Quantity Surveyors: Profession for Construction Projects Cost Management - Research Paper Sample

Introduction

Quantity surveying can be said to be a profession that is accomplished by quantity surveyors. Quantity surveyors are individuals that are responsible for managing the costs and budgets of any given construction projects from the outset of a given project the completion of the project (Cartlidge, 2017). Quantity surveying ensures that the project costs do not exceed the budget that gets set out. The profession requires one to have an excellent working knowledge of the process of the construction industry and have excellent numeracy skills.

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Purpose and Focus

The research is essential as it will explore every aspect of quantity surveying together with how it gets implemented and its importance. The research will focus on getting the requirements and understand the profession together with differentiating with other engineering disciplines such as civil engineering. The uniqueness of these individuals flagged for them needed in the various construction field. They have multiple benefits up to and including ensuring that the construction project gets delivered with the budget. It is vital to understand this profession and the requirements that one is supposed to have so that he or she can fit in with this.

Objectives of the Research

The research focuses on achieving the following. First is to understand the roles that the quantity surveyor accomplishes. It also helps to understand the skills that are required to become a quantity surveyor. It also is critical to show the benefits that organisations gain through using a quantity surveyor.

Hypothesis

The following will be the hypothesis of the research which the research seeks to prove whether they are true or false. First is one needs a degree to become a quantity surveyor. The second hypothesis is the role of a quantity surveyor is to manage the construction project.

The Rationale for the Proposed Focus

Quantity surveying also referred to as cost consulting, has become a vital role in modern society. Designing modern constructions regarded to be involved can be said to be subject to dimensional, functional, technological, and financial constraints (Zakaria, Ali, and Yi, 2020). Therefore, to complete the complex construction activities, it is noted that a project requires a team that will have to require the capability to carry out all the necessary work to achieve a common goal, a modern building. Some members of the team that is needed include engineers, architects, builders, and quantity surveyors (Ebunoluwa, Ojo, and Awolowo, 2020).

In the construction sector, a quantity surveyor is a crucial member in the construction team as the individual links between the client that gives out the construction project, the architects that will carry out other processes, and the engineers that will be responsible for designing and not to forget the builders (Cartlidge, 2017). The quantity surveyor is said to be the person that is full of knowledge and skills rather than an expert in construction costs and communication. Therefore, his services are needed from the time of inception to the completion of the project, making him be an essential person in the construction process. With his importance, it is vital to understand what it entails to be a quantity surveyor. The required skills, the training necessary together with the critical roles that a quantity surveyor performs. His features are vital, and it is vital if they are understood and implemented since there is an increased need for quantity surveyors in the developing and also the developed countries to come up with a complex building.

Literature Review

Quantity surveying has had a significant impact on construction projects and has shown vital benefits to the project managers. The individuals that are in this field are said to carry out various tasks that ensure that the process of construction goes on as planned. In the literature review, it is crucial to identify the roles that are carried out by the quantity surveyors, benefits of quantity survey, and the required qualification of becoming a quantity surveyor.

Roles of Quantity Surveyor

Feasibility

Quantity surveyors are said to carry out various activities at the work station, also referred to as the construction sites. The individuals carry out tasks that will ensure that everything goes as planned. Firstly, it is essential to note that quantity surveyors are the individuals that are responsible for carrying out feasibility studies before a construction process gets initiated (Ebunoluwa, Ojo, and Awolowo, 2020). It is vital before any form of construction is initiated as the managers and the stakeholders will be advised accordingly on the best site for constructing the building and working out with them the required budgets. The shareholders will be able to give their views on what they can afford together with the resources that they have (Cartlidge, 2017).

Valuation

Secondly, quantity surveying can be said to focus on coming up with the budget of the construction project. A project is supposed to be budgeted before it gets initiated so that it remains on the right track all along with enough provision of resources (Ramdav and Harinarain, 2020). Quantity surveyors are responsible for giving stakeholders detailed information on the costs of a given element of work often provided periodically so that payment for the various works can be carried out effectively to date. In terms of the quantity surveyors themselves, this process of giving the required costs in estimation referred to as the valuation of the project (Roberts, 2019). Valuation is vital for managers to understand how much cost they will incur so that they carry out the process as required. Therefore, this information is essential for helping them to plan for the project and ensure that they provide the resources that are required (Ebunoluwa, Ojo, and Awolowo 2020).

