From recent engagements - Anonymised under NDA
Commercial System Review - NZ FMCG
Capital mechanical works post-project review - industrial package
- Sector
- NZ food & beverage processing
- Scope reviewed
- Boiler-room utility relocation - mechanical & piping, live brownfield plant
- Engagement
- Post-project commercial review, fee-structure audit, learnings capture
The problem: A completed mechanical works package needed a structured post-project review to test whether the original estimate held up against delivered cost, whether the fee structure recovered as intended, and what should change in the next pricing cycle.
What we did: Reconstructed the original cost build-up, reconciled against delivered hours and materials, audited the fee structure for recovery integrity, and produced a structured learnings register feeding directly back into the next quote cycle.
Result: The package was graded A- (87%) against an internal commercial-defensibility benchmark - gaps identified, learnings logged, rate library updated. The next equivalent quote was built on a tighter base, not a lucky one.
"Most contractors never go back and audit a finished job. The ones that do are the ones whose next quote is sharper than their last."
Read the full case study ->
Common questions
Practical answers before you send through a file.
Who actually does the work?
Simon does all the commercial review work himself. Positive Earth Growth Hub is a single-operator practice - no junior estimator, no outsourcing, no offshore team. Simon is a senior engineer, QS, and commercial advisor with industrial mechanical, piping, and fabrication background across NZ food processing, infrastructure, and brownfield plant projects.
How is confidentiality protected?
Mutual NDA is standard on every engagement once project data is shared, and available within 24 hours on request for any engagement below that. Project files are held on Simon's own systems, never shared with third parties, and deleted on request after delivery. No project information is ever reused or referenced without full anonymisation and client agreement.
Is there a conflict of interest if you also work in industry?
Positive Earth Growth Hub doesn't bid against the businesses it reviews. If a potential conflict is identified during scoping - for example, an overlap with an active project on the engineering consultancy side - the engagement is declined and you are told before any project data is shared.
What size projects do you review?
Most useful where the work carries enough complexity, risk, or repeat value to justify structured commercial review.
What do I send you to get started?
The most useful starting pack is: drawings or scope notes, the current quote or commercial file (Excel preferred), any supplier or subcontractor quotes, and the client tender or RFQ pack if there is one. Bullet-point context emails are fine - anything missing, we'll ask for it.
What if you don't find anything wrong with my quote?
That's a real outcome - and one worth paying for. You receive a written commercial-defensibility note confirming the quote stands up, with any low-priority observations noted. In practice, most engagements surface something useful - even tightening exclusions or assumptions has commercial value at submission stage.
What's the difference between a one-off audit and the retained service?
Defined briefs handle a single quote, tender, or workflow problem. Ongoing support can be shaped privately where the business has repeated commercial review needs.
How are deliverables formatted?
Written commercial review notes (Word or PDF), marked-up Excel where relevant, structured workbooks built for direct use, and a clear action list. Everything is formatted to drop straight into your estimating, commercial, or project workflow - not academic reports nobody reads.
More on Commercial Reviews
What does a "spreadsheet integrity" check actually involve?
Formula auditing, broken-link detection, double-loading checks (the same cost recovered in two places), stale-rate detection, and source-of-truth reconciliation across multiple sheets. This is the technical layer most NZ commercial reviewers cannot do - and where the largest silent leaks usually sit.
Will you fix the spreadsheet or just identify the issues?
Review depth is matched to the brief: from a quick issue scan through to structural rework of the workbook, rate logic, version control, and repeatable review process.
Can you audit a commercial system that uses our own custom rate library?
Yes. Rate libraries - whether documented in a workbook or held in someone's head - are part of the audit scope. The Commercial System Review specifically looks at how rates are sourced, versioned, and applied across the business. In NZ contracting, the rate library is often the single biggest leak point.