🎬 VIDEO — Cost Estimating at your Fingertips | Ashok Sinha on Molecules to Market

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Kokel, Nicolas
8/19/2026 2:12 PM
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In Part 2 of our conversation with Ashok Sinha — cost estimating and project controls veteran with nearly 50 years of global experience — Ashok walks us through his presentation “Cost Estimating at your Fingertips”, introducing the cost estimating software commercialized by his company Archit Business Solutions (ABS Inc).

Episode Overview

While most cost estimating software on the market targets detailed AACE Class 1–3 estimates, Ashok’s solution is designed for a very different user: owners, CEOs, decision-makers and higher management sitting in the boardroom, who need a reliable Class 4/5 estimate before committing to a project — not three weeks later.

In this walkthrough, Ashok lays out the problem with today’s boardroom practices (guesswork vs. weeks of estimator work), explains how the software delivers precise project cost estimates in mere seconds, and why consistency, quality, and data-driven decision-making matter more than ever. The live hands-on demonstration is coming in a future session — this episode sets the stage so that demo stays focused and interactive.

 

Highlights

🎯 Why this software is built for decision-makers, not just estimators — possibly the first of its kind

⏱️ Seconds vs. weeks: get a full cost distribution by project phase instantly, instead of waiting 2–3 weeks for an estimate

💰 Cost savings of up to 90% — nine estimates for ~$250 vs. hiring and maintaining a full estimating team

🧠 More than software: it changes the way owners think about cost estimation — “Don’t guess project cost. Guessing is extremely dangerous.”

📊 Eliminates human error and inconsistency — one method, one set of cost factors, repeatable results

🛠️ Fully customizable: adjust project management %, financing costs, engineering phases, demolition, civil works, margin money and more

🏭 Proven in practice: the original version has been used since 2019 for Class 5 estimates at Canada’s largest provincial power utility

🔒 Confidentiality built-in — your estimates are your property, invisible even to the software owner

🇮🇳 Next step: applying the software to the ppPLUS model refinery project in India, with a live public demonstration to follow

📑 Chapters

  1. 00:00 — Welcome back & introduction

  2. 00:59 — “Cost Estimating at your Fingertips” — designed for decision-makers

  3. 03:31 — The problem: budgets, risks & crucial decisions

  4. 04:22 — The solution: precise estimates in seconds

  5. 05:20 — The three decision-making factors in project selection

  6. 06:27 — Today’s process: intuition vs. asking managers

  7. 08:28 — The hurdle: time, cost & phase-wise budget distribution

  8. 11:28 — Challenge: quality of results & consistency

  9. 14:02 — Other considerations: cost of knowledge & fund requirements

  10. 17:19 — Demo note: live demonstration coming next

  11. 17:35 — Especially designed for management — estimate before your coffee is ready

  12. 21:57 — One-of-a-kind: the developer’s background (Engineer + MBA, ~50 years)

  13. 22:41 — Industries covered & project value range (up to $9B CAD)

  14. 23:31 — Discussion: simplicity, confidentiality & the India refinery project

  15. 27:36 — Closing remarks

🎯 Resources