1.

Introduction
Quantity Surveying – the process of calculating
the quantities and cost of works required for a
project.
• Purpose of QS- To Know amount of Money
- Quantity of Material
- Tools & Equipments required
- Workers to be employed
- Schedule & Programs
- To fix up completion period
- To invite tenders
- For Valuation of an existing Bld.
 Introduction cont…

Parties in construction
• There are three parties in the Construction Industry.
Client-Access to Finance & Land
Design Team- Produces Construction
Documents
Construction Team – Construction

• Construction Documents
- Drawings
- Specifications, Bill of Quantities
-/Bid and Contract Documents/
2. SPECIFICATION
 2. SPECIFICATION
It is a specific description of a particular subject.
. Engineering ~ contains detailed description of all
workmanship and materials ( required to
complete a project) in accordance with its
drawings and details.
• Drawings with the Specification will completely
defines the structure. Drawings and
Specifications are complementary.

• should be written in an orderly and logical

manner.
 2. Specification Cont..
• Engineering ~ are organized into divisions and
sections
• Proper organization of the specifications
facilitates cost estimating and aids in
preparation of bids.

• It is not practical to include sufficient notes on

the drawings.
• Detailed descriptions should be incorporated
in specifications.
For example, workmanship required
should be stated.
 2. Specification Cont..
 Contractors study specifications to determine
 Details or materials required
 Sequence of work,
 Quality of workmanship, and
 appearance of the end
product,
 Estimate costs.

Good specifications expand or clarify drawing notes

define quality of materials and workmanship,
establish the scope of the work, and describe the
responsibilities of the contractor.
 2. Specification Cont..
The technical specifications cover the major types of
work—architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, and
electrical.

Each of these types is further divided and subdivided

in the technical specifications and given a general title
that describes work to be performed.
 2.1 Purpose of Specification

 The cost of a unit quantity of work is governed by

its Specification.
 To describe Quality and Quantity of materials.
 Workmanship and method of doing the work.
 Tender document
 Contract document
 Procurement of machineries
 Supervision
 Payment
 For Arbitration of court cases
 2.2 Types of Specification
` Specification can be Broadly
classified in to two:
General Specification (GS)
Detailed Specification (DS)
 Gs- general information for the quantities of materials,
nature and class of work can be known.
Gs- useful for estimating a project.
Ds- Detailed specification for particular item, specify
the quality , quantities and proportion of materials,
method of preparation and execution of a work.
Ds- form a part of contract document.
 2.3 Writing Specifications

Principles

1. Shall be in Logical and Orderly manner

2. Materials – quality and size, bindings, proportion of

mixing or treatment of materials shall be fully
described.

3. Workmanship- the method of mixing the proportion,

laying, compaction, finishing and curing etc… shall
be in complete description.
3. MEASUREMENTS
 3. Measurements
Measurements – Important in planning & execution
of any work or project. From Estimation up to
completion and settlements of payments.
3.1 Measurements Rule-
1. Each item shall be fully described (Specification)
2. In booking dimensions, the order shall be length,
breadth or width, and height or depth or thickness.
3.50 A.SUB STRUCTURE

4/ 2.50 Excavation & Earthwork

Excavate for isolated footing starting from reduced ground

1.50 level.
52.50
 3.Measurements cont…
3. Unless otherwise stated all works shall be
measured net subject to tolerances :
Distance to the nearest 0.01m,
Area 0.01sq m,
Volume 0.01cu m,
Weight 0.001 tone.

4. Same type of work under different conditions

and nature and/or stage shall be measured
separately under separate item.
 3. Measurements cont…
3.2. Types of Measurement
3.2.1 Linear measurements – Long and thin works
shall be taken in linear or running unit and linear
measurement shall be taken Via “m”
3.2.2. Areal measurement – Thin, shallow or surface
work shall be taken in square unit or in Area. The
thickness shall be specified. Area-Sq.m
3.2.3.Volume measurements –Voluminous and thick
works shall be in cubic unit or volume. Volume- Cu.m
 Voluminous - Thickness >0.30m
 Superficial- Thickness<= 0.30m (Areal) except concrete
….(British standard)
4.Bill of Quantities
4.BILL OF QUANTITIES
 Process in the preparation of completed BoQ
a) Taking-off Quantities
b) Abstracting or „ Working-up‟
c) Billing

4.a) Taking-off Quantities (Booking Quantities)

 Extracting quantities from the Drawings with description
is known as Booking Dimension or Taking off Dimension
Quantities.
 Taking-off assists the measurer with both accuracy and
speed of recording dimension
 4.Bill of Quantities cont..

 Dimensions are taken (from Drawings) on specially

lined paper called Take-off sheet (Dimension paper).
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Timesing Dimension Squaring Description

Excavation for
isolated footing
3.00 starting from
2.00 reduced ground
4/ 0.50 level.

12.00

Take-off sheet format

4.BILL OF QUANTITIES CONT..
General principles of Taking-off
a) Entering Dimension- Dimensions shall be entered in
dimension column in two place of decimals.
b) Abbreviation – in description column use abbreviations to save
space and time.
c) Grouping of Dimensions- where the same dimension applies
to more than one item, separate each of the descriptions by “&
“ and bracket the descriptions.
d) Adjustment of openings – when measuring areas with
openings or voids, the convenient practice is Measure the full
area first, then adjust for the openings.
e) Order of taking-off:- follows the order of construction. For
Simplicity and avoid risk of missing items.
4.BILL OF QUANTITIES CONT..
4.b) Abstracting or ‘working up’ Bill of Quantity
 After completion of the take-off the measured items
should be collected, and similar items should be
merged.
 Once all measured items have been transferred to the
Abstract the quantities are totaled and rounded
to the nearest whole unit.
 4.Bill of Quantities cont..
4.c) Billing – the final stage in preparation of BoQ.
~ is presenting the quantities and description in a structured
and consistent fashion.
Levels of Heading
1. Level1: Group (eg. Sub-structure)
2. Level2: Sub-group (eg. Earthwork)
3. Level3: Work section (eg. Site clearance)
ITEM DESCRIPTION UNIT Qty. RATE AMOUNT
A.SUB STRUCTURE
1 Excavation & Earthwork
1.1 Clear the site to remove the top soil to a
depth of 20cm. m2 704.00 3.00 2,112.00

1.2 Bulk excavation over the site to reduce level

up to a depth not exceeding 50cm. m3 322.00 15.00 4,830.00