Table Of Contentccoovveerr..iinndddd 11 55//77//22001122 88::3388::5577 PPMM
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Construction Quantity
Surveying
A Practical Guide for the Contractor’s QS
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Construction Quantity
Surveying
A Practical Guide for the
Contractor’s QS
Donald Towey,
MRICS
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
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This edition first published 2012 © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Limited
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Towey, Donald.
Construction quantity surveying : a practical guide for the contractor’s QS / Donald Towey.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-65942-7 (pbk.)
1. Quantity surveying. I. Title.
TH435.T595 2012
692′.5–dc23
2012001614
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears
in print may not be available in electronic books.
Cover design by Andrew Magee
Cover images courtesy of Shutterstock
Set in 10/12pt Minion by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India
1 2012
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Contents
Preface ix
1 The Construction Industry and the Quantity Surveyor 1
1.1 The construction industry 1
1.2 The client’s team 2
1.2.1 The professional quantity surveyor (PQS) 4
1.2.2 Architect 5
1.2.3 Structural engineer 6
1.2.4 Civil engineer 7
1.2.5 Service engineers 8
1.2.6 Main contractor 9
1.3 Legislation and control of the building process 10
1.3.1 Planning approval 11
1.3.2 Building Regulations and control 12
1.3.3 Health and safety 13
1.4 Industry networking 14
1.4.1 RICS 15
1.4.2 CIOB 16
1.5 Funding and market drivers 19
1.6 Economic and construction cycles 21
1.7 Global construction 22
1.8 Development of the quantity surveyor 23
1.8.1 Background 23
1.8.2 Personal traits and skills 25
1.8.3 Time and self-management 26
1.8.4 Education and training 27
1.9 Construction innovation and the quantity surveyor 28
1.9.1 Information technology (IT) 28
1.9.2 Environmental issues 33
1.10 Prospects and augmentation of the quantity surveyor 38
1.10.1 Employed roles 38
1.10.2 Independent roles 40
1.10.3 Women in the industry 41
1.10.4 Global and multicultural diversity 41
1.10.5 Prospects 42
2 Measurement and Quantities 43
2.1 Measurement guides and coverage rules 43
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vi Contents
2.2 Arrangement of documents and project information 46
2.3 Measurement terminology 50
2.3.1 Take off and measuring techniques 50
2.3.2 Centre line calculation 56
2.3.3 Spot and composite items 60
2.4 Control of the system and delegation of tasks 60
2.4.1 Requests for Information (RFI) 68
2.5 Measurement example 69
2.6 Builder’s bills of quantities 70
2.6.1 Components 78
2.6.2 Draft and final bills 84
2.6.3 Using computers 86
2.7 Alternative bills of quantities 89
3 Working with the Main Contractor 91
3.1 Contracting organisations 91
3.1.1 Premises and assets 93
3.2 Management systems 97
3.2.1 Health and safety management 99
3.2.2 Environmental management 100
3.2.3 Quality management 101
3.3 Marketing for contracts 103
3.4 Estimating and the contractor’s quantity surveyor 104
3.4.1 Activity on receipt of tender documents 105
3.4.2 Subcontractor pricing 107
3.4.3 Builder’s schedules 113
3.4.4 Resources costing 114
3.4.5 Unit rate calculations 122
3.4.6 Preliminaries pricing 128
3.4.7 Estimating and quantity surveying software 133
3.4.8 Cost planned tenders 143
3.4.9 Value management 147
4 Project Commencement 149
4.1 The project team 149
4.2 Pre-construction handover 152
4.3 Office- and site-based roles 153
4.4 The construction programme 155
4.4.1 Programme float 160
4.4.2 Programme acceleration 160
4.5 Project administration 161
4.5.1 Cash flow 164
4.5.2 Cost targets 169
4.5.3 Procurement scheduling 172
4.5.4 Material supply and plant hire registers 177
4.5.5 Document distribution and registers 178
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Contents vii
4.5.6 Progress claim scheduling 179
4.5.7 Cost management systems (CMS) 185
4.6 Site establishment 187
4.7 Review of the main contract 188
4.7.1 Articles of the Agreement 192
4.7.2 Insurance 194
4.7.3 Employer’s financial security 198
4.7.4 Carrying out the works 200
4.7.5 Delays in carrying out the works 208
4.7.6 Control of the works 213
4.7.7 Cost variations 217
4.7.8 Payments 219
4.7.9 Termination 220
4.7.10 Warranties 222
4.7.11 Contract schedules and special provisions 223
4.8 Edited and bespoke forms of contract 224
5 Supply Chain Procurement 228
5.1 The supply chain 228
5.2 Labour-only subcontractors 229
5.2.1 Methods of engagement and reimbursement 230
5.2.2 Contractor’s risk 231
5.3 Labour and material subcontractors 232
5.3.1 Domestic subcontractors 233
5.3.2 Named and nominated subcontractors 236
5.3.3 Tender periods and openings 237
5.3.4 Tender comparisons 240
5.3.5 Negotiations 241
5.3.6 Subcontractor insurances 248
5.3.7 Bespoke forms of subcontract agreement 249
5.3.8 Generic forms of subcontract agreement 253
5.3.9 Back-to-back forms of subcontract agreement 253
5.4 Material supply scheduling and purchase ordering 254
5.4.1 Bulk ordering 257
5.5 Labour hire agreements 260
5.6 Plant hire agreements 262
5.7 Consultant appointments 264
6 Running the Project 266
6.1 Managing the flow of documents 266
6.1.1 Changes in design and documentation 266
6.1.2 Contractor-generated documents 269
6.2 Changes to the works 271
6.2.1 Changes in quantity 272
6.2.2 Changes in quality 273
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viii Contents
6.2.3 Changes in sequence of works 275
6.2.4 Variation submissions 277
6.3 Reimbursement 280
6.3.1 Client interim payments 281
6.3.2 Subcontractors’ payments 285
6.3.3 Material suppliers and hire company payments 291
6.3.4 Consultants’ payments 294
6.4 Cost centres and financial reporting 295
6.5 Tracking expenditure 295
6.6 Extension of time claims 301
6.7 Financial claims 304
6.7.1 Claims under the main contract 305
6.7.2 Claims from the supply chain to the contractor 310
6.7.3 Claims from the contractor to the supply chain 313
6.8 Settlement of disputes 314
6.8.1 Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) 316
6.8.2 Negotiation 318
6.8.3 Mediation 318
6.8.4 Conciliation 319
6.8.5 Early neutral evaluation 320
6.8.6 Expert determination 320
6.8.7 Adjudication 321
6.8.8 Arbitration 323
6.9 Voluntary and involuntary contract terminations 324
6.9.1 Main contract termination 326
6.9.2 Supply chain terminations 327
6.10 Project reporting 332
7 Project Completion 335
7.1 Sectional and practical completion 335
7.1.1 Definition and effects of practical completion 336
7.1.2 Final certification 337
7.2 Operating manuals and As Built information 338
7.3 Defects 340
7.3.1 Patent defects 341
7.3.2 Latent defects 342
7.4 Final accounts 343
7.4.1 Main contract final account 343
7.4.2 Issue and effect of the final payment certificate 346
7.4.3 Supply chain final accounts 348
7.4.4 Final project costs 349
7.5 Project closure 351
7.5.1 Feedback 351
7.5.2 Archiving and retrieval 352
Further Reading 355
Index 357
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