Services of the Quantity Surveying Division

PRELIMINARY COST ADVICE
From the outset. your professional quantity surveyor will give practical advice on the likely cost of your project - however complicated or unusual. He will recommend the most economical layout. materials and method of construction. He will assess how long it will take to build. He will produce estimates of future maintenance and running costs. Armed with this essential information. you and your professional quantity surveyor can then work out a realistic budget. Once this has been agreed. he will be able to produce a cost plan.

COST PLANNING
Cost planning is a specialist technique introduced by quantity surveyors. It aims to help all the members of the construction team - architects. engineering consultants. interior specialists - to arrive jointly at practical designs for your project and stay within the budget. Effective cost planning will help to ensure that. once a realistic estimate is agreed. everything that follows is in accord with it. from the successful contractor’s tender to the final project cost. In planning construction costs. maintenance and running costs are borne in mind. thus helping to achieve a project that is cost effective throughout its life. Where you. the client. decide to change your plans and introduce variations your professional quantity surveyor will rapidly assess the cost implications.

Cost planning means improved economy. standards and so better value for money. Constant monitoring means that the risk of overspending can be spotted early and prompt corrective action taken.

CONTRACTING METHODS
No two projects are the same. Most major projects - and many smaller ones - are individual challenges and need individual solutions. Not surprisingly. therefore. the construction industry has evolved a range of procedures. The most common are summarised below. Competitive tendering is the normal method. and can allow either for firm price tenders. or tenders which provide for cost fluctuations.
Negotiated tendering enable the whole project to be planned from the outset with a single contractor. chosen for a particular expertise or construction system. while in a package deal (or design and build’) the contractor undertakes the whole task of design and construction. Your professional quantity surveyor will advise you on the best kind of contract for your project. Even the package deal is no exception to the rule that you need independent and experienced financial advice.

PRINCIPAL SERVICES OF THE PROFESSIONAL QUANTITY SURVEYOR

1. Preliminary cost advice.
2. Advising on contractor selection.
3. Preparing tender documents.
4. Obtaining or negotiating tenders.
5. Cost planning.
6. Valuing construction work.
7. Preparing and agreeing accounts with contractors.
8. Structural surveys.
9. Economic analysis.
10. Preparing expenditure statements for tax and accounting.
11. Technical auditing.
12. Assessing replacement values for insurance.
13. Project control.
14. Giving experts evidence in arbitrations and disputes.
15. Development appraisal & implementation.
16. Investments and financial services.

TENDERING
Competitive tendering of one kind or another remains the usual basis for the construction contracts. and bills of quantities are fundamental to this process.
Bills of quantities translate the drawings. plans and specifications produced
by your designers to enable each contractor to calculate his tender prices fairly. on exactly the same basis as his competitors. During construction. they are also a crucial element in effective cost control. Where other tendering procedures are appropriate. your professional quantity surveyor will recommend alternatives. For more details call us on 021-220191. Employers may also check the credentials of their employees offering the services above with us.