Last Wednesday (Feb 21), a seminar held in Brasília brought together researchers and experts to debate regional contributions to improve the National System of Costs Survey and Indexes of Construction (Sinapi). The event was organized by the Brazilian Chamber of Construction Industry (CBIC) together with the Civil Construction Industry Union of the Federal District (Sinduscon-DF) and had the support of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Brazilian bank Caixa Econômica Federal.
Opening session of the seminar Demystifying Sinapi. Photo: Ingrid Dias/SDI-DF
The Price Index coordinator, Gustavo Vitti, and the Sinapi Manager, Augusto Sérgio de Oliveira, both from the IBGE, were present at the seminar along with the vice-president of infrastructure at CBIC, Carlos Eduardo Lima Jorge; the consultant and manager of the Sinapi Review Project at CBIC, Geraldo Eduardo; the vice-president of Sinduscon-DF, Tereza Cavalcanti; the deputy vice-presidency of Sinduscon-DF, Pedro Ferreira; the national manager of Cepad at Caixa Econômica Federal, Alexandre Cayres; the executive manager of Sinapi at Caixa Econômica Federal, Arnaldo Lopes; and the executive manager of Sinapi at Caixa Econômica Federal, Mauro de Castro.
The system of costs and indices generated by Sinapi has a national scope for civil construction, as highlighted the vice-president of Infrastructure at CBIC, Carlos Eduardo Lima Jorge. “The partnership signed between CBIC, Caixa Econômica and the IBGE has allowed the progressive improvement of Sinapi, as the sector indicates its difficulties and also points out the regional characteristics. In a country as large as Brazil, these regionalities have a considerable impact on productivity, transportation, and price survey,” he highlighted.
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The IBGE coordinator of Price Indices, Gustavo Vitti, emphasized the importance of Sinapi and the crucial role of the IBGE in price surveying and publishing civil construction indices. "The IBGE is responsible for collecting prices and checking information. Sinapi has multiple users and has a specific look at the civil construction segment. In addition to transparency, the IBGE must have impartiality, as it produces information for Brazilian society. We need to have abundant, accessible, quality documentation and improve it day by day", he stated.
IBGE coordonator of price indexes, Gustavo Vitti, in the seminar Demystifying Sinapi. Photo: Ingrid Dias/SDI-DF
Mr. Vitti also discussed the relevance of the meeting in improving Sinapi's quality. "The IBGE's principle is transparency and, mainly, dialogue with users of our information. We are participating in these events, as an opportunity to receive questions more directly and try, as far as possible, to make the necessary improvements. This approach and ongoing relationship with survey respondents are fundamental to having quality in the reference prices published by the IBGE", added the IBGE Price Indices coordinator.
IBGE manager of Sinapi , Augusto Sérgio de Oliveira, in the seminar Demystifying Sinapi. Photo: Ingrid Dias/SDI-DF
The IBGE manager of Sinapi, Augusto Sérgio de Oliveira, took the chance to present the complexity of information collection on civil construction carried out by the Institute. He highlighted that these meetings have imporved the obtention of information from the sector over time. "This is the second event we have participated in and we notice that collection has improved. These events provide greater knowledge-sharing, contact and communication about the importance of Sinapi. Together with everyone, we were able to clear doubts and clarify all difficulties", he concluded.
Audience attending the seminar 'Demystifying Sinapi'. Photo: Ingrid Dias/SDI-DF
Sinapi, a joint product of the IBGE and Caixa Econômica Federal, aims at producing monthly series of costs and indices for the housing sector, and monthly series of median labor wages and median prices of materials, machinery and construction equipment and services for the basic sanitation, infrastructure and housing sectors.
Sinapi statistics are fundamental in investment planning, especially for the public sector. Prices and costs help in the preparation, analysis and evaluation of budgets, while indices make it possible to update expense values in contracts and budgets.