Visualizing Cost Estimation - SmartMTO’s Heatmap Dashboard

Introduction

In cost estimation, tracking material costs across multiple categories can quickly become overwhelming. Traditional spreadsheets and tables often fail to highlight critical fluctuations, making it difficult to identify trends and take timely action.

Enter the SmartMTO Heatmap Dashboard. Instead of static tables, SmartMTO visualizes cost fluctuations using an interactive heatmap (similar to stock market charts). This intuitive visualization helps estimators focus on the most impactful changes, ensuring cost estimates remain accurate and up to date.

Why a Heatmap for Cost Estimation?

Cost estimation involves multiple material groups, each with its own pricing dynamics. Some items may experience sudden price hikes, while others may see a steady decline. Without a visual overview, it is easy to miss these trends.

A heatmap-style treemap offers a better alternative:

• Quickly identifies cost drivers by adjusting the tile size based on total cost.
• Uses color intensity to highlight price changes (red for increases, green for decreases).
• Allows interactive drill-downs into specific materials or categories.
• Enables faster decision-making for procurement and cost estimation teams.

With this approach, SmartMTO makes cost estimation more dynamic, responsive, and insightful.

How the SmartMTO Heatmap Works

Treemap Layout

Each material group is assigned a rectangular tile where:

• Size represents the group’s total cost impact. Larger costs take up more space.
• Color represents price fluctuation. Green for cost reductions, red for increases, and white for neutral trends.

Color Coding System

• Red Shades: Material costs are increasing.
• Green Shades: Material costs are decreasing.
• Neutral (White/Grey): Costs remain stable.

Interactivity

• Hovering over a tile displays key details: Baseline cost, current cost, daily change, and monthly trend.
• Clicking a tile enables drill-downs into specific subcategories (e.g., individual piping materials).
• Dynamic updates ensure the heatmap reflects the most recent cost data.

Building the Heatmap Using D3.js

The SmartMTO heatmap is built using D3.js, a powerful JavaScript library for data visualization. Below is an example of the JSON structure used for data processing:

{
  "groups": [
    { 
        "name": "Piping", 
        "size": 500000, 
        "daily_change": 2.5 
    },
    { 
        "name": "Valves", 
        "size": 200000, 
        "daily_change": -1.8 
    }
  ]
}

This data is then used by D3.js to generate a responsive treemap where each group is represented based on size and color coding.

Practical Applications in Cost Estimation

1. Early Warning System for Price Spikes

Cost fluctuations in key materials (e.g., piping, valves, steel) can trigger significant budget overruns. The heatmap provides an instant overview of cost increases, helping estimators act quickly.

2. Faster Decision-Making for Procurement Teams

Procurement teams can use the dashboard to prioritize cost updates, negotiate better vendor deals, and adjust purchasing schedules based on trends.

3. Data-Driven Vendor Negotiations

By identifying cost fluctuations in real-time, teams can compare supplier quotes against market trends, ensuring fair pricing.

4. Historical Cost Trends for Forecasting

The heatmap tracks price movements over time, enabling companies to predict cost trends and refine future estimates.

Future Enhancements

While the SmartMTO heatmap already offers valuable insights, upcoming enhancements will take it further:

• Drill-down into subcategories (e.g., different piping materials, valve types).
• Time-based comparisons (weekly/monthly/yearly trends).
• Integration with external cost databases for real-time updates.
• Custom alerts for threshold-based fluctuations.

Conclusion

The SmartMTO Heatmap Dashboard revolutionizes cost estimation by transforming complex datasets into an intuitive, visual-first experience. It enables estimators, procurement teams, and decision-makers to quickly identify cost fluctuations, optimize purchasing strategies, and stay ahead of price trends.

Would you like to see the SmartMTO heatmap in action? Try SmartMTO today and experience smarter cost estimation!

Read More: Generate Accurate MTOs Effortlessly