THE Bill of Quantities in

Electrical Installations

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Definition

A BOQ is a document that provides detailed information about the

costs, materials, parts, labor, dimensions and also the terms and
conditions of the work to be done. The BOQ also provides a measure of
the extent of work and this allows the work to be priced. In this case it
would provide detailed information on the electrical installation works
to be done.

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Objectives of the Bill of Quantities
• To provide sufficient information on the quantities of electrical works
to be performed to enable the engineers to be prepared efficiently
and accurately

• To ease evaluation, review and monitoring of the electrical project for

the contract period.

• To ensure proper budgeting and planning of the electrical project.

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The Bill of Quantities should be divided
generally into the following sections:
a) Preamble; 

b) Work Items (grouped into parts); 

c) Daywork Schedule; and 

d) Summary

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The Bill of Quantities should be divided
generally into the following sections:

Preamble
The preamble indicates the extensiveness of the unit prices, and states
the methods of measurement that have been adopted in the
preparation of the Bill of Quantities.

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The Bill of Quantities should be divided
generally into the following sections:

Work Items
The items in the Bill of Quantities should be grouped into sections to
distinguish between those parts of the works that by nature, location,
access, timing, or any other special characteristics may give rise to different
methods of installation, phasing of works, or considerations of cost.

General items common to all parts of the works may be grouped as a

separate section in the Bill of Quantities.
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The Bill of Quantities should be divided
generally into the following sections:

Quantities

Quantities should be computed net from the drawings, unless directed

otherwise in the contract, and no allowance should be made for bulking,
shrinkage, or waste.

Quantities should be rounded up or down where appropriate, and spurious

accuracy should be avoided.
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UNITS AND ABBREVATION USED IN A BOQ
Examples of SI units used when making a BOQ

Unit Abbreviation Unit Abbreviation

cubic meter m3 or cu m millimeter mm

hectare ha month Mon
hour h number nr
kilogram kg square meter m2 or sq. m
lump sum sum square millimeter mm2 or sq. mm
meter m week wk.
metric ton (1,000 kg) t

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The Bill of Quantities should be divided
generally into the following sections:
Daywork Schedule
A Day work Schedule should be included if the probability of unforeseen work, outside the
items included in the Bill of Quantities, is relatively high.

A list of the various classes of labor, materials, and contractor's equipment for which basic Day
work rates or prices are to be inserted by the engineer, together with a statement of the
conditions under which the contractor will be paid for work executed on a day work basis; and

A percentage to be entered by the engineer against each basic day work subtotal amount for
labor, materials, and plant representing the contractor's profit, overheads, supervision, and
other charges.

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Provisional Quantities and Sums
• Provision for quantity contingencies in any particular item or class of
work with a high expectation of quantity overrun should be made by
entering specific "Provisional Quantities" or "Provisional Items" in the
Bill of Quantities, and not by increasing the quantities for that item or
class of work beyond those of the work normally expected to be
required. To the extent not covered above, a general provision for
physical contingencies (quantity overruns) should be made by
including a "Provisional Sum" in the Summary of the Bill of Quantities.
Similarly, a contingency allowance for possible price increases should
be provided as a "Provisional Sum" in the Summary of the Bill of
Quantities. The inclusion of such Provisional Sums often
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The Bill of Quantities usually contains the
following part Bills
1. which have been grouped according to the nature or timing of the
projects.
a) Bill No. 1-General Items;
b) Bill No. 2-cabling
c) Bill No. 3-conduting ;
d) Bill No. 4-etc., as required;
e) Daywork Schedule

Summary Bill of Quantities.

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ITEM NUMBER DESCRIPTI0N UNIT QUNTITY UNIT PRICE USD TOTAL USD

1
Example
GENERAL:
of a supply and
1
installation
2 58
of 116
water pump.
Water Pumping Unit:
Supply, install and connect to the
electrical board, multistage Vertical
Turbine, Pump, Saudi National Pump,
KSB, Hamecdash, Paterson type or
equivalent complete with all associated
fittings and accessories recommended
for installations by the with electrical
motor US with hollow shaft, 1450rpm,
IP55, stator winding fitted with PT100
temperature sensors. The motor should
be capable to operate the system and
should be selected according to the
manufacturer recommendation

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