The importance of having Quantities

Construction is probably the highest 'dispute ridden industry ' of all.

The 'old ways' of agreeing contracts on 'the back of a cigarette packet' still exist.

The majority of people want to know how much something is going to cost before purchasing, whether a jar of coffee or a new house, and yet when it comes to building contracts a great deal is often left 'to chance'

One reason is that all too often clients want 'budget prices' BEFORE appropriate Approvals are achieved --- big mistake.

The BEST way forward is to gain Planning and/or Building Regulation approval before talking about final costs.

To simply agree a lump sum based on some drawing/s is very risky.

What about if the drawings do not contain all the items actually wanted by the client ?

The BEST method is:-

1. Obtain ALL necessary approvals -- in writing.

2. Prepare a LIST of the drawings and identify them by which revision (usually A,B,C etc) so that these form part of the written agreement between the parties PLUS any other relevant documents (structural engineer's calculations for example).

3. Prepare a list of Quantities with 'rates' (sum of money required 'per m of skirting' or 'm3 of concrete' etc) so that both parties (client and contractor KNOW the basis of the sum to be paid for the Works).

Note:- I was present at a court case where the client and builder admitted they had 'shook hands' on a sum of money -- nothing written down -- the problem was, the builder said it was £X and the client said it was £Y...................... after 3 weeks deliberation, we all went back to the courtroom, and the judge, in his summing up, went with the client's version.

There was me thinking he would go for the 'average' !

In this way, both parties KNOW exactly, what is included in the tender (or estimate) and, at the end of the project, adjustments made on an 'Add' or 'Omit' basis.

This used to be common practice --- in my first year with a quantity surveying practice I did these 'Variation accounts' every working day on all sorts of projects -- there were NO court cases then !

Brief History of the PQS (Professional Quantity Surveyor)

Up to around 1920 -- in the UK -- contractors were producing their own quantities for tenders and the 'winner' was usually the one who made the biggest mistake.

There was no regulation, no standard procedure, no 'rules'.

Then someone (I don't know who) suggested 'why don't we appoint a 'single specialist' to measure the quantities -- all contractors will get a copy of the 'Bill of Quantities' with the other tender documents and therefore ALL will be pricing on the same basis.

The winner pays the 'specialist' !

It worked................... the 'Quantity Surveyor' was born and the FIRST SMM (Standard Method of Measurement) was printed in 1922 -- I have more information on this if anyone is interested, please let me know.

At last there was a proper system of measurement in place -- ok, the QS could make an error -- the same as anyone else but, the difference was they had ALL priced the job on, for example, 120 cubic yards (those imperial days....) of concrete --- even if a mistake had occurred and it should have been 132 cu yds -- this extra was paid automatically to the main contractor by the client -- it was written in to the contract.

Over the years, the SMM was revised in line with current practice and site operations etc -- number 2 in 1927, nr 3 in 1935, nr 4 in 1948, nr 5 in 1963, nr 6 in 1979 and nr 7 in1988

If my maths are correct we are now experiencing the biggest interval between any two SMM's

In my opinion, SMM7 is well out of date and far too cumbersome for today's trends.

Builders, sub-contractors, estimators, buyers, builders merchants etc WILL ALWAYS WANT QUANTITIES

I lectured in QSing at Wolves Poly up to 1993. The RICS used to conduct their own 'internal' professional exams and held these at different centres all across the country. EVERYONE feared these exams -- they were a very high standard -- there was no clue as to 'what would be included this year' - the pass rate was not high.

BUT --- all staff at all the various colleges worked WITH the students to make sure EVERYTHING was covered -- all learnt properly so that each student was prepared as well as possible.

Everyone worked on the SMM current at that time.

Sometimes a student had been 'brought up' on one version and, suddenly a 'new version' came out just before the exams --- THAT WAS 'STRESS' -- big time stress. I know, I was there.....

In the 80's the RICS decided to abandon their own exams and gave power to the various colleges to 'give exemption' ------ in my opinion, this has proved to be a retrograde step.

All this sums up why I have now gone my 'own way' --- renamed 'Builders Quantities' as 'Commercial Quantities' (which sounds a lot better) and trying to put over an 'easy to understand system' that can be adopted anywhere in the world. Combined with Excel (which is 'universal' and easy to email finished results) makes the overall experience very enjoyable.

In preparing the quantities the QS would keep asking the architect for more information -- an 'extra section' here or 'plan there', whatever was needed to help finalise the documents.

This meant when the contract went out to tender it was FULLY DESIGNED.

PLUS all these projects already had the proper Local Authority Approvals -- had been vetted by the local Fire Service -- all services (gas, elec, telephones, sewer connections etc) had ALL been sorted.

Working as a QS is a very rewarding experience -- in effect, the QS is 'building' the new project in advance of any work starting on site and when, later on, the REAL work starts, the QS, like the architect, is familiar with everything in advance of the contractor.

Difference between PQS and CQS (Contractor's QS)

The PQS will always be the one who produces the Bill of Quantities (BQ) for tendering purposes -- for large contracts where a number of tenderers will be involved. The PQS is paid by the client.

The CQS works for each individual contractor and works opposite to the PQS in dealing with payments and variations for the contract once it has started on site.

Where it has been decided to have no Bill of Quantities for 'multi-tenderers' use -- a CQS would then produced quantities for 'his or her' own employer. ie the method used prior to 1920 !

Checklist

A checklist of items to be measured is vital and I have produced such a list on this website -- see 'Avoid Client/Builder Disputes'