Highlights of the 2026 AACE Annual Conference & Expo

The Montreal Section is back with “Highlights of the Annual Conference and Expo” to inspire you, with highlights from presentations
About this Event

Introduction: Highlights, themes and News from the 70th Anniversary of AACE International (highlights by Les McMullan, FAACE, Board Member)

PM-4803 Bringing Predictability to Capital Projects: The Strategic Role of the Project Integrator (highlights by the authors, Anthony Martiniello, Tino Sciortino, Techne PMC, Montreal)

Large-scale capital projects can present significant challenges for an owner as projects become more complex and demanding. Owner organizations and execution partners can end up working in silos, creating gaps between engineering, procurement, construction, and project controls. This paper explains the concept of the project integration team and its strategic role in driving successful outcomes and improving predictability for owner organizations. This project integration team acts as the focal point between the owner and other key stakeholders, delivering integrated reporting, standardized estimation, planning and risk procedures, aligned with industry best practices.

Risk-4735 Insights Gained from Hatch’s QRA Database (highlights from one of the authors, Loic Reny, Hatch; other contributors included Matthew Schoenhardt, Lise Bouchard, CCP, Greg I. Ramsay, and Dr. M. Roghabadi.

All contingency-setting methods start with AACE International’s RP40, “Contingency Estimating Principles,” with the foremost rule, like all project controls, of being fit for purpose. This fit-for-purpose approach gives professionals latitude when performing quantitative risk analysis (QRAs). Within AACE, there are numerous methods for conducting QRA, including AACE RPs for parametric options, simulation-based options, and a combination of both. Within some circles, there is debate about the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Often, what is lacking is simple aggregated data on QRA results by method. This paper explores the results of Hatch’s QRA dataset, presenting the methods used, the predictive ranges achieved, and the insights gained from the data and analysis.

EST-4823 Deconstructing Location Factors: An estimating Framework for Megaprojects, (highlights by the authors, Chantalle Penalosa, Sandra Troke, Techne PMC, Montreal)

Megaprojects have developed into high-risk, often remote, and regionally strained environments. Estimating the absence of regional data relies on leveraging a known reference region and refining costs with location factors. While location factors are broadly applied to normalize estimates across regions, no universally accepted world base reference exists. This paper explores the challenges of applying location factors to megaprojects, where scale amplifies regional limitations and labour, logistics, and market cycles drive cost variance. It introduces a defensible framework to improve transparency in FEL-1 and FEL-2, recommending strategies and adjustment methodologies for facilitating stakeholder agreement on the impact of location factors.

Networking: This meeting will be held in person at the location below; however, access via Teams will also be provided for those who wish to join remotely.

Note: The presentations will be in English and that Q & A will be in F/E.