Introduction
The name measure surveyor conjures up a assortment of different images in people ‘s imaginativenesss. For some, the term measure surveyor is an antique rubric from the yesteryear. It surely no longer accurately describes the responsibilities that are performed. When the term was foremost applied to the profession, the work of the Q.S. was immensely different to that now being carried out and anticipated in the 21st century.
A Quantity Surveyor ( QS ) is a professional which is basically building comptroller who manages the fiscal costs and contracts within building industry. A Quantity Surveyor is involved in four chief countries of work in building industry which are constructing work such as residential lodging and industrial developments, constructing technology services such as lift services and others where premier cost amounts are to be included in the measures of measures, civil technology such as substructure building undertakings, and heavy and industrial technology such as onshore and seaward oil and gas and petrol-chemicals. ( Yeaw, 2008 )
Measure surveyors deal with a broad assortment of people including clients, designers, design applied scientists, building directors, applied scientists, contrivers, calculators, provider, attorneies and purchasers. As edifice work increased in volume and complexness, there are a batch of sectors recognised the advantage of using and independent measure surveyor to fix an accurate measure of measures, and step and value any fluctuation during the advancement of work. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Today, measure surveyors are besides being appointed as a undertaking director to take control of the undertaking from origin to completion and to organize the work of the design squad and the chief contractor and subcontractor. ( Seeley, 1997 ) They can happen employment in assorted countries such as belongings studies for concealed defects on behalf of possible buyers, running estates, valuing the mineral sedimentations for excavation companies, selling belongings and even Leasehold Reform Act work.
The functions of Quantity Surveyor will change depending on his function either within the client ‘s adviser or the contractor.
Role of Private or Public Quantity Surveyor
The Quantity Surveyor who works in private or public sector is an of import member of the design squad. The function of QS includes:
Preliminary Cost Advise
The QS is an expert in cost assessment. He/She gives practical advice on the likely cost of the strategy from the origin of a new undertaking. Besides that, he besides advises on the comparative costs of alternate layouts, stuffs, constituents and methods of building.
Cost Planning during the design phase
The QS will fix a realistic budget and a cost program demoing the distribution of cost for each component one time the employer ‘s brief is done. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Cost planning during the design phase of the undertaking is to guarantee the client obtain the best possible value of his money including added value to his belongings plus, sooner holding respect to entire costs utilizing life rhythm bing technique so that the costs are distributed in the most realistic manner and the contract amount is kept within the client ‘s budget. Approximate estimation of the initial costs of edifice are prepared utilizing feasibleness or conceptual estimating which are individual monetary value methods of gauging. ( Seeley and Winfield, 1999 )
When the budget and cost program were acceptable to the client so the design was developed by the designer.
Procurement Advice
The QS in design squad has a responsibility to advice the client on the most appropriate signifier of constructing procurance based on the type of undertaking, quality of edifice, velocity of building, allotment of hazard and monetary value certainty. ( Seeley and Winfield, 1999 )
There are Numberss of procurance methods utilizing in United Kingdom. For illustration, traditional method is to negociate stamps with a individual contractor and ‘design and physique ‘ method is where the contractor undertakes the whole undertaking of design and building. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Documents Preparation ( Tender and Bills of Quantities )
The QS will necessitate to fix stamp papers in the tendering phase and Bill of Quantities is a portion of stamp papers. Measurement and quantification are required to supply a complete Bill of Quantities. ( BQ ) BQ translates the drawings, agendas and specification notes produced by interior decorators into a papers listing in item all the constituents parts required for the undertaking to enable all contractors to cipher his stamp monetary values in same measures. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Choice of Contractor
The QS provides Frank, sound and practical advice on contractor choice. QS will based on the industrial dealingss record, past public presentation in run intoing standard, clip mark and the quality of direction and so do recommendations to the employer on the brand up of the choice list. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Negotiation
During tendering, the private or public QS will evaluation of stamps and negotiate rates with contractors. Sometimes, QS will take two of the best contractors and inquire them monetary value for the undertaking once more with price reduction rates.
