THE QUANTITY SURVEYOR’S BIBLE

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Ian Carroll

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Table of Contents

Title Page

COPYRIGHT

PROLOGUE

INTRODUCTION

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

WHAT IS A QUANTITY SURVEYOR?

THE ACCOUNTANT OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

WHAT QUALIFICATIONS DO YOU NEED TO BE A Q.S.?

STARTING OUT

THE SMALL CONTRACTOR

THE MEDIUM-SIZED CONTRACTOR

THE LARGE CONTRACTOR

PRIVATE PRACTICE SURVEYING

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TO STEAL OR NOT TO STEAL!

FREELANCING. PART ONE

ESTIMATING AND TENDERING. PART ONE

ESTIMATING AND TENDERING. PART TWO

THE ARCHITECT’S DRAWINGS

COSTING AND MEASUREMENT

THE FIVE DIFFERENT HATS OF A Q.S.

Estimating

Procurement

Valuation

Negotiation

Project Management

EVERY SITE IS DIFFERENT

CONTRACTUAL CLAIMS

NEGOTIATION

FREELANCING. PART TWO

THE YEAR OF GETTING SACKED

THE PROJECT FROM HELL!

COMMUNICATION

PAYMENT PROBLEMS

MANAGEMENT

CASE STUDY 1. M.O.D. LYNEHAM

CASE STUDY TWO. LANARKSHIRE HOSPITAL

PRIVATE DEVELOPERS

LIFESTYLE DEVELOPERS

CASE STUDY THREE. TWO RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT BLOCKS

CASE STUDY FOUR. NINE NEW-BUILD HIGH-END HOUSES

CASE STUDY FIVE. A £6 MILLION NEW-BUILD HEALTH CENTRE

THE GAME OF CHESS

THE FUTURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

OTHER BOOKS

COPYRIGHT

Published in 2019 by Oakamoor Publishing, an imprint of Bennion Kearny.

ISBN: 978-1-910773-76-5

Copyright © Oakamoor Publishing 2019

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that it which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Oakamoor Publishing has endeavoured to provide trademark information about all the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Oakamoor Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Published by Oakamoor Publishing, an imprint of Bennion Kearny Limited, 6 Woodside, Churnet View Road, Oakamoor, Staffordshire, ST10 3AE

www.BennionKearny.com

PROLOGUE

Welcome to the new version of The Quantity Surveyor’s Bible. It’s only three years since the book was first published, so why the need for a new edition? Well, the first edition was very concise. It was written, almost as an angry letter, in response to an employer who wanted me to do my job a certain way. It was very much my way of saying, ‘No, this is how to be a good QS,’ based on my own 20 years of experience in the field.

Once I had calmed down and had worked off my head of steam, I knew I would have more to say, and in a much more measured way. So, I have expanded on certain themes in the book, and added several others, such as the case studies. I’ve also been out in the freelance world in the interim, and gained experience in sectors I’d never previously had exposure to, such as new-build housing. I thought it was important to add that to this edition of the book.

And then I thought we’d also benefit by having a more attractive cover! One thing that has given me great pleasure since the book first came out is the many great reviews we’ve received on Amazon.

I read every one, and I am also constantly checking for new ones. If you do read the book, I’d be truly grateful if you could follow it up with a review – good or bad – and I can promise you that it will be read personally by me, your author and guide for this book.

Originally, the sub-title for The Quantity Surveyor’s Bible was ‘Adventures in the Construction Industry.’ I hope that I can help you to have some adventures of your own. Thanks for reading.

Ian Carroll

INTRODUCTION

What is a Quantity Surveyor? Is he a construction professional? Is he the accountant of the construction industry? Is he just someone who counts bricks? Is he the most boring man on the planet?

Well, the first thing to say is that the QS doesn’t have to be a ‘he’. It could equally be a ‘she’. There are many female Quantity Surveyors out there, and many women entering the building industry as a whole. The industry needs more women, and needs more people in general, especially skilled workers as well as professional people. But, as I’m a ‘he’, I’ll use ‘he’ in my examples, if that’s okay.

So, to answer the question above. What is a Quantity Surveyor?

Is he a construction professional? Yes.

Is he the accountant of the construction industry? Yes.

Is he just someone who counts bricks? No.

Is he the most boring man on the planet? Sometimes!

Let’s not kid ourselves. We’re not rock stars (although Nick McCabe of The Verve was a QS), we’re not film stars (though screenwriter and television producer Phil Redmond was a QS), we’re Quantity Surveyors; we work in the construction industry and our expertise lies in managing the costs of the construction process.

To be a QS, you need to be good at maths (or you may as well stop reading this now!), and you need to understand the construction process, i.e. how things are built. Once you have these two things in place, good maths and a knowledge of construction, you have everything you need to be a QS. How good a QS is up to you. And here’s the thing, after more than 30 years in the construction industry, 20 of them as a Quantity Surveyor, I’m convinced that the job is fifty percent communication.

Can you talk to clients, to architects, to the contractor or subcontractors, to the lads (or girls) doing the actual work on site? If you can talk to all of these people, if you can understand, problem-solve, contribute, and motivate, then you have all the ingredients necessary to become a good QS.

I’m assuming you have an interest in becoming a Quantity Surveyor or some similar construction professional. I hope that the contents of this book will serve to inspire and enlighten you along the way.

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

What is the Construction Industry? What does it do? Who does it employ? Who does it affect? Why is it important? Now this book is not going to be an overly-academic piece of work. Its aim is to be informative, but the last thing it’s meant to be is dull. All answers are my own, based on my own experience, and I hope you’ll find them useful, insightful, and engaging.

