Our purpose of Quantity Surveying and Cost Management on a project is to provide independent, objective, accurate, and reliable capital and operating cost assessments usable for investment funding and project cost control and planning. The process of Cost Management starts at the level of imagination and ends at the successful delivery of the product to the satisfaction of the clients.
Implementation of Quantity Surveying and Cost Management services helps analyze investment and development, for the guidance of owners, financiers and contractors.
We at QTS deliver Quantity Surveying and Cost Management services, which not only add value but also save capital and lifecycle costs on the project.
The three most common primary objectives in construction project management are the lowest cost, the highest quality, and the shortest time. Very often the gain in one of these objectives needs a compromise in the other. In the formulation of the contracting strategy, QTS strives to achieve an optimum balance of these factors to suit the requirements of each project.
In the context of the need to control expenditure and to obtain the best value for money on major building and civil engineering investments, QTS provides a complete cost planning and cost control consultancy service to protect the Employer’s financial interests by:
Feasibility Stage
QTS has developed sophisticated feasibility modelling tools to assist our quantity surveyors in assessing financial feasibility and achieving the best results for our clients. These modeling tools are supported by market research, a databank of market-tested assumptions and performance benchmarks. QTS Development Feasibility model is a powerful, flexible and easy to use feasibility analysis and real estate valuation tool.
From a comprehensive and intuitive set of user inputs, it calculates key investment performance indicators, such as Residual Land Value, Profit, Margin, NPV and IRR.
Using the sensitivity and probability analysis tools, simple yet detailed risk assessments can be performed on the project with ease, while the ability to compare multiple options ensures that the best financial outcome for the development site is achieved.
QTS retains internal benchmark information that enables its construction cost estimators to provide expert solutions to complex challenges. From the earliest stages of a project, its experts can assess if the project requirements can be achieved and, if needed, they can promptly deliver viable alternatives.
Cost Planning and Estimating
Cost planning is geared towards two key objectives: how much it will cost to build and how little it needs to cost, including future cost estimates. QTS’s cost plans are detailed elemental budgets which form the key cost management control document. They are prepared in conjunction with the whole project team to ensure true ownership of the budget. All future changes are managed against the signed-off cost plan.
Services provided by QTS’s expert construction cost estimators include:
- Preparation of preliminary elemental estimates based on preliminary designs
- Preparation of detailed estimates and cost planning advice through design development
- Estimating of building services
- Participation and leadership in the value management process
- Comparative cost studies and advice on cost-effective design solutions
- Advice on materials selection and general buildability
- Advice on selection of tenderers
- Participation in design meetings and construction control meetings
Design Development Stage
Preparing progressive elemental estimates as the planning progresses and reconciling each one with the budget.
Assisting the design team to obtain economical design solutions through value engineering and value management involving cost studies, cost comparisons and life cycle cost analysis.
Value Management
QTS offers a strategic value management process which is dedicated to assisting with the improvement of value obtained in capital expenditure. This is achieved through participatory workshops which challenge option and design assumptions and encourage creative and lateral thinking for better value solutions.
The integration of Value Management with Cost Management results in a powerful and integrated approach to the economic management of projects, especially during the design process.
Contractual Advice
Construction contract management and advice is one of the core elements of QTS’s cost consultancy services. It is a vital component in any dispute resolution that aspires to achieve an amicable and satisfactory result. The firm provides a complete range of contract advisory services to clients.
Tender Preparation and Procurement Advice
In preparing a tender for clients, QTS performs all essential functions including advising the most appropriate form of tender based on our experience, ranging from traditional, design-and-build, negotiated to two-stage tendering. Services include:
- Preparation of bills/schedules of quantities or schedules of rates
- Preparation of bid documents for tendering contractor
- Advice on project procurement and tendering
- Advice on suitability of contractor for bidding
- Review of tenders received, reconciliation to budget, and recommendation and appointment of contractor
- Attendance at tender interviews
In addition, through our global network, we are able to offer procurement advice and material supply. We can benchmark costs and have the ability to procure materials on behalf of the client.
Post-contract Stage
Valuing the work in progress on site and recommending amounts of interim payments.
Measuring and valuing variations to the contract in accordance with the contract rates.
Preparing progressive financial statements regularly during the construction period to keep the Employer informed of the financial status of the project.
Assisting the architect in the administration and interpretation of the contract conditions to avoid or minimize claims from the contractor.
Examining, evaluating and negotiating any contractor’s claims that may arise from under the contract.
Preparing the final account which is a detailed statement of the final contract sum.
Bills of Quantities
A common cause of extreme contract pricing is the uncertainty or errors in quantities when tendering. To eliminate this risky situation and to promote the formulation of a reasonable contract price, QTS uses bills of quantities for tendering and contracting.
A bill of quantities translates the design team’s drawings and specifications into a quantitative document that is prepared in accordance with the rules of the Standard Method of Measurement. Issued to each contractor for pricing purposes, it enables each tenderer to estimate his price on exactly the same basis as his competitors for the project.
A bill of quantities becomes part of the construction contract, and thus constitutes a highly useful instrument for the post-contract financial management of a construction project. It can be used to determine interim payments, valuation of variations, and settlement of the final account with the contractor. The document plays an important role in any contract disputes that arise during the course of a project.
Bills of quantities can be adapted for use for different types of contracts, such as lump sum contracts, design and build contracts, management contracts, and fast track contracts.
Risk Management
With its extensive experience in construction contract administration, QTS works with clients to minimize their exposure by determining the optimal allocation of risk to the contractor, taking into account factors such as expertise of the parties in handling the risk, the monetary value of the risk compared with the size of the contract, and which party is in a better position to control the risk. Throughout all phases of the construction development project, the firm assesses, evaluates, and quantifies various risks involved, in order to assist the client in decision making and budget control.
Dispute Resolution Services
With construction procurement by nature a complex process, contractual claims and disputes are sometimes unavoidable. Recognising the need for specialized skills to address these issues, QTS’s portfolio of services includes a Contracts Management and Dispute Resolution division. Its services include strategic management advice, mediation, quantum and programming advice, arbitration, litigation support, and expert witness services.