Quantity Surveyor in a Construction Company - Essay Example

Quantity Surveying Introduction Quantity surveying includes managing and controlling costs within the construction project and may involve the use of management procedures and technical tools to achieve this goal. Surveying is done by a surveyor which is called the Quantity Surveyor. This paper will include the role and functions of a Quantity Surveyor (QS). There are also two kinds of QS the Private Practice and the one who is employed in a construction company. The comparison between the two surveyor are further discuss in this paper. Quantity surveying is a superb career for men and women who have the desire to involve themselves in the exciting world of construction and development. Quantity Surveyor Quantity Surveyor (QS) controls the construction costs by measuring accurately the work required, the application of expert knowledge of costs and prices of work, labour, materials and plant required, an understanding of the implications of design decisions at an early stage to ensure that good value is obtained for the money to be expended. (Wikipedia). To be a quantity surveyor you should have the following qualities: A knowledge in building construction techniques and materials A skill in management budgeting A QS should have IT skills and aptitude for maths A good methodical approach to work, Must be well organized Understand Building Regulations other relevant legal guidelines Must have an excellent communication and negotiating skills Be able to work as part of a team. Quantity Surveyor - Private Practice Private Practice surveyor is that quantity surveyor who works on a private company. The role of Quantity surveyor in a private practice is that it acts as the financial and development consultant to the construction and property development. The quantity surveyor in a private practice includes advising clients on the optimal use of funds as well as strategies to maximize human and physical resources. The traditional QS in a private practice have the following functions: preparing feasibility studies and budgets for proposed projects preparing bills of quantities and other tender documentation to acquire fair and equitable tenders for projects negotiating building contracts drafting contract documents monitoring costs and reporting to clients during the design and construction of projects determining final costs of projects development companies one's own initiative and entrepreneurial skills Quantity Surveyor in a Construction Company A quantity surveyor in a construction company has a broader role than that of the private practice. In the construction company you need to deal with different kind of people. From the project supervisor, to the engineers and to the workers. An extended knowledge in the surrounding is important. The construction surveyor is concerned with the accurate measurement and position of points on the earth's surface, and to establishment of boundaries. They can do this by measuring the relative horizontal and vertical position of points on the ground, aided by a theodolite or similar optical instrument. QS, In a construction site is much more complicated than that of the private practice. Although there is some role in the private practice that is also being done by the QS in the construction company such as: talk to architects, engineers, builders, contractors, suppliers and project owners study architectural and engineering drawings and specifications prepare a 'Bill of Quantities', which lists the individual components required to construct the project check on changes of design to assess the effects on cost assess and recommend payment to contractors during construction prepare monthly cash-flow forecasts for clients and tax depreciation schedules undertake feasibility studies to assist in decisions about the worth of a project proceeding act as consultants to business and government. Contractors' quantity surveyor is responsible for all legal and commercial matters within the contracting organization. As shown in the graph below the construction quantity surveyor receives less compensation than that of the private surveyor. Source: Salary Survey Report (11-7-06) Comparing the Contraction Quantity surveyor and the Private Surveyor The construction industry is largely a commercial venture, certainly for the supply side, therefore commercial sustainability must be an important driver. In principle, this concerns the circulation of money and the way an organization continues to make profit through performance and the element of gambling (risk, uncertainty, variability) contained in the "commercial evaluation" at bidding stage. The construction company usually cost a lot than a private construction. The construction company needs to hire an engineer, project managers and others to be able to complete the team. While in the private practice the client only need to look for a contractor. In the private practice the Quantity Surveyor may not be a professional or licensed surveyor unlike in the construction company you need to have several requirements in order to be hire by a construction company. The commercial decisions, made not only by the lead contractor but by all supply chain parties in deciding whether or not and how to provide quotations or estimates for work, may impact profoundly on the client experience of commissioning construction work - pressure on budgets is a major cause of conflict across the supply chain. The commercial considerations underpinning this work revolve around understanding and facilitating the risk (obligations and liabilities) and reward (money and time) relationship between the various parties. These issues cause the breakdown of projects and distress to the customer when they fail to meet expectations. Construction companies have a bigger problem if the projects causes breakdown. Building a commercial site is an expensive and costly project, a breakdown of projects would cost the client as well as the company a lot. In a private setting quantity surveyor and the client will cause a little amount if the project will cause distress. The only involve personnel is the surveyor and the client as well as the contractor. The management of risk and reward has its roots in the contract documentation including specifications, drawings and project plans/programmes/schedules as well as the contract itself. Risks may be explicit or implied and how parties choose to deal with a risk may affect both the cost of the work and the ability of the project team to deliver benefits and value. The relationship between risk and cost is an important part of the financial management of the project. Intuitively we would argue there is a relationship between risk and waste as a common risk protection measure is the use of contingency allowances. One way of tackling this would be through investment in project definition: The process industries have learned in recent years that it is cost effective to increase their investment in project definition because it enables better Go/No Go decisions and better scope, cost and schedule performance on projects that are approved. That investment includes additional calendar time and additional funds. Experiments are underway around the world exploring the benefits of engaging virtually the entire project delivery team in the project definition phase. This is an application of the lean production principle to engage downstream players in upstream processes. In the building sector, traditional practice would have perhaps an architect engaged by an owner to help do programming and feasibility studies. Sometimes a construction management firm is included. Experimentation is now occurring to engage specialty contractors in a design-assist or design-build role in the project definition phase. The procurement system for the private and construction project may have impact on the cost models developed or cost control measures employed. The procurement option available includes the following: a) Traditional approach - this include open or selective single stage, or multiple stage tendering, with traditional bills of quantities. b) Design and build contracts - in this case the responsibility for design and construction is with the contractor. There are many varieties of this arrangement. c) Schedule of rates - sometime referred to as measure and value contracts. d) Cost Plus contracts - contractor to be reimbursed on cost plus agreed lump sum or percentage for overheads and profits. e) Direct Labour contracts - This implies that the client will organize the project internally usually useful in small objects. f) Negotiated contract - suitable for selections of contractors with special skills or proprietary building system. Using the procurement strategy as argued by Lowe and Whitworth (1996), that the allocation of risk is central to contract and procurement strategy. The amount of risk that each party will bear is largely attributed to the procurement strategy. The illustration below shows: Contract strategies and the balance of risk Source: CUP (1993) On the end of the spectrum, in design and build most of the risk is borne by the contractor whereas on the other end of the spectrum, in construction management most of the risk will be done by the client. In the traditional - lump sum fixed price system, the risk is evenly split between the contractor and the client. The client who wishes to accept little or no risk should take different routes for procurring advice from the client who places important on detailed, hands on control (Latham, 1994). Another procurement strategy is the recent proliferation of Private finance Initiative activities in the UK. It has suggested that one of the main criteria for PFI projects is to allocate risk to whoever is best able to manage it with the aim of achieving optimum risk allocation (HM Treasury,1995: Akintoye and Dick 1996). Reference 1. Akintoye, A and Dick, W (1996) Private Finance Initiative Procurement. Proceedings of COBRA 1996, the construction and building research conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, University of the West of England Bristol, 19-20 September. 2. CUP (1993) HM Treasury: Central Unit on Procurement; Guidance Note No. 41 Managing Risks and Contingency for works projects, HMSO. London. August 1993. 3. Lowe, J. and Whatworth (1996), Risk management and major construction projects, International Symposium for the Organization and Management of construction: Shaping Theory and Practice, Glasgow, Scotland, pp. 891-899. 4. Ballard G & Howell G; Relational Contracting, Lean Construction Journal, Vol 2 Issue 1, April 2005. 5. Green S; Newcomb R; Fernie S & Weller S; Learning Across Business Sectors: Knowledge Sharing between Aerospace And Construction; Innovative Construction Research Centre, Reading University, 2004 6. www.wikipedia.org.com 7. http://www.qsweek.com/ Read More