Hopefully, the content will inspire you to pursue a career in construction, maybe as a Quantity Surveyor or similar professional, and fully prepare you for the journey that lies ahead.

We will be talking about the built environment. This is the world of houses, schools, factories, stadiums, cinemas, hotels, shopping malls, towns, cities, apartment blocks, and skyscrapers, as well as the roads, railways, and canals that string them all together.

So, what exactly is the construction industry?

One of mankind’s most basic requirements is the need for shelter. I’m sure we all built dens as children. Watch Bear Grylls on one of his survival adventures and – before he even goes out to look for food – he’ll build himself a place to stay. From this humble abode, he can start to think about keeping warm and dry. There is also the need for protection and security. A man’s home is his castle, as the old saying goes.

The housing market is just one aspect of the construction industry, but it’s a fundamental part. We are millions (and billions) of people holed up in our dens. Once we’re all safe in our homes, we can start to feel secure and then we might start to venture out in search of food and water. So, we need shops. Back in our homes, we’ve found a mate, and we start to rear children. We want to educate them; we build schools. Now the kids need shoes; we need shops, and jobs to pay for the clothes on our backs. We build factories and offices. We need cars to get to our jobs or to take the kids to school; so we build roads, bridges, and tunnels, and giant industrial plants to keep those cars rolling off the production line. All that hard work is making us ill. We need hospitals. Now we’re well again, and we have a little spare cash. We want entertainment. We build theatres, cinemas, sports stadiums. And on and on it goes.

The built environment is all of these buildings; built by someone. Usually, a team of people, working hand in hand. Behind that ant-like endeavour, there’s usually a plan drawn up by an architect, and some thought has gone into a programme of work so that everything happens in sequence. You can’t put the roof on until you’ve got something in place to support it, like walls. So you get your brickies in first, and the roof can go on afterwards. And, unless you’re an Arab sheik or a Russian billionaire, you’re probably going to be conscious of the costs. It’s a good idea, before you start, to know if you can afford to build whatever it is that you’re planning to build. Otherwise, you might be facing financial ruin. No one wants to sign a blank check. So, someone has to take that architect’s drawing – before a spade has even been stuck in the ground – and figure out how much this pretty picture is going to cost to build. That someone could just be you, in your capacity as a Quantity Surveyor.

Where do you live? Is there a building nearby that you like? Grab a pen and a piece of paper. Imagine when it was just a bare patch of earth. What happened next? Try and make a list. Machinery came in and dug a hole. Concrete was poured. Slowly, the building began to rise out of the ground. There were walls, windows, (eventually) a roof. Inside, teams of plasterers, painters, joiners, electricians, and plumbers were all hard at work. And somewhere, there was someone watching over the whole thing, making sure that everyone was sticking to the plan and to the budget. And that someone might just be you.

WHAT IS A QUANTITY SURVEYOR?

You go to a party, or the pub, or you meet someone somewhere, and they ask what you do for a living. In my case, I reply, I’m a Quantity Surveyor. ‘What’s that?’ is often the response that I get. So, what exactly does a Quantity Surveyor do?

There are many different types of QS roles, and many different types of Quantity Surveyors. Some are what I call accountant-type QS’s. They are concerned purely with numbers, and they rarely look up to see whatever it is that they’re building. It’s all just numbers to them. Some of these people are very good QS’s, and many of them are miles better than me. They know all of the current legislation, and they stick religiously to measurement techniques that are enshrined in such earnest textbooks as SMM7 or the New Rules of Measurement prepared by the RICS. They stick to the rigid path and provide a solid audit trail that befits their accountant-like status. That’s one kind of QS.

For me, being a QS  is really about five different things. It is about estimating costs for feasibility or tendering purposes. It is about the procurement of materials and labour to carry out the work. It is about valuing work done in order to apply for payments. It is about negotiating with clients or subcontractors. And, it is about project management in order to add value throughout the lifespan of the build process. These, as I see it, are the five key areas that make up the role of a QS.

It is also about communicating in order to keep the project on track, and avoiding conflict which might lead to contractual claims (therefore an understanding of the law of contract and the ability to communicate effectively is a must).

Now the construction industry is a giant beast with many different facets. It is no easy thing to say ‘this is what a QS does’ because you could case-study a hundred different QS’s, and each of them would be doing a different thing, or even doing the same thing but in a completely different way. That said, we can talk about some of the things that a Quantity Surveyor is likely to be doing. We’ll look at several scenarios and, the likelihood is, if you end up as a QS, you’re probably going to be working in a similar environment to the one described, and doing a job that bears a close resemblance to the one we’re talking about. So, what might a QS be doing; in what environment might he or she be doing it; and who might he or she be likely to be doing it for?

Assuming you are entering the world of QS’ing after a degree or diploma of study, the trainee / graduate QS will usually be faced with a fork in the road, to either enter private practice or become a contractor’s QS.

Private practice is also known as ‘client-side QS’ing’. The client being the person who will ultimately own the building. These positions probably account for between ten and fifteen percent of all of the available QS roles.

If you choose client-side private QS’ing, you will probably find yourself working in a nice office – wearing a shirt and tie – surrounded by admin staff, managers, and possibly designers, architects, and building surveyors. You will be employed by the client, the person or organisation who will ultimately own and use the building being constructed. You are there to ensure that they get good value for money and to make sure that the contractor – the person building the thing – complies with all of their contractual obligations. I like to think of it like this. As a client-side QS, once you have made your contribution by making an early estimate of the likely costs, and once a contractor has been appointed to construct the actual building, you are there to hold the bag of cash (not literally) that will fund the project and from which the contractor will be paid. Needless to say, you must exercise due diligence throughout, ensure accountability, and protect your client’s interests from a financial point of view.

The majority of graduates, however,