For Civil Engineering Works

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 1

Introduction
Most civil engineering projects employ Bill of Quantities
type of contract;
BoQ are produced from drawings
Drawings can be architectural; civil engineering; structural
engineering; geotechnical engineering; electrical;
mechanical, chemical; etc.
Drawings must be detailed enough to be able to produce
accurate and thorough BoQ
Well prepared and accurate bills of quantities lead to
 Well prepared tenders-do not leave the contractor guessing;
 Easy evaluation of tenders;
 Smooth administration of the contract.

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 2

Nature of Bills
BoQ comprise a list of items of work which are briefly
described. The Bills also provide a measure of the extent of
work and this allows the work to be priced.
The work included in the item is defined in detail by the
rules in the method of measurement.
The item descriptions are therefore a shorthand to allow
the relevant rules of the Method to be identified.
The measure may be a single item or number, dimension
(linear metre, square metre, cubic metre), time (hrs,
weeks) or weight.
July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 3
Definition - BoQ
 Definition
 BoQ is a compiled list of items of work to be performed by the contractor;
 They describe the works giving quantities and extent of work involved;
 These are referred to as item of work;
 Item of work are generally arranged in the BoQ in the order of their
execution;
 BoQ items are separated to reflect the different trades that may be
involved in the project;
 Example: for a building project, item may include:
 Clear the site;
 Excavations;
 Cast of foundations;
 Construct the super structure;
 Erection of roof;
 Electrical wiring;
 Fix windows and doors;
 Finishes;
 External works and clear the site.

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 4

Function of Bills
The BoQ may serve a number of functions as:
 A breakdown of the tendered price, with no contractual status, but

providing information for the selection from tenderers;

 An estimate measure of the work for the tendered price, to be used

to arrive at a revised contract price once the actual quantities of

work carried out are measured. This is the re-measure form of
contract.
 A schedule of rates as the contract basis for valuing variations in

the work.
 A basis for measure of the work completed for interim payments

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 5

Functions …
Contractors are asked to insert their prices against
the work items;
When summed up, together with other direct cost of
supply of materials and machinery and contingencies,
they form the tender sum;

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 6

Preparation of BoQ
The preparation of BoQ for building works is normally
prepared by quantity surveyors while that of civil
engineering works is normally prepared by civil engineers;
In lot of cases, they work together;
In some special cases, other branches of engineering are
incorporate such as mechanical engineers, electrical
engineers, service engineers etc.
BoQ are normally prepared using standard rules referred
to as standard methods of measurement;
Building works are normally measured using the Standard
Method of Measurement (SMM) for East Africa;

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 7

Preparation…
For civil engineering works, standard such as the Civil
Engineering Standard Method of measurement
(CESMM) can be used
The CESMM is published by the Institution of Civil
Engineers, UK.
We shall use this standard for the group project that
we shall perform in this semester.

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 8

Process of Preparation of BoQ
 Enquiry
 A firm may be approached to prepare a BoQ for another firm or it may
arise from work that has been designed by the same firm;
 Assessment of Work Content
 It is necessary not only to asses the size of the task but also to appreciate
the aspects that may require other specialization for accurate take-off;
 It is to be appreciated that besides the design work (architectural, civil,
structural, etc), preparation of BoQ is most time demanding
 Establish the type of Contract/form of tender documents
 The examination of the contract drawings and other specific project
features may lead to the consultant deciding on the form of contract to be
used
 Type of specifications, conditions of contract can also be determined at
this stage; in any case, some key aspects may already have been decided
during design stage. Eg. Concrete grade 25, mild or high yield steel, etc.

