Analysis of service marketing strategies used by utility organization in Tanzania: case study of Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited

Throughout the project planning, design, and construction phases, cost estimation is employed as one of the main tools of successful cost management. Cost estimation is typically concerned with the initial costs or first costs of accomplishing new construction or renovation projects. This method sometimes known as a “preliminary” or “ballpark” estimates and has no better than 15% to 25% accuracy. This study is highlighting the need for utilizing preliminary cost estimates model for electrical construction works in building projects. It also identified four building parameters namely gross floor area, number of floors, floor height, and facility type that significantly influence the cost of electrical works in building projects. To answer this research problem, historical cost data from 45 new building projects constructed between 1998 to 2007 from quantity surveyor in Dar es Salaam was collected using a standardized questionnaire. This data were then used to develop a cost-estimating model for electrical works in building. Multiple regression analysis method was used to develop the parametric cost-estimating model. The developed model was found to be statistically significant at 0.05 level (F=35.2, df=3, 36 with R2= 0.74) and all the regression assumptions were satisfied. It was concluded that, the cost-estimating model is a reliable tool for performing the preliminary cost estimating for electrical works in buildings. It is recommended that additional building parameters, such usage ratio should be identified and be incorporated into the model to enhance the performance the performance of the model in estimating the cost of electrical works in building.