In general terms, we as your Quantity Surveyor manage and control costs within construction projects and may involve the use of a range of management procedures and technical tools to achieve the client goals.
We as an experienced surveyor facilitate all the skills available to minimise additional costs to project and maintain a first class service for customers.
General advice
We as your specialist in quantity surveying control construction costs by accurate measurement of 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.
The technique of measuring quantities from drawings, sketches and specifications prepared by designers, principally architects and engineers, in order to prepare Tender/Contract Documents, is known in the industry as taking off. The quantities of work taken off typically are used to prepare bills of quantities, which usually are prepared in accordance with a published standard method of measurement (SMM) as agreed to by the QS profession and representatives of the construction industry.
In our function as the Contractor's QS we are responsible for the performance of operations that mirror those of the Owner's QS; i. e., the measurement and pricing of construction work, but specifically that actually performed by the Contractor (and the Contractor's Subcontractors) as opposed to the construction work described and measured in the Construction Contract between the Owner and the Contractor.
The role of a contractors QS will extend further than the day to day running of building projects and will cover such other areas as sub-contract formation, forecasting of costs and values of the project, cash flow forecasts and the collation of the Operation and maintenance manuals of the project.
- consultancy during design phases to identify improvement potential,
- evaluation of quantities- financial and risk management
Our functions as the Consultant Quantity Surveyor are broadly concerned with the control of the cost on construction projects. The methods cover a range of activities which include:
Cost Planning
- feasability study, cost modelling, cost estimating
Cost Management
- budget control, variations- and claims control, negotiations, cost benefit analysis, cost reporting
Procurement
- Procurement strategy, tender documentation, control and co-ordination of procurement process, contract negotiation
Contracts
- contract advice, dispute resolution, contract drafting
