Builders quantities for contractors' management

It was shