Role of the Quantity Surveyor
The Role of the Quantity Surveying Profession
The origins of the Quantity Surveyor (QS) profession can dated back during the 19th century where from the earlier "measurer", a specialist tradesman, who readied schedules for a building project in which all of the construction materials and labour activities and were quantified. Based on this information, competing builders could submit priced tenders. Because all tenders were based on the same schedule of information, they could be easily compared to one another, making it a much simpler way of being able to chose the best bid as it narrowed the variables down (Powell, 1996). While the QS profession owes its origin to the “measurer” it was until the 1820s that as a profession the QS profession began with Sir Henry Arthur Hunt being one of the original QS estimating the cost of the rebuilding of the houses of parliament. (Powel,1996)
Within today’s industry the QSs role in construction sectors can vary depending on what area they are deployed. The construction sectors I will explore are Building work, Building and Engineering services, Civil engineering, Heavy and industrial engineering.
Building work
During building work in modern construction it is not unusual for the 1st point of contact for a client to be with a QS. Cost management is one of the key areas of concern for clients in today’s industry and with QSs being value and cost experts in the construction industry it makes sense for a QS to be relied on heavily during the inception phases as well as before. Their role as cost planner in this section of the industry can often be viewed negatively as often clients or architects change their plans after contracts and plans have been made causing a rise in the costs of the building works which in turn makes the QS look as though the job done earlier before starting the building work seem as though they weren’t accurate. The QS also has a role of dealing with contracting in this section of the industry, the
The origins of the Quantity Surveyor (QS) profession can dated back during the 19th century where from the earlier "measurer", a specialist tradesman, who readied schedules for a building project in which all of the construction materials and labour activities and were quantified. Based on this information, competing builders could submit priced tenders. Because all tenders were based on the same schedule of information, they could be easily compared to one another, making it a much simpler way of being able to chose the best bid as it narrowed the variables down (Powell, 1996). While the QS profession owes its origin to the “measurer” it was until the 1820s that as a profession the QS profession began with Sir Henry Arthur Hunt being one of the original QS estimating the cost of the rebuilding of the houses of parliament. (Powel,1996)
Within today’s industry the QSs role in construction sectors can vary depending on what area they are deployed. The construction sectors I will explore are Building work, Building and Engineering services, Civil engineering, Heavy and industrial engineering.
Building work
During building work in modern construction it is not unusual for the 1st point of contact for a client to be with a QS. Cost management is one of the key areas of concern for clients in today’s industry and with QSs being value and cost experts in the construction industry it makes sense for a QS to be relied on heavily during the inception phases as well as before. Their role as cost planner in this section of the industry can often be viewed negatively as often clients or architects change their plans after contracts and plans have been made causing a rise in the costs of the building works which in turn makes the QS look as though the job done earlier before starting the building work seem as though they weren’t accurate. The QS also has a role of dealing with contracting in this section of the industry, the