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Importance of Quantity Surveyors For Pub
Importance of Quantity Surveyors For Pub
1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1
2.2. The impact of the financial crisis on the construction industry .................................. 4
4. The key role of quantity surveyors for public sector organisations .......................... 12
5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 18
References:.............................................................................................................................. 19
Bibliography: .......................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix 1 .............................................................................................................................. 22
List of Illustrations
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
1. Introduction
The global economy is experiencing the worst crisis since the Great Depression. The
financial crisis spread from the U.S. to Europe and beyond in 2008 and makes tightening
credit markets, crashing stock markets, rising unemployment and falling corporate profits.
The UK as a whole officially entered recession in January 2009. GDP fell in the end of 2008
and is predicted to fall more in 2009, which makes the growing concern over its impact on
the economy. (International construction intelligence, 2009). Since the Second World War, it
is the worst downturn that has been seen because firstly; it is a worldwide crisis and secondly,
has resulted in huge fake debts. (Peston, 2008) Construction as well as most other sectors is
output fell by 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2008 in the UK and thus it is expected that a
massive number of jobs will be lost in next two years. However, “the industry needs to be
This report attempts to examine empirically the importance of quantity surveyors and
quantity surveying profession in the construction industry as the effective drives to help the
financial crisis, its transformation to economic crisis, and its impact on the construction
industry. The role of Quantity Surveyors in the construction industry is described and finally
importance of the quantity surveyors in the current financial crisis is examined and
highlighted.
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
Before discussing how and why financial crisis occurs and what its relationship to economic
crisis is, it is necessary to have a precise definition of financial crisis. According to Mishkin
(1992), “A financial crisis is a disruption to financial markets in which adverse selection and
moral hazard problems become much worse, so that financial markets are unable to
efficiently channel funds to those who have the most productive investment opportunities.”
(pp.117-118) Schwartz (1986) proposed another definition as “Financial crisis is where there
Therefore, financial crisis causes the failure of financial markets to function effectively and
efficiently, which lead to a sharp reduction in economic activities. Five primary factors cause
financial crisis namely 1- Increases in interest rates, 2- Stock market declines, 3- Increases in
provided.
Figure 1 shows the sequence of events that happen during a financial crisis and its
The current financial crisis began from the US in the third quarter of 2007 when investors lost
their confident in the value of mortgages. Losses of sub-prime loans resulted in a liquidity
crisis amongst the banks leading a bank panic which eventually developed into an economic
crisis. As Peston (2008) describes, the UK, Europe and the US borrowed from Asia and
Middle East in the form of loans. The loans used to buy houses, support property
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
development etc, resulted in a sharp rise in the value of assets. This increase in the value was
Price level
decline Debt-Deflation
Fig.1. Sequence of events in a financial crisis. The sequence of events above the dashed line are those
that occur in almost financial crisis, while the events below the dashed line occur if a financial
crisis develops into a debt-deflation and consequently economic crisis, (Mishkin, 1992)
Lenders were willing to lend more even up to almost 100% of the purchase price. However, as
Baker (2002) argued, this run-up in home prices was just a housing bubble. He pointed out
that “there is no obvious explanation for a sudden increase in the relative demand for housing
which could explain the price rise and there is also no obvious explanation for the increase in
home purchase prices relative to rental prices.” Therefore “the only plausible explanation for the
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
sudden surge in home prices is the existence of a housing bubble. This means that a major factor
driving housing sales is the expectation that housing prices will be higher in the future. While this
process can sustain rising prices for a period of time, it must eventually come to an end.”
(pp.17-18) As Baker predicted, this bubble burst. Asset prices started to fall down. Declines in
asset prices made trouble for those who borrowed to buy those assets and as they were struggling
to pay their liabilities, they had to sell other assets, causing decline in the price of those assets. As
they couldn’t repay banks, the resources of banks were dried out, which means there is less credit
available which decreased asset prices more, which led to additional contraction of lending, and
and resulted in a decline in aggregate economic activity and consequently, an economic crisis.
The construction industry, as most of the other industries, was not immune from the current
financial crisis. Surveys reveal that new orders reduced by 39% in the third quarter of 2008 in
comparison with the average of 2007. Private housing orders fell 62% on the average of the year
before and public housing orders declined by 36%. Private housing starts falling down by
approximately 43% during 2008 and a further 32% decline is predicated in 2009.(CIOB, 2009).
In the UK, the construction industry confronted a workload reduction of 0.7% in 2008 and further
decline of 3.1% is anticipated in 2009. (National Statistic, 2008) Table 1 and Chart 1 provides a
statistical report of Housing situation in England from 1997-2008. The impact of the prevailing
recession on the construction industry can be monitored through the public sector and the private
- Private sector:
A sharp decline in private works makes problems for private construction companies. Table
1 show new house building orders declined from 172,290 in 2006-2007 to 155,880 in 2007-
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
Companies adjusted the Tender Price Index forecasts for 2009 and 2010 by minus percents,
capital and a many new projects have been refused new credits.
- Public sector
Public works have a better condition in comparison with private works. Government
government’s projects which will lead to increased under-spend, resulted in rationing the
budget and postponing the less prioritised projects such as Building Schools for Future
Programmes.(CIBO, 2009)
Another impact of financial crisis on the construction industry is falling salaries and job cuts.
Almost 400,000 jobs in the construction sector are predicted to be lost in next two years.
Companies, either public or private, are having to re-structure and down-size to survive
therefore the loss of technical resource and expertise is expected. (CIOB, 2009). Quantity
Surveyors as the construction based professionals also are facing the threat of being made
redundant. Nevertheless, quantity surveyors can play an essential role to help the industry
pass through this recession and allow it to grow after the economy recovers.
Following sections aim to explain the importance of Quantity Surveyors and generally
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
Table1. Number of house buildings: permanent dwellings started and completed, by tenure, England,
Start Completed
Registered Registered
Financial Private Local All Private Local All
Social Social
Year Enterprise Authorities Dwellings Enterprise Authorities Dwellings
Landlord Landlord
149,560
1997-98 136,280 19,630 260 156,170 127,840 21,400 320
Chart1. Number of house buildings: permanent dwellings started and completed, England
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
According to a report published by RICS in 1971, the quantity surveyor’s roll is “to ensure that
the resources of the construction industry are utilised to the best advantage of society by
providing, inter alia, the financial management for projects and a cost consultancy service to the
client and designer during the whole construction process”. The rapid development in the
profession led the RICS to prepare a new report in 1983 which explored further the work of
quantity surveyors as well as their future potential and directions and suggested an even greater
expansion of services and in some cases in industries other than construction. In 1991, Quantity
Surveyors Division of the RICS commissioned a report, entitled QS 2000-The Future Role of the
Chartered Quantity Surveyor and analysed the threats and opportunities which the quantity
surveying profession may confront namely, changes in the market, changes in the construction
industry, changing client needs and changes in the profession.(Willis et al., 1994). The work of
• Cost planning including investment appraisal, life-cycle costing and value analysis
• Contract documentation
• Evaluation of tenders
• Project management
• Specialist services
The RICS indentifies a range of skill and knowledge that the quantity surveying profession needs
to carry on in order to keep its paramount place in the construction industry. The required
knowledge includes:
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
• Construction technology
• Financial management
• Business administration
• Construction law
• Management
• Documentation
• Analysis
• Appraisal
• Quantification
• Synthesis
The RICS also emphasised on the requirements and competencies for assessment of a quantity
surveyor and categorised them into three distinct category namely mandatory competencies, core
1- mandatory competencies:
The mandatory competencies are common to all professions involved in the construction industry
- Business skills
- Professional Practice
- Law
- Measurement
- Mapping ( Nkado,2000)
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
2- Core competencies:
- Contract practice
3- Optional competencies:
There is a need for flexibility in order to respond to new demands and opportunities. Extended
services of a Quantity Surveyor are mostly technical competencies which focus on future role of
- Development Appraisal
- Facilities Management
- Insolvency
- Insurance
- Project Management
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
In both public and private sectors the quantity surveyors are the important consultants for
employers. Traditionally, the distinctive different between private and public sectors was that
in private sector the main emphasis was on profits while in public sector it was on ensuing
the accountability of public finance. However, over recent years the aims of both sectors
come together which are competing against each other for wok, and their business as well as
The main concern of quantity surveyor in private sector is finding capital and offices,
ensuring a flow of work and avoiding losses. Hence, quantity surveyors have to demonstrate
a detailed expertise in terms of funding and economics and the financial consequences on
The key clients of public sector are mostly government organisations. The public service of
Department of Health, Property Holdings, Defence Works Services and the Lord
Quantity surveyors deal with the control of projects in a wide range size from very large to
small minor works, as well as maintenance and repair programmes. The surveyor’s main
responsibility is that of controlling the public money and monitoring the way that it is being
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
the both private and public sectors has been provided. As it was analysed the most important
aspect in the financial crisis is cash flow and credit which are indispensable on the
construction industry. It is essential to control and manage these key factors in order to
recover the current crisis specially in the public sector because firstly, public sector deals
with the public fund and governmental budget, secondly, mostly the public sector projects are
the public vital needs such as hospitals, roads and schools; and finally, the public sector
projects are often large scale ones and associated with the intensive capital and budget.
Therefore the quantity surveyors can play an important role with their knowledge and skills.
It is unlikely that a project can be successful without effective reasoned advices and efficient
The quantity surveyor influences on each stage of the public sector projects with his relevant
- Pre-design stage:
At this stage, the client develops the concept, undertake a feasibility study and prepare an
outline cost plan. An outline brief is then prepared after studying various options for the
project. The brief is then developed which includes the client’s requirements such as cost
The knowledge and skills of the quantity surveyors that can be useful at this stage are:
appraisal, cost benefit analysis and financial aspects of feasibility study. The quantity
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
study and development appraisal and the factors that can affect them. Their
the clients on the economics of design, on the use of value management and on how
• Design economics and cost planning: quantity surveyors can give strategic and
reasoned advice to the clients on diversity of market factors and trends in construction
cost. They have knowledge of the main parameters that affect design economics over
the whole life cycle of projects and thus they can assist in the financial control of
design. They prepare preliminary estimate and cost plans at this stage; and analyse the
of procurement methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each to the parties
involved. They therefore have a clear knowledge of the main types of procurement
used in the public sector and also ancillary processes such as partnering and
- Design stage:
During this stage, design team develop the brief into drawings and specifications. Client is
informed of possible cost changes and can then change items of the design to reduce costs or
The following competencies are used during this stage by quantity surveyors:
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
surveyor’s competencies that can be used during the design stage. Quantity surveyors
advise on the impact of different design solutions on cost and programme. They
appreciate how design solutions vary for different types of buildings; thus can give
contracts. They can advise on the most appropriate contractual procedure at the
various stages of a contract and then evaluate the appropriateness and implication of
proposed contractual amendments. They assess entitlement for extension of time, loss
and expenses; finally giving advice to clients of their contractual rights and
• Value management: employers are now looking for achieving improved value for
money. Values of a project vary from perspective of each parties involved in the project.
In the public sector projects, values are not only the cost and commercial aspects. Other
capability should be taken into account and by considering of the fact that value is related
to cost; quantity surveyors therefore are involved in the value management. “Quantity
Surveyors have the potential to act as the Value engineering coordinator, the key person
in the team and also in their traditional role as cost consultant..... Value engineering
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
- Construction stage:
At this stage, execution and control of all site work and associated activities are carried out.
Site supervisors monitor the project to ensure the project is constructed as per the contract
all aspects of the construction stage, including monitoring the work of the design leader and
supervisor. (Egbu, 2009). Presence of quantity surveyors has the significant affect on the
project. The following skills and knowledge can lead the project to the best and optimal rout:
control costs which is another important part of quantity surveyor’s work. Surveyors
carry out the quantifying and pricing construction works at various stages of projects;
using their thorough knowledge of the various standard methods of measurement and
also have this ability to advise clients on appropriate method of measurement and
costing.
comprised the procedure and techniques for conflict avoidance, conflict management
and dispute resolutions. The quantity surveyor has an in-depth knowledge of how
various forms of contract deal with dispute avoidance and their provisions for
resolving disputes. They can give advice on law governing conflict avoidance and
management and can assist clients by their knowledge of dispute resolution procedure
understanding of the financial processes used to achieve profitability and how these
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
processes integrate with the overall delivery of the project. They are aware of
techniques to reconcile the cost against income and therefore manage sub-contractors
and suppliers financially. They evaluate and advise on the financial implications and
project cash flow and profitability are the other quantity surveyors’ competencies that
civil engineering estimator but he is also can be appointed as project manager, to take
control of the project from inception to completion and to organise the work of the
design team and the main contractor and subcontractors. (Seeley, 1997). Basically,
management of project starts from design stage and continues through construction
surveyor to identify risks associated with the project and his knowledge of the
strategies to eliminate or mitigate them are the key competencies for managing a
At this stage, project is handed over and information for feedback is obtained. Although
almost all design and construction parties are not involved in this stage, quantity surveyors
still can play a key role during this stage by the following competencies:
• Life-cycle cost advice: life cycle cost of a project is defined as the whole life cost of the
project from the very beginning phase through post-construction and use phase including
maintenance and service costs. However, the major part of life cycle cost is related to use
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
phase when the project is commissioning and operating. It is wholly dependent on the
functionality of that project, for example, life cycle cost of a dwelling house is
completely different from a workshop even though their design and construction cost
were the same. As the life cycle cost of a project does not appear before operation and use
phase, it does not affect on the design and construction stage therefore usually it is not
considered during these phases. However, as mentioned before, the major cost of a
project is likely to be related to the post-construction cost and thus has a significant
impact on projects; especially in the public sector due to the nature in which provides
services to public such as schools, hospitals, health centres and so on. Hence it is essential
for public sector projects to consider the maintenance and service and generally life cycle
cost of them. Quantity surveyors have the competency to estimate and evaluate the
lifecycle/whole life cost of a project. They carry out life cycle cost exercises which take
issues.
managing the public projects by their knowledge of processes associated with project,
contractual policy, by the application of such techniques as serial tendering, early contractor
budgetary control, all play a large part in the survival of public sector from the current
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
5. Conclusion
Quantity surveyors have an essential part to play in increasing the efficiency of construction
work and reducing confrontation by securing that the most appropriate procurement method
is appointed, providing effective cost control procedure and ensuring value for money at all
times. They minimise the potential omission by allocation risk and identifying the value-
adding activities in the project. Quantity surveyors operate a wide range of competencies
outside the traditional quantity surveying activities. The extended skills of quantity surveyors
such as project management and value management also help clients to achieve their needs
and expectations.(Seeley, 1997) in the current financial crisis which cash flow and credit are
paramount factors for clients, an effective project management is essential, thus completion
of project on stipulated time and within determined budget is important specially in the public
sector which deal with the large scaled projects and intensive capital. Quantity surveyors
have this capability to secure success of the projects by their effective technical and financial
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
References:
Baker, D. (2002) The Run-up in Home Prices: Is It Real or Is It Another Bubble?, Challenge,
Vol. 45, Issue 6.
Bernanke, B.S (1983) Non-monetary effects of the financial crisis in the propagation of the Great
Depression, American Economic Review, Vol. 73, Issue. 3
Bernanke, B.S and Gertler, M. (1990) Financial fragility and economic performance, Quarterly
Journal of Economics, Vol. 105, Issue. 1
Calomiris, C.W. and Hubbard, R.G. (1990) Firm Heterogeneity, Internal Finance and ‘Credit
Rationing’, Economic Journal, Vol. 100, Issue. 399
CIOB (2009) the impact of the global financial crisis on the construction industry,
http://www.ciob.org.uk/filegrab/JAN009_POLICY_credit-crunch-brief_v6.pdf?ref=1134,
(Accessed on 12/05/09)
Davis Langdon & Everest (1991) QS 2000: The Future Role of the Chartered Quantity
Surveyor, London: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Egbu, C.O. (2009), process and project systems module handout, Learning Package 2, The
Kelly,J., Bowles, G. and Fernie, S. , Male,S. and Gronqvist, M. (1998), The global
development of Value Management : with particular reference to the public sector ,
mandatory requirements , standards and qualifications, London: Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors.
National Statistic (2008), Housing in England 2006/07: A report based on the 2006/07
Survey of English Housing, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, London:
Department for Communities and Local Government
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
RICS (1983) The Future Role of the Chartered Quantity Surveyor, London: The Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
RICS (1971) The future Role of the quantity Surveyor, London: The Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors.
RICS (2008) Your path way to qualify in Quantity Surveying in Construction, London: The
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Schwartz, A.J. (1986) Real and pseudo-financial crises. In: Capie, F. and Wood, G.E (eds.)
Financial Crises and the World Banking System. London: MacMillan
Seeley, I.H. (1997) Quantity Surveying Practice, 2nd ed., London: MacMillan Press Ltd
Stiglitz, J.E and Weiss,A. (1987) Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information,
American Economic Review, Vol 77. Issue. 1
Willis, C.J , Ashworth, A. And Willis, J.A (1994), Practice and Procedure for the Quantity
Surveyor, 10th ed., Oxford: Blackwell Science
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
Bibliography:
Abbott, C., Barrett, P., Ruddock, L. And Sexton, M. (2007), Hidden innovation in the
construction and property sectors, RICS Research paper series, Vol.7 Number 20
Ashworth, A. (1989) Life Cycle Costing: Can It Really Work? American Association of Cost
Engineering
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
As Stiglitz and Weiss(1987) describes, some lenders cut down the number of loans even
borrowers are willing to pay higher interest. This occurs because lenders believe that
individuals and firms with high-risk investment projects are those who are willing to pay high
rate interest, thus it increases the possibility that the lender is lending to a bad credit risk. If
the borrowers cannot be discriminated by the lender in terms of whether their projects are
riskier investment projects, they are likely to be denied loans. Hence, even if there is an
excess request for loans, a higher interest rate will not be able to balance the market because
further increases in the interest rate will reduce the supply of loans and make the demand for
loans higher. This credit rationing helps creation of a financial crisis because lenders want to
make fewer loans which lead to a significant decline in investment and economic activity in
its totality.
The use of collateral is an important way that the borrower can make the lender confident to
supply loans because it reduces the lender’s losses in the case of default. If a borrower evades
the loan, then the lender can take the collateral and sell it to compensate the losses on the
loan. Net worth plays the same role to collateral. If a firm has high net worth, then if it
defaults on a loan, the lender can take title to the firm’s net worth and sell it to make up for
some of the losses on the loan. Hence, when firms have high net worth, lenders will be more
willing to make loans. Calomiris and Hubbard (1990) emphasised that a decline in the stock
market leads to a large decline in the market value of firm’s net worth thus the decline in net
worth as a result of a stock market decline makes lenders less willing to lend. Therefore the
stock market declines result in a decrease in lending and a decline economic activity.
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
3- Increases in uncertainty:
bad credit risk investment from a good one, leading them to a decline in lending and
investment
4- Bank panics
Financial intermediaries that make private loans such as banks, have an important role in
financial markets. Banks by becoming expert in the production of information about firms
can discriminate good credit risks from bad ones. Then they attain funds from depositors and
lend them to good firms. Because banks are able to lend to good firms, they can revenue on
their loans higher than the interest they pay to the depositors so they are able to earn a profit.
As Bernanke (1983) described, a financial crisis which resulted from a bank panic reduce the
investment. The bank panic occurs when depositors, fearing the safety of their deposits, rush
to make withdrawal their deposits from the banking system causing a contraction in loans and
a multiple contraction in deposits. Banks thus try to protect themselves from deposit outflows
As debt payments are contractually fixed, unanticipated declines in price level raises the
value level of firms’ liabilities but does not raise the real value of firms’ assets. The result is
that the net worth in real terms declines and as discussed before decreasing the net worth
makes lenders less willing to lend and consequently causes a decline in investment and
As pointed out by Bernanke and Gertler (1990), typically a financial crisis begins with an a
stock market failure, excessive rise in interest rates, and increasing uncertainty caused by
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Importance of the Quantity Surveyors for public sector organisations
crash of big financial firms. During these crises, the increase in uncertainty, the rise in
interest rates and the crashing stock market, intensify the problems in credit markets which
make it less willing for lenders to lend and cause a decrease in lending and investment.
Depositors begin to withdraw their money from banks because of deteriorating business
conditions and hesitation about their bank’s health. The resulting of bank panic increases
interest rates even higher and decreases the amount of financial contribution by banks which
If the economy downturn causes a sharp decrease in prices, the decline in the price level leads
to devalue firms’ net worth. This situation defined by fisher (1933) as debt-deflection period
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