Valuing work
The contractor is paid monthly in most building contracts. QS will value the work carried out each month based on the study of Clerk of Works and contractor ‘s QS and so doing recommendations as to payment to be made to the contractor including reding on the fiscal consequence of fluctuation or reception of instructions from the designer. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Colony of contractual claim
QS will fix interim certification to contractor every month based on the negotiate accepted claims with the contractor ‘s QS.
Fiscal Statement
A QS prepares fiscal statement to employer during the building period and advice the employer on awaited liability for payment, giving day of the months and sums.
Preparation of Final Account
At the completion of the contract works, QS will necessitate to fix the concluding history for the whole undertaking and hold inside informations and sums with the contractor ‘s Quantity Surveyor.
Role of Contractor ‘s Quantity Surveyor
The Quantity Surveyors work in contractor ‘s house and is an of import member of the building squad. The responsibilities of QS will change harmonizing to the size of the house. For smaller houses, the functions are be givening to be more really broad in range. However, the functions are be givening to be more specified for big houses. ( Seeley and Winfield, 1999 ) It includes:
Preparation of Bills of Measures
Get downing of a undertaking, contractor ‘s QS will necessitate to fix BQ with accurate measuring and estimating and so infix monetary values into the stamp papers which is provided by private or public QS.
There are two types of contract papers which are lump amount contract and BQ contract. Lump amount contract is the contract papers comprises a BQ without measures. So, the QS will necessitate to make his ain measuring based on the drawings and so come out with accurate measures. BQ contract means the contract document comprise BQ with measures. So, the QS merely necessitate to make pricing for those paperss.
Cost Planning during the building phase
Seeley ( 1997, pg63 ) wrote that “ Cost planning is a specializer technique used by the measure surveyor. ” It is used to assist all the members of building squad to maintain plants within the budget. Once a realistic estimation is agreed and everything follow in conformity with it, effectual cost planning will assist to guarantee over-budget will non happen in the undertaking from the successful contractor ‘s stamp to concluding undertaking cost.
Changeless monitoring of the cost planning will diminish the hazard of overspending at an early phase and prompt disciplinary action can be taken. Cost planning improves the better value of money.
The contractor ‘s QS will take to procure maximal payment for the work done at the earliest possible clip to avoid any possible hard currency flow jobs. ( Seeley, 1997 ) He will fix cost programs that list down all the disbursals right through to the undertaking ‘s completion.
Negotiation
Contractor ‘s QS is responsible to command the building cost during building phase. To better the better value of money and maintain the quality of the edifice, he will negociate the material monetary value, machinery cost and labour cost with the provider and come out with a most sensible monetary value and quality study. Sometimes, he besides needs to negociate with the client ‘s QS for the fluctuation order and payment issue.
Comparison of cost
QS will necessitate to roll up information about the cost of assorted operations in order to give a better value of money and supply information for the contractor to fix future estimations. He will make the comparing of the cost of alternate methods of transporting out assorted operations so that the most economical process can be adopted.
( Seeley, 1997 )
Documents Preparation ( Sub-contract and run intoing study )
Preparation of the BQ for the sub-contract is done by contractor ‘s QS when some of plants are substituted to another specializer. QS will fix a ball amount contract or BQ contract base on the range of work of the sub-contractor. In the sub-contract, QS will province the contract amount, get downing day of the month, completion day of the month, range of work and etc.
Besides that, QS besides need to fix site run intoing study before the site meeting. He will have a missive which province the day of the month of site run intoing one hebdomad before the meeting. The frequence of site meeting is depended on the designer. Normally, it is twice a month. The meeting study includes the undertaking brief, contract information, papers registry, quality study, work advancement chart and advancement exposures.
Making application to the designer or applied scientist for fluctuation order
The QS requires measuring the cost of alternate designs of impermanent plants and other operations in order to fix cost and value rapprochements for internal intents and to calculate tendencies. He besides makes application to the designer for fluctuation orders if drawings or site instructions vary the work and the holding the value of fluctuations with client ‘s QS. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Interim rating and payments
QS will fix interim bing to client ‘s QS so that the contractor can determine of his fiscal place and do appropriate action taken when necessary. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Contractor ‘s QS is responsible for looking after the fiscal involvement of the contractor and work in concurrence with private pattern on the readying of interim payments. ( Ashworth and Hogg, 2007 )
Final history readying
QS will piecing informations for the concluding history from the start of the contract to guarantee that it will be completed in all its facets and to give the contractor his proper entitlement under the contract. ( Seeley, 1997 )
Other functions of Quantity Surveyor
Ashworth and Hogg ( 2007, pg9 ) write “ In response to the possible death of measures of measures, measure surveyors began researching new possible functions for their services. ” The evolved functions of Quantity Surveyor are:
Whole life bing
The significance of whole life costing is defined by the Ashworth and Hogg who refer to the “ Construction Best Practice Programme 1998 ” ( 2007, pg146 ) write that “ the systematic consideration of all relevant costs and grosss associated with the acquisition and ownership of an plus ” . All the costs associated with assorted options for a undertaking are added together to stand for a entire cost. Future costs are discounted to a present twenty-four hours value.
The QS provides the whole life bing to the clients based on the initial cost such as design and building costs and future cost such as rental and care cost to give an accent on a whole or entire cost attack undertaken during the acquisition of a capital cost undertaking or plus instead than simply concentrating on the initial capital costs entirely.
( Ashworth and Hogg, 2007 )
Value Management
Value direction is a specialist country. It is of import to the success of undertakings in supplying the foundation for bettering value for money in building. Clients are by and large wanted higher choice edifices at lower monetary values and which were produced more rapidly.
QS involves in value direction will analyze a strategic job that a company may confront before the determination to construct a edifice. He besides uses the value direction cognition to obtain a decrease in building costs.
( Ashworth and Hogg, 2007 )
Hazard Analysis
Nowadays, most of the dedicated undertaking director has a measure appraising background. Amongst all client advisers, QS is the most suitable and motivated toward the direction of hazard.
Sometimes, hazard may impact an estimation. So, the QS will necessitate to measure the chance and extent of the consequence. The QS evolved the hazard analysis to command the happening and impact of hazard factors and provides clients with better information upon which to do determination.
( Ashworth and Hogg, 2007 )
Expert informant
The QS besides can go an arbiter today. He frequently called upon to move as adept informant in regard of a broad assortment of edifice differences due to he has the cognition of the edifice contract. As an expert informant, the QS demand to bring forth a cogent evidence of grounds covering all his intended grounds.
( Seeley, 1997 )
Decision
The traditional functions of Quantity Surveyor can be classified into private or public Quantity Surveyor and contractor ‘s Quantity Surveyor. The tabular array below shows the sum-up of the functions of Quantity Surveyor in different working sectors.
Private or Public Quantity Surveyor
Contractor ‘s Quantity Surveyor
Provide preliminary cost advise
Prepare Bills of Quantities during tendering
Prepare cost planning during the design phase
Prepare cost planning during the building phase
Advice client for different procurance method
Prepare stamp papers and Bills of Measures
Prepare sub-contract and run intoing study
Choose the best contractor to make the work
Negociate the pricing rate with the contractor
Negociate the material monetary value and building cost with the provider and the sub-contractor
Value the work done by contractor
Compare the cost provided by provider and sub-contractor.
Colony of contractual claim
Make application to the designer or applied scientist for fluctuation order
Prepare fiscal statement
Prepare interim rating and payment
Prepare concluding History
Prepare concluding history
Presents, the debut of computerised systems for fixing BQ makes Quantity Surveyor ‘s patterns become really nervous. The traditional functions of Quantity Surveyor are non plenty for QS to last in building industry because it is going to take over by engineering. So, in these few old ages, QS are seeking to germinate their functions in building industry. They become project directors, value directors, expert informant to supply whole life costing, value direction, hazard analysis, a prove of grounds in edifice differences and so on to employers.
The QS still have a batch of development infinites in building industry. It will ne’er be ended up and replaced by others. As QS in the hereafter, I wo n’t worry about the unemployment because it seems to be good in the economical crisis at 2007. I ever believe that QS occupation is a “ Quite Smart ” occupation in the building industry and has a good hereafter.
( Sum: 2418 words )