Subcontracting

Thirdly, it is the work of the quantity surveyors to carry out what gets called subcontracting (Chamikara, Perera and Rodrigo, 2020). They carry out the process of organising how labour gets divided among the contractors. All these contractors are essential and required in the process of construction (Zakaria, Ali, and Yi, 2020). The quantity surveyor is responsible for ensuring that all the work is broken down into a package and gets assigned to the required contactor. The job gets broken into smaller units, and t the contractor that has the required skills are given the work so that it goes on smoothly, and the broken get achieved within the time necessary (Pittard and Sell 2017). In addition to that, the quantity surveyors identify the contractors flagged with the best deals, and he or she the one assigned to a particular work.

Matters of Contract and Legal

During the process of building, various matters arise, and it needed that the matters be solved before the procedure gets initiated. For instance, the quantity surveyor is responsible for ensuring that the best contractors get assigned to the tender (Pittard and Sell, 2017). The quantity surveyor carries out research to choose among the many contractors that have tendered in their tenders for a given construction project. Selecting the best contract is essential as it will ensure that the stakeholders get the best construction and design in the neighbourhood.

Quantity surveyors get linked to all legal matters that are necessary during the process of construction. The surveyor ensures that all the required building licenses get obtained (Ebunoluwa, Ojo, and Awolowo, 2020). Most countries require that every one that is coming up with construction should have all the paper works and ensure that the government knows the purpose of the building. It is an activity that is said to be accomplished by the quantity surveyor that walks in the council offices to acquire the same (Yousif, Abdul Majeed, and Al Azzawi, 2020).

Managing Costs

Apart from allocation and coming up with a budget for the project, quantity surveying is responsible for managing costs in a construction project. Quantity surveyors come up with the required budget at the start of the project. However, they do not go away but stay around to manage all the costs in the construction project so that it does not exceed the budget that they have estimated (Ramdav and Harinarain, 2020). When left by the contractors, often, it is noticed that the budget exceeds the required minimum. Hence, it is advised for an organisation or stakeholders to leave it to the quantity surveyors that have the necessary knowledge from the same.

Remuneration

Not only do these professionals manage the costs in the construction, but also, they come up with the required remuneration schedule to all the works in the construction process (Oke and Otasowie, 2020). Workers are often motivated to produce their best when they are reimbursed or paid on time and given tips. Quantity surveyors are said to research and come up with the best plan that will fit the workers and contractors so that the organisation does not go beyond the budget or uses more on remuneration as it is required to spend (Zakaria, Ali, and Yi, 2020). The workers will perform at their best when they receive their payments on time as they will be motivated to work and earn more.

Financial Advisors and Monitors

Quantity surveyors are said to be responsible for advising the stakeholders on how to allocate the resources. They tell the stakeholders on how they should use resources so that all the wastage gets avoided in the construction project. Most of the time, stakeholders or owners of the construction have no idea of how the construction project takes place and hence they need some who will advise them on what they are supposed to do so that they achieve their project without wasting resources (Chamikara, Perera, and Rodrigo, 2020). When talking about monitoring, it is significant to indicate that quantity surveyors are responsible for monitoring the progress of the workers, contractors, and clients. The professional ensures that everyone is playing his part as required, and the goal of the organisation gets achieved on time (Yousif, Abdul Majeed, and Al Azzawi, 2020. p.45).

Conclusion

As the above roles depict, it may not be an easier task to become one of the exceptional individuals in this field of quantity surveying. It requires one to undergo various training so that the individual gets the qualification to be a quantity surveyor. Quantity surveyors are the financial whiz-kid of the industry. They can control the budget of the project and understand all the numerals that are needed (Oke, and Otasowie, 2020). Their understanding of the building legislation, the design required, together with the building material, puts them on another level in the construction industry.

Some of the requirements that one achieves so that he or she becomes a quantity surveyor are below. To be a quantity surveyor, the individual is supposed to have 5 GCSE’s or any equivalent and should be composed of math mathematics. 5 GCSE refers to an A-C grade that a person achieves so that the individual qualifies to be in the field of quantity surveying (Chamikara, Perera, and Rodrigo, 2020). Also, quantity surveying is populated with a BTEC in both building studies, building engineering, or building management. Instead of this, an individual can also have an HNC/ HND or a degree in quantity surveying that should be accompanied by the industrial placement that is important for understanding how to manage workers in the organisation setting.