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 9

Process of preparation …
Resource requirements and task allocations
 Human resources requirements – engineers; q/surveyors ;
technicians; artisans; etc
 Computer facilities and software;
 Reproduction;
 Need for sub-contracting;
 Tasks are allocated to individual or groups of individuals in
manageable portions; eg. Earthworks; concrete works; walls;
finishes; etc.
 It may be necessary to schedule the works such that resources
such as drawings can be shared between the groups.
 It is often necessary to consult with each other and in
particular the designers to obtain clarifications of details so
that an accurate and detailed BoQ is achieved
July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 10
Measuring Quantities – Taking-off
 All items are measured as accurately as possible to enable a fair price
to be obtained;
 Various standard methods of measuring work items eg. SMM or
CESMM;
 CESMM 2nd Edition contains classifications of work items Class A – Y
 Classifications include general items as well as specific work items
 The BoQ should in principle contain all items describe by drawings
(or implied) and all other possible items that a contractor may have to
perform to complete the works
 If at the construction stage a contractor is necessitated to perform
work that was not originally in the BoQ, a variation is normally issued
 Frequent or excessive variations raise concern from the client – either
concerns for incompetence of the engineer or corruption!!

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 11


CESMM Classifications (2 Edition) nd
Class A: General Items
 Class B: Ground Investigations
 Class C: Geotechnical and other Work Classifications
 Class D: Demolition and site Clearance
 Class E: Earthworks
 Class F: In situ Concrete
 Class G: Concrete Ancillaries
 Class H: Precast Concrete
 Class I: Pipe work-pipes
 Class J: Pipe work-manholes and pipe work ancillaries
 Class L: Pipe work-support and protection etc
 Class M: Structural Metal Work
 Class N: Miscellaneous metalwork
 Class O: Timber
 Class P: Piles
 Class Q: Piling Ancillaries
 Class R: Roads and Pavings
 Class S: Rails Track
 Class T: Tunnels
 Class U: Brickwork, blockwork and masonry
 Class V: Painting
 Class W: Water proofing
 Class X: Miscellaneous works
 Class Y: Sewer renovation and ancillary works


July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 12

 Extract from CESMM-Class F: In situ Concrete
First Division Second Division Third Division
Provision of concrete 1. Grade C7.5 or 10 Cement BS 12 or BS 146
1.Ordinary prescribed mix m3 2. Grade C12.5 1. 10mm Aggregates
Provision of concrete 3. Grade C15 2. 14mm Aggregates
2.Ordinary prescribed mix m3 4. Grade C20 3. 20mm Aggregates
5. Grade C25 4. 40mm Aggregates
6. Grade C30 Cement BS 4027
7. Grade C35 (Sulphate Resisting)
8. Grade C40 5. 10 mm Aggregates
6. 14mm aggregates
7. 20mm aggregates
8. 40mm aggregates

Placing of concrete 1. Blinding 1. Thickness: not exceeding 150mm;

3. Mass 2. Bases, footings, piles, caps 2. 150 – 300mm
4. Reinforced 3. Suspended slabs 3. 300 – 500mm
5. Prestressed 4. walls 4. Exceeding 500mm
5. Columns and piers 1. X area not exceeding 0.03m2
6. Beams 2. 0.03 – 0.1m2
7. Casing o metal sections 3. 0.1 – 0.25m2
4. 0.25 – 1m2
5. Exceeding 1m2
6. Special beam sections

Other concrete forms

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 13

 Sample Items
 Items in this class in a BoQ format could be for example:

Code Description Unit Qty Unit Amount

price
Provision of ordinary prescribed concrete mix grade C25, m3 50
F156 sulphate resistant maximum aggregate size 14mm

F413 Placing of mass concrete for blinding of thickness m3 50

not exceeding 150mm

F524 Reinforced concrete for footings thichness exceeding m3 32

500mm

F663 Pre-stressed concrete for beams cross-sectional area m3 29

between 0.1 – 0.25m2

 Once all possible items have been measured, they are assembled
together with other tender documents ready for the invitation
of contractors to tender.

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 14

Methods of preparing BoQs
Three methods are used:
Traditional method
Work from one drawing to the next taking of dimensions of items
and recording them on continuous basis. Say from one floor of a
building to the next
Using these sheets, information is assembled for similar items on
another sheet of paper. Say all items related to Class F concrete are
assembled in another set of papers
The actual quantities are then computed by “squaring”
For example: Concrete slab grade 25
 2.7/3.5/0.25 means concrete slab of size 2.7m by 3.5m by 0.25m thickness
 Squaring is therefore
 2.7 x 3.5 x 0.25 = 2.3625m3

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 15

Traditional method…
However, if item description was for Concrete slab
Grade 25, thickness 250 mm:
The squaring will be like
2.7/3.5
Squaring therefore it will be
2.7*3.5 = 9.45 m2

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 16

Cut and shuffle method
This is a faster method than the traditional method
The civil engineer or QS takes-off quantities into
specially designed sheets in duplicate where the
original sheet is perforated into strips which can be
separated from the book and collected together to
form group of items
Squaring is done immediately on the same sheets
The strips for similar items are put together and
handed over for billing

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 17

Computer aided methods
Computer aided systems can be based on simple
database software or spreadsheets to sophisticated 4D
software – XYZ and time
Microsoft Excel Templates
Standard software such as those listed on
http://www.bidshop.org/
Some demo versions of these are freely available from
the web
More sophisticated software are available

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 18

Intelligent CAD systems
Normally, CAD system is only used as a platform for
preparing and presenting a model which has only
geometrical and textural information of the design. The
information contained in the model does not support all the
activities involved in the engineering design, analyses and
construction processes
Intelligent CAD is an integrated system which can not only
represent the basic geometrical and textural information of
an engineering object, but also other engineering properties
useful to engineering design and analyses. The system
should also be able to generate cost estimations, virtual
walkthrough, and other analyses so that the whole project
delivery procedure can be better supported

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 19

Intelligent CAD System …
Advantages of an intelligent CAD system
Generation of photo- realistic image of designs before the
commencement of construction
Automatic measurement of quantities and costs
Conduct “what-if” analysis in order to reduce unnecessary design
changes from clients
Application in construction
Intelligent CAD systems are particularly useful to Design-and-Build
projects, as these systems allow designs changes to be entertained
efficiently
Intelligent CAD systems can produce cost estimates in the form of a BoQ
In combination with virtual reality technology, intelligent CAD systems
can help users to conduct constructability analyses of designs so as to
avoid impractical structures

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 20

Automatic measurement of quantities based on drawing
recognition
 Taking off quantities is the most time consuming activity, as it requires
the manual measurement of the dimensions and quantities of
components such as steel reinforcement in a structure that is presented
in the three perspectives of plan, elevation and cross section
 A middle size project normally needs 4-5 person-months to take off the
quantities. This amount of time increases exponentially with the size of
the project
 In order to reduce the time and to improve the efficiency in quantity
measurement, automatic measurement of quantities based on drawing
recognition of 2D drawings is possible
 Instead of manually taking-off and measuring quantities form
engineering drawings, the system can automatically recognize drawing
entities based on graphic representations and annotations in the
drawings
July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 21
Advantages of Computer Aided
Systems
Productivity increases significantly
Better accuracy and consistency
Identification of partial discrepancies between
drawings

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 22

Arrangement of BoQ
Generally, BoQs are arranged in a similar format as the CESMM or
SMM;
For small projects the BoQ, and indeed all the tender documents
can be contained in a single volume
In case the project has several large portions that can be treated
separately, separate BoQ volumes can be prepared for the
different sections;
For example:
BoQ 1: CoET Block A;
BoQ 2: CoET Block B; etc.

BoQ N: External Works

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 23

Arrangement of BoQ for
Building Works
 The arrangement of BoQ for building works generally involve the following items:
 Preliminaries
 Substructure
 External walls
 External doors
 Windows
 Roofing
 Internal walls and partitioning
 Internal doors
 Finishing
 Decorations
 Fittings and fixtures
 Plumbing and engineering installations
 Electrical power
 External works
 Provisional sums
 Prime cost items
 Dayworks

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 24

summary
Well prepared BoQ gives contractors a good chance
to submit well estimated tenders
Contracts let on the basis of accurate estimates lead
to smooth contract management
All professionals are duty bound to ensure that BoQs
and indeed all tender documents are prepared in the
best possible manner so as to provide for opportunity
for project success

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 25

 For your attention!

July 3, 2021 UDSM, TM 322 26