Quantity Surveyor

Pre-construction responsibilities

• Cost planning: Prepare preliminary estimates and establish the project budget.
• Feasibility studies: Assess whether the proposed project is financially viable.
• Quantity take-offs: Measure materials and work quantities from drawings and specifications.
• Bills of Quantities: Prepare detailed descriptions and quantities of construction work for tendering.
• Tender documentation: Compile pricing schedules, contract conditions and other commercial documents.
• Tender evaluation: Analyse contractors bids, identify pricing risks and recommend a suitable contractor.
• Procurement advice: Recommend appropriate procurement routes, contract types and tendering methods.
• Value engineering: Suggest alternatives that reduce cost without compromising essential quality, function or safety.

Construction-stage responsibilities

• Cost control: Monitor expenditure against the approved budget and report anticipated final costs.
• Interim valuations: Assess completed work and recommend progress payments to contractors.
• Variation management: Measure, evaluate and negotiate the cost of design or scope changes.
• Contract administration: Support compliance with payment, notice, claim and documentation requirements.
• Cash-flow forecasting: Estimate when project payments and expenditure will occur.
• Subcontractor management: Review quotations, prepare subcontract documents and assess subcontractor payments.
• Claims assessment: Evaluate claims involving additional costs, delays, disruption or loss and expense.
• Risk management: Identify financial and contractual risks and recommend mitigation measures.
• Cost reporting: Provide regular reports covering committed costs, forecast changes and the projected final account.
• Record keeping: Maintain accurate measurements, instructions, quotations, payment records and correspondence.

Post-construction responsibilities

• Final account preparation: Agree the total value of completed work, including variations and claims.
• Defects-period payments: Assess retention releases and payments following correction of defects.
• Project cost analysis: Compare final costs with the original budget and record lessons for future estimates.
• Contract close-out: Confirm that financial and contractual obligations have been completed.

Key professional duties

A Quantity Surveyor must act with accuracy, impartiality and professional integrity. The role also requires effective communication with clients, architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, together with strong knowledge of measurement, construction methods, contracts, procurement and cost management.