actual work completed on the ground - these three numbers live in three separate processes and are never compared automatically. Cash flow surprises happen because the gap between certified work and submitted claims is only visible when someone manually reconciles it.

3

Resource utilisation is invisible across the portfolio

Your project managers, engineers, and specialist subcontractors are allocated project by project. Whether those resources are being fully utilised, double-booked, or sat idle between phases is never visible at portfolio level. Hiring decisions are made without knowing the utilisation picture. Underperforming projects run at full cost while resources that could accelerate them sit unused on another site.

What We Build For You

We build a portfolio intelligence layer that consolidates cost, schedule, cash, and resource data from every active project into one live executive view. Cost variance and schedule variance are tracked against WBS at the project level, then rolled up to portfolio level automatically. Cash flow is forecast by project and by division, with subcontractor invoice positions tracked against certified work in real time. Resource utilisation is visible across all active projects - so the decision to redeploy, hire, or accelerate is grounded in actual availability, not project-manager estimates.

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Portfolio cost and schedule variance in one view - updated from project systems, not assembled manually

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Cash flow forecast by project with subcontractor invoice-to-certification tracking

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Resource utilisation across all active projects - allocation gaps and conflicts visible

Book a CEO / Managing Director Assessment

The MDI Operating Model

Unify → Predict → Act. Applied to construction.

We start with the data foundation - one cost code master, one WBS structure, one source of truth across every project. Then we add intelligence. Then we automate the workflows. In that order, every time.

01

UNIFY

One Cost and Schedule Layer Across Every Project

We connect your ERP, project management system, QS certification data, procurement platform, and site reporting into a single governed data layer on Microsoft Fabric. The three to four systems that hold fragments of each project's cost story are reconciled into a unified WBS-structured model - with lineage and a shared cost code master that Finance, Operations, and Commercial can all read from.

  • ›ERP + project management + QS data integration
  • ›Dynamics 365 Project Operations connector
  • ›Procore and Oracle Primavera integration
  • ›Subcontractor certification and invoice pipeline

02

PREDICT

Cost Overruns Visible Weeks Before They Land

Construction projects run at 10–30% cost overrun on average - and most of it is visible in the data weeks before it manifests as a formal variance. On a unified data foundation, we deploy cost trend models that track actual spend against budget trajectory, flag at-risk cost centres before they breach, and calculate earned value from real progress data - not self-reported percentages.

  • ›Cost trend analysis - overrun detection before period close
  • ›Earned value management from actual certified progress
  • ›Cash flow forecast by project and by division
  • ›Subcontractor claim-to-certified variance tracking

03

ACT

Variation Workflows Automated. Accounts Close Faster.

Insight without action is reporting. We close the loop with Power Automate workflows for variation order approval routing, invoice-to-certification matching, and retention release tracking. Management accounts consolidation runs from live project data - eliminating the manual chase. Executives get a live portfolio view that updates as projects progress, not as finance teams compile.

  • ›Variation order approval routing via Power Automate
  • ›Invoice-to-certification matching automated
  • ›Retention release tracking - due dates flagged automatically
  • ›Management accounts consolidation from live data

Capabilities

Six analytics capabilities that move the metrics that matter in construction.

10–30%

average cost overrun - visible early

Project Cost vs Budget Analytics

Cost vs budget tracked by WBS - live from ERP and site data, not assembled at month-end. Every cost code, every subcontractor commitment, every material purchase: visible during the period, while there is still time to act on the variance, not after it is already banked.

#1

GCC CEO capability request

Portfolio Performance Dashboard

Cross-project margin, schedule variance, cash position, and resource utilisation in one executive view - updated from project systems automatically, not compiled by hand each week. The CEO gets a live portfolio view. The board gets a pack that generates itself.

Days

not weeks, to close

WIP Valuation & Finance Automation

Work-in-progress calculated from actual certified costs and stage-of-completion data - not estimated by the QS team in a spreadsheet. Management accounts close cycle reduced because data is pulled from live project systems, not chased manually from four project managers.

10–25%

of contract value in VOs

Variation Order Tracking

Submitted, instructed, partially approved, and disputed variation value tracked through the full approval cycle. Commercial exposure - the gap between submitted and approved value - visible at any point. Variation order approval routed automatically through a structured workflow, not email threads.

Every project

vendor score consolidated

Procurement & Vendor Analytics

Spend vs contract value tracked across the portfolio, updated as invoices are processed. Vendor performance scored across every project - on-time delivery, quality non-conformances, claim compliance. The contract renewal conversation is grounded in multi-project performance data, not site manager opinion.

Live

pipeline and win rate

Bid Pipeline & Win Rate Analytics

Win rate analysed by client, sector, project value band, and estimating team - so the bid strategy is informed by where you actually win, not by intuition. Revenue recognised versus earned tracked in real time through the month, confirmed at close rather than calculated on day one.

Proof Stats

Numbers that come from construction operations, not forecast models.

10–30%

Average Project Cost Overrun

On average across the industry. Most of it is visible in the project data weeks before it manifests as a formal variance - in cost rate trends, procurement commitments, and earned value calculations that nobody is running.

#1 Request

Cross-Project Resource Visibility in GCC

Cross-project resource visibility is the most requested analytics capability among construction CEOs in the GCC. Every CEO we speak to knows they have resource sitting underutilised on one project while another is under-resourced. Nobody has the data to prove it.

2–3 Weeks

Management Accounts Delay

The standard delay for construction management accounts - because cost consolidation is manual. Finance chases four project managers. Four spreadsheets arrive in different formats. Close takes two weeks instead of two days. The decisions that needed those accounts have already been made.

Technology Stack

Built on Microsoft Fabric. Integrated with your existing systems.

Microsoft Fabric

Unified data platform - Lakehouse, Delta Lake, project data store

Power BI

Portfolio dashboards - cost, schedule, cash, VO tracking

Azure Data Factory

ERP, project management, QS, and procurement data pipelines

Power Automate

VO approval routing, invoice matching, retention release alerts

D365 Project Operations

Connector for project cost, resource, and billing data

Procore Integration

Project progress, RFI, and subcontractor data extraction

Oracle Primavera

Schedule data - planned vs actual programme integration

Copilot Studio

Project cost query assistant for PMs and commercial teams

Client Proof

Real results from real construction and real estate clients.

OHG

Hospitality Operations · GCC

Client Reference

Challenge

Project cost data scattered across properties with no consolidated view of actual vs budget at portfolio level. Finance month-end close took 10+ days due to manual aggregation from property-level spreadsheets.

Solution

Unified cost and operational data from 12 properties into a Microsoft Fabric lakehouse. Deployed a portfolio operations dashboard giving leadership a real-time view of cost vs plan, occupancy, and procurement spend across the group.

Results

10d→2d

Month-End Close

12

Properties Unified

Real-time

Portfolio View

Finance Director, OHG

Direct Client · GCC

See all case studies

Common Questions

Questions construction teams ask before they engage us.

Our project data is in three different systems. Where do you start?

We start with a data discovery workshop - typically two half-days - to map every system that holds project cost, schedule, and commercial data. We identify the WBS or cost code structure in each system, the gaps and mismatches, and the master data that needs to be governed centrally. The unified data model design follows from that workshop, before any technical build begins.

Can you integrate with Procore or Oracle Primavera?

Yes. We have standard connectors for Procore (project progress, RFI, subcontractor data) and Oracle Primavera (planned vs actual schedule). We also integrate with Microsoft Project, Asta Powerproject, and other project management platforms via database or API extraction. All integrations are read-only - no changes to your project management system configuration.

How do you handle WIP valuation? Our QS team currently does this in Excel.

We pull QS certification data and stage-of-completion records from your existing workflow - whether that is a formal QS platform, a shared drive of PDF certificates, or an Excel-based process. The WIP calculation model in Fabric runs from that data, applying your revenue recognition methodology consistently across all projects. The QS team's judgment stays - the manual aggregation is removed.

Can variation order workflows be automated if the approval process involves multiple parties?

Yes. Power Automate handles multi-stage, multi-party approval workflows natively. The variation order is raised, routed to the PM for commercial preparation, sent to the QS for valuation, submitted to the client with a read receipt, and tracked through the approval cycle - with time-in-stage visible at all times. Stalled variations are escalated automatically when they exceed the configured dwell time.

What does Phase 1 look like for a construction company running eight to ten active projects?

Phase 1 is typically a 10–12 week sprint. We recommend starting with the portfolio cost foundation: connect ERP and the primary project management system, establish a unified WBS and cost code master, and deploy a portfolio cost vs budget dashboard for the CEO and Finance Director. This gives you the cross-project view that is currently missing - and the proof point to extend to commercial analytics, WIP, and VO workflows in Phase 2.

Start Here

Book a 30-minute Construction Data Assessment.

We'll map your project data landscape, identify where the cost visibility gaps are across your portfolio, and outline what a Phase 1 looks like for your specific system environment. No slides. No generic deck.

Book the AssessmentSee All Case Studies
✓

30 minutes - your projects, your systems, your cost visibility gaps

✓

We identify where the overrun signals are in your current project data

✓

You leave with a Phase 1 portfolio scope, whether you engage us or not

✓

No sales script. No deck. A direct project data conversation.