Benefits of Bill of Quantities

Bill of Quantities
BOQ is a text that has been developed for specification of materials, labs and their costs in the
construction industry. It serves as a shared forum between customer, retailer & contractor.
Usually, it is done by an expense manager or surveyor. According to RICS Current Measurement
Rules: NRM2 "A bill of quantities implies a list of items that provide detailed descriptions and
definite quantities of the job included in a contract." It includes quasi-accurate measured
quantities and work descriptions identified in the project drawings and
specifications[ CITATION GSi90 \l 1033 ]. EOLBREAK A Bill of Quantities (BQ or BOQ) is
planned for the quantity of the business by a surveyor or cost manager. The amount is
determined by quantity, size, position, distance, weight, or time. BOQ lets builders get a
complete list of materials, equipment, and manpower (with their costs) required to create new
projects, update or restore existing buildings. EOLBREAK Bill of quantities can be prepared
using different types of traditional measuring methods, depending on the work fields, such as
building construction and civil engineering projects. At present the most common ways of
calculating are used:
NRM1: Cost estimation and planning method for new building activities.
EOLBREAK NRM2: Accurate calculation of construction works (replacing basic method of
measurement, seventh version of SMM7).
EOLBREAK NRM 3: Expenditure calculation and forecasting process for building maintenance
operations.
EOLBREAK CESMM4: Basic Civil Engineering measurement system, Fourth Edition.
EOLBREAK There are a range of countries that have established their own SMM7-like standard
measurement method in the UK. Identical guides are released in Australia, UK, Canada, Sri
Lanka, Hong Kong, France and several other nations.
There are primarily 2 types of BOQs
 Materials Bill
 Labor Bill
BOQ Estimated
SC Quantity Surveyors may produce approximate quantity bills and are generally utilized where
there is insufficient information to plan firm quantity bills or where the customer has decided
that a firm quantity bill does not entail the time and expense. These types of contracts do not
provide a lump - sum value, but rather total bid prices (i.e. a quantified expense schedule), as the
sums are subject to re-measurement upon distribution by the quantity surveyor. By addition,
these agreements are subject to greater variance than lump sum contracts and therefore cannot be
used when time is a restrictive factor or when there is considerable uncertainty over other things,
such as major excavations and earthworks. EOLBREAK It should be noted that the initial
resource costs of estimated quantity bills are likely to be lower than firm quantity bills, but the re
- measurement market eventually contributes to higher total resource consumption [ CITATION
XWa13 \l 1033 ]. Although the measured amounts are approximate, the descriptions of the work
products should be correct in the estimated bill of quantities. EOLBREAK Bills of quantities
needed for a lump sum contract dependent on a definite or estimated quantity shall normally be
prepared by the employer's quantity surveyor, whereas the company's project manager the
prepare the employer 's requirements under a design and construction contract and the Bill of
quantities or quantified schedules of work shall be prepared either by the principal contractor or,
most of the time, by the principal contractor [ CITATION MLe19 \l 1033 ].
Composition of Amounts Bills
The Quantities Bills that we provide to our customers can include the following main sections:
 Offer type (including bona fide tender certificate)
 Overview (or Key Summary)
 Preliminaries, consisting of two major sections:
– Knowledge and demands; and
– Timeline for rates
 Measured works (including works designed by the manufacturer e.g. pre-cast concrete
floors / stairs, windows etc.)
 Hazards;
 Provisional appropriations;
 Credits (for materials produced from the works);
 (Provisional) dayworks; and
 Appendices

Basic Format fir BOQ

The key parts contained in the bill of quantities are the tender type, details, conditions, timetable
for selling, provisional numbers, and day works. Five key components which are as follows are
to be considered for the preparation of BOQ:
 Description of item
 Quantity
 Unit
 Rates per unit
 The Total Amount

BOQ preparation Process

Quantities take off:
Taking off is the process of analyzing the drawing and its specifications in order to identify the
elements necessary for BOQ preparation.
Definition of the latter:
Appropriate narrative of a specific work is provided in this step to explain and justify the work
being done.
Work Up:
This phase includes documenting every necessary calculation in a sheet called the TDS sheet.
The time column (column of multipliers) is used to fill the amount of repetitions of the same
function. This represents the multiplication element. The column of measurements is the one
where all measurements such as weight, width & depth are registered. When we literally subtract
the corresponding elements (Multiplication factor x Dimension) in the Sums section to get the
cumulative sum of function [ CITATION SLe12 \l 1033 ].

Benefits of BOQ
Preparing amounts bills has both benefits and disadvantages. The key advantages of volume
billing are:
 Simplified analysis of the tenders.
 It saves the cost and time of several contractors which measure the same design
 Calculate their fair bids.
 This helps to calculate intermediate valuations and advance payments.
 Price of Shift Orders
 Quantity statement helps prepare final account
 Resource protection, implying that BOQ offers statistics on asset control of finished
programs, the duration of the life cycle, repair plans, general benefits and depreciation
costs.
 Taxing.
 Priced bill of quantities details from the database will assist in estimating future
feasibility and cost planning.
 It offers a detailed and consistent description of the research to be carried out.
A bill of quantity is defined your tenderers and requires them to pay a charge for the services to
be carried out. The bill of quantities helps tenderers with determining the work costs for their
tender, because this ensures that all tendering companies would be charging the same quantities
(instead of having off quantities from the sketches and specifics themselves), it therefore offers a
rational which reliable tendering system. EOLBREAK The services would need to be quantified
at any point in a project's contracting process, irrespective of the form of contract used, in order
to secure rates to understand the nature of the job and the differences to make payments. A
strong and accurate BoQ allows it phase much simpler and more transparent, which reduces the
dependence on guesswork. The BoQ will advise the project budget and change certain aspects of
the plan that may be prohibitively costly before construction begins [ CITATION LZh07 \l
1033 ]. It will also enable to determine quantities to guarantee that you will obtain the correct
resources in advance of beginning plays. EOLBREAK A BoQ will have a transparent and
succinct summary of the analysis to be done, because well when a reliable budget monitoring
system and accurate expense recording. This allows for the estimation of cash flow forecasts
which provides a basis for forecasting changes, preparation intermediate purchases and final
reporting. EOLBREAK This aims to build a low-risk and low-cost tendering atmosphere for
tenderers that promotes successful bid entry as the risk is well recognized and better defined.
EOLBREAK Advance of Problems & Requirements Because we write down the concise
description of increasing work to be done in a given project, we will assess the labeling of
problems and challenges for it at the same time. Such problems can be solved in advance and can
also save time, effort and resources. EOLBREAK Detailed project-planning by taking the design
& specifications into account, project planning is much easier until the actual project budget is
set. It will provide a full and detailed description of the required equipment and materials, and
will help the project engineers to quote the work correctly bill of quantity is defined your
tenderers and allows them to pay a charge for the services to be carried out. The bill of quantities
helps tenderers with determining the construction costs for their tender, and since it ensures that
all tendering contractors will be charging the same quantities (instead of having off quantities
from the drawings and specifications themselves), it also offers a fair and accurate tendering
method. EOLBREAK The services will need to be quantified at some point in a project's
procurement process, regardless of the type of contract used, in order to obtain rates to
understand the extent of the work and the differences to make purchases. A good and accurate
BoQ allows it process much easier and more straightforward, which reduces the dependence on
guesswork. The BoQ will inform the project budget and change certain elements of the design
that might be prohibitively expensive before construction begins. This will also enable to
determine quantities to guarantee that you can obtain the right materials in advance of beginning
works. EOLBREAK A BoQ should provide a transparent and succinct description of the
research to be undertaken, as well as a reliable budget management framework and accurate
expense reporting. This allows for the calculation of cash flow forecasts which provides a
framework for estimating changes, preparation intermediate payments and final reporting.
EOLBREAK This helps to create a low - risk and low - cost tendering atmosphere for tenderers
that promotes competitive bid entry as the danger is better understood and better defined.
EOLBREAK Advance of Problems & Requirements Because we write down the brief
description of each work to be completed in a given project, we will assess the labeling of
problems and challenges with it at the same time. Such challenges can be addressed in advance
and can therefore save time, energy and resources. EOLBREAK Comprehensive project-
planning by taking the design & specifications into consideration, project planning becomes
much easier once the initial project budget is set. It will provide a complete and comprehensive
description of the required equipment and materials, and will help the project engineers to quote
the work appropriately [ CITATION KZi17 \l 1033 ].
BOQ Removes Guesswork
BOQ simply eliminates any span of guesswork throughout the entire project construction
process. In the lack of BOQ, it is only on the basis of guesswork that the quotes for each work
need to be worked out separately and independently. It keeps everything transparent, so there is
zero chance of the tenderers or contractors having corrupt practices.
Saves energy & building expenses
Where the materials are available on time, the construction time can be effectively reduced in
accordance with the specifications specified in the BOQ. It also gives fair amount of time to
compare the prices of all the products and to select the best one. Saving building costs, then.
CEBOQ Benefits
The main advantages of the Cebo are its use as a means of exercising financial control over civil
engineering projects and its (much misunderstood) use as a means of controlling damage. Such
two advantages are of course complementary. EOLBREAK Mitigating uncertainties Before
tendering for a civil engineering project is approved, the very process of planning a CEBoQ will
have already provided the company with a significant benefit, although it may not be aware of
one. EOLBREAK The process and instruction involved in the preparation of a CEBoQ according
to detailed rules of CESMM4 requires an extremely rigorous examination of the drawings and
specifications of the author. Indeed, experienced practitioners know this preparing a CEBoQ is
the next best thing to actually build the works as determining the "completeness" of the design.
Very often, it is possible to check not only the "fullness" of the specification but also elements of
its "adequacy." As an illustration, if testing the invert rates in the manhole plan, it is not unusual
to find drains running "uphill." More importantly, it can save the customer a lot of money also
based on the principle that earlier spent money sells more than later spent money. When the
contractor finds inadequate and obsolete design information later down the line, the advancement
of the works will often be delayed or disrupted while they are being repaired. EOLBREAK A
second role in risk management that the CEBoQ plays is to ensure that tenders are released on
the basis of the same understanding of the work involved and the amounts involved.
EOLBREAK In the betting exercise tenderers will always want to popular their spending on
competitive tendering. If they have to schedule their own amounts of the work involved to a tight
deadline, they may be tempted to "cut corners" This can lead to mistakes and many contracts
were awarded to a builder who underestimated the true complexity and quantity of the work
based on their own assessment. This ultimately involves a lot of misery for the buyer and his
associates when the contractor tries to make himself "full" again as price fluctuations and certain
client-risk injuries that may occur while construction. EOLBREAK Fiscal control Moving now
to the CEBoQ 's position as the instrument we can exercise financial power than. The
introduction to the CESMM4 Handbook offers a valuable insight into that role. It states:
"Financial management involves exchange-handed capital management. Because money almost
always changes hands in the opposite direction from the one in which goods or services are
provided, it can be interpreted as the control of who delivers what and at what price. This idea
defines an expensive bill of quantities as the main mechanism for financial control of a civil
engineering deal [ CITATION JJu14 \l 1033 ].

Benefits of BOQ to Construction Industry

Bills of Quantities (BOQ) according to Seeley and Winfield (1999) is a paper consisting of a list
of work products to be performed under the contract with quantities inserted in respect of each
item, prepared in accordance with the Standard Building Works Calculation System (currently
SMM7). According to Ramus and Birchall (2003) the BOQ's are collected by a quantity surveyor
on behalf of the company based on comprehensive sketches and measurements of the architect.
According to them, the BOQ's are then sent to the builders along with the sketches and pricing
requirements for the next phase. The vendors then introduce a unit price against each item in the
bills and when all products are counted the effect is the overall expense of the bills and thus the
tenderer's price. EOLBREAK The past of the BOQ's dates back to the 19th century according to
Ashworth and Hogg. They say the contractors employed surveyors to prepare a BOQ for the
work, with the rise of the industrial revolution in general contracting. The contractors soon
realized that the bills were duplicated unnecessarily with all of them employing their own
surveyor, so they started to employ a single surveyor to prepare the paper from which all the
firms would be pricing the work. It was decided by both parties that the winning contractor
should be paying the surveyor the costs. Ultimately, with the surveyor's salary coming from the
firm, it quickly became apparent that such surveyors would work best on their behalf under the
exclusive control of the architect. It was the generally agreed procurement method until post-
World War II and is still used today mainly in the small to medium scale. EOLBREAK The pros
and cons of the BOQ's have been discussed and deliberated on for many years now, and the
argument has generated some strongly held views and many differing views. "The quantity bill
has often been maligned as obsolete and needless in the current procurement climate throughout
the recent past. Indeed, it is clear that the number of contracts focused on a bill of quantities over
the past 20 years or so has declined dramatically, a belief held by those in the construction sector
to be discussing the benefits and the downside of the use of the BOQ.
BOQ gains at pre-contract phase:
Database – The details of pricing within the BOQ provide a cost base for future estimation.
Calculation of payments – The BOQ offers an objective framework for determining the payment
for consultants.
Asset protection – The BOQ received readily accessible statistics for completed building asset
control, life-cycle costing reports, repair plans, general premiums and replacement insurance
rates.
Taxation – BOQ offers a framework for the swift and reliable planning of depreciation schedules
as part of the project's full asset management program.
BOQ disadvantages at pre-contract phase:
Cost and time – Preparing a BOQ tends to raise costs and extend the documentation period.
Practice estimate–Tenderers should ignore the standard (e.g. specifications for workmanship),
pricing only according to the BOQ. It could lead to underpricing as contractors seek to prevent
loss of revenue and the consequent risk of unsatisfactory results. EOLBREAK Procurement–The
use of a specification and associated BOQ discourages vendors from offering alternative
approaches to the definition, since alternatives will shift volumes. The BOQ is (if applicable)
best suited to traditional procurement method.

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