In the property construction industry, the quantity surveyor is an essential component of the building process regardless of scale. From start to finish their job will be to ensure that any given property development project manages its contracts and finances effectively. If you are interested in learning more about the duties of this job or the services it offers, this article should provide you with ample information about the role.
What Is a Quantity Surveyor?
The property development industry is composed of numerous fields of study and craftsmanship working in tandem with one another to create a new property. Amongst the many moving parts involved in property development is the quantity surveyor. The development of property necessitates that business contracts be written out amongst the various parties involved in the projects.
This can involve individuals such as architects and the construction crew, for example; an important role in quantity surveying is the administrator of this process. Furthermore, these development projects also involve big sums of money that need to be managed and tracked effectively to meet financial goals. Any individual hired for this job will be held responsible for administrating and fulfilling these duties.
Most often, only a single person will fulfil this role on a construction project. From this information alone it is already evident that this job is an important one. There are many essential tasks involved in this line of work. Anybody contracted for this job will have to perform to ensure a well-budgeted building project wherein the stipulations of any contracts are adhered to by all parties.
What Are the Obligations and Duties of a Quantity Surveyor?
If you are interested in the specifics of what sort of activities the role of quantity surveying entails, the following information may be of value to you. Here are several examples of the roles performed by them when they are involved in a property development project:
From the very offset, before building materials are acquired and brought to the site, whoever is involved in the quantity surveying has to analyse the finances and come up with a realistic cost estimate of the entire project. They can set realistic financial expectations for the client to work with.
The building of property structures requires a lot of materials, all of which cost money. They will be responsible for estimating and predicting the cost of the specific building materials required to complete a construction project.
There are legal standards that properties have to meet during and after their development. It is the job of the quantity surveyor to ensure that these legal standards are met every step of the way. A newly developed property cannot be put up for sale without meeting these standards.
If any alterations need to be made to accommodate for changes in the budgeting or contractual agreements of the project, this will need to be run past the one in charge of quantity surveying for documentation purposes. Depending on the changes, it will be necessary for them to make the appropriate budgetary alterations.
They will be responsible for managing contracts. It is often their job to personally prepare these contracts before they are brought to the parties involved in the agreement. This is one of their most essential tasks.
As aforementioned, the management of contracts falls under the many duties they are responsible for. This means that they would be primarily in charge of scrutinizing the T&Cs of the contracts written out between parties involved in the property development process.
What Are the Benefits of Working with a Skilled Quantity Surveyor?
You might be wondering why hiring someone for the purposes of quantity surveying is so important. As the client wants a property built, you would want someone working at your side to protect your interests in the project. This is essentially the service provided to you were you to hire someone for this job.
This is exactly why clients must ensure that they are hiring someone who has the skill set necessary to perform their job most effectively. The advice that skilled individuals working quantity surveying jobs could dispense to their clients would be an invaluable asset to ensuring a better project outcome.
People who specialise in this job know that every client they work for is going to want value for money on investments as big as property development. With the expert council of someone well-versed in quantity surveying, this goal can be astronomically more achievable for the client.
Skilled individuals will be able to apply various tricks of the trade to compose the most appealing budget estimate. They can do this by using profession-specific techniques and drawing from their wealth of knowledge on the construction industry. They will also be able to sit down with the companies that will be hired to perform certain construction tasks. When they do so, they will negotiate contracts that best align with the interests of their client.
There is always a chance that before, during, or after the construction of a project a dispute may occur between contractors and other parties involved. The quantity surveyor can weigh in here to facilitate a settlement. They can in such cases rework the contracts in such a way as to still secure the client’s interests.
They will also be able to advise their clients on matters of property insurance. For example, they can use their expertise to facilitate more favourable valuations for issues such as fire insurance. Should their client need to settle an insurance claim about their property, it can be their job to provide professional testimony. Furthermore, it is possible for them to get involved in cost advice with arbitration cases.
Having a quantity surveyor in court is helpful as they would be able to safeguard the interests of the client when an insurance claim is being disputed. They are also in close contact with other core individuals involved in the building process. For instance, they will most often be in close communication with the architects to clear what the financial parameters of their job are.
These are but a few of the dozens of responsibilities that are taken on by a quantity surveyor when they engage in a property development project. As is quite evident at this point, they bring so much value to the property development industry.
Every client involved in such a financial venture absolutely should hire a competent individual to fulfil this role. Without any assistance in this regard, construction finances are near impossible to manage and the client is more likely to exceed the necessary cost parameters.
When Do You Need a Quantity Surveyor?
If you want to invest in the development of your property, you will want to hire a quantity surveyor. They are going to use their skills to help you save on your expenses. Property building is inherently expensive, hence the importance of hiring somebody to perform this essential role.
Amongst their specialized skill sets is their unmatched expertise in all economics regarding construction. If there is any feasible way to reduce the overall cost of a client’s construction project, they will find and implement it. Clients who hire somebody good at this job can expect the savings on their property’s construction to more than make up the costs of hiring one. Their main goal is to save the client money.
They can also help you create a legal depreciation schedule for a property you own. Only they can provide this service. If you can calculate your property’s depreciation, you can benefit from substantial savings in tax.
Individuals in this field can also have their own pre-existing network of contractors. This means that they may know which construction companies are willing to meet your contractual preferences. These financial experts are also a great communication tool between the client and the contractors.
What Does It Take to Be a Quantity Surveyor?
From the beginning, middle to end, this job requires that one must manage the large amounts of money involved as well as the many streams that financing flows into. As such, the numeracy skills of anybody in this field should be incredibly high.
By having a high aptitude in numbers and math, they can keep track of every financial aspect of the property building process. Typically, to become qualified for this job you are required to have completed at least three years of a BSc degree.
It will also be necessary for someone to have completed a quantity surveying degree specifically before being able to find jobs for this sort of work. This is to learn valuable skills that are unique to the job. The role of the quantity surveyor is critical to the success of any property development venture.
The financial services offered to a client by people who do quantity surveying are specialized and unique to their niche within the property development industry. To be successful in this field it is also essential that one has extensive knowledge of the property construction industry as a whole.
If you want to do this job, you should know the right price to pay contractors. Furthermore, you should also have a well-rounded understanding of the construction material industry. You can then use such information to ensure lower construction costs.
To be good at this particular job one must have a high proficiency in problem-solving. As has been mentioned prior, the people who practice the profession are in charge of settling insurance claims. Their clients should have full confidence that they can get involved in cost advice with arbitration cases too.
When looking at potential candidates for a position in quantity surveying, companies or clients are interested in strong mathematical backgrounds. In many countries, one should have completed A-level mathematics education before applying for this job.
People interested in this job should also know that they must be willing to be flexible with their work environments. Quantity surveyors will have to be able to fulfil work obligations from an office as well as on-site. Individuals with on-the-job experience in this field know their presence at the site of construction will often be required.
To be fit for the position, it goes without saying that one will also require strong organizational skills. During the construction of their client’s property, one will at all times be managing the finances and financial records of the entire operation.They have to be able to do this from start to finish without much margin for error. Having a background in design technology will also be of benefit to anyone aiming to fit the position.
Contact PPQS Quantity Surveyors for Expert Advice
If you are planning on investing in the development of a property, feel free to contact our business. PPQS Quantity Surveyors offers the finest services and with our help, you can ensure that the finances of your property’s construction are handled proficiently.