Estimating and cost advice
- Estimates and cost advice during all stages of the
development of a project are essential if the correct decisions with full
awareness of their financial implications are to be made.
- Sophisticated techniques, extensive cost data banks and
an intimate knowledge of building and construction economics enable quantity
surveyors to provide reliable cost advice.
- Clients want to know that they are receiving value for
money, not only with regard to the capital cost but also in respect of the
running and maintenance cost of a project.
- Cost planning enables decisions on various design
alternatives to be made with actual costs being constantly monitored against
original budgets.
- Property development advice
- A building should meet the functional dimensional and
technological requirements for which it was designed, should be
aesthetically pleasing and meet the cost limits of the client's budget.
- A quantity surveyor is able to provide pre-design
feasibility studies involving technical and/or economic investigations
thereby enabling a client to decide whether, and in what form, to proceed.
- Advice on tendering procedures and contractual
arrangement
- The choice of an appropriate form of contract for any
given project will depend on the nature of the project, the circumstances
under which the work is to be carried out and the particular needs of the
client. Quantity surveyors, in collaboration with architects are able to
advise their clients on the most advantageous procurement methods available,
including:
- Contracts incorporating bills of quantities, provisional
bills of quantities and schedules of rates.
- Negotiated, lump-sum, managed and cost plus contracts,
Package deals, turnkey offers, etc.
- While Bills of Quantities are generally regarded as the
most economical and best method of obtaining a competitive price, the
alternative methods and types of tender documentation available need to be
carefully examined in consultation with the quantity surveyor, architect,
etc. before a final decision is made
- Financial control over contracts
- Valuation of work in progress
- Cash flow budgets
- Final account in respect of the contract
.The quantity surveyor's duty is essentially one of cost
control. They measure and value work in progress, determine the value of
variations ordered by the architect or engineer and ensure that a fair and
equitable settlement of the cost of the project is reached in accordance with
the contract conditions. In conjunction with the architect and other consultants
the quantity surveyor will ensure that the financial provisions of the contract
are properly interpreted and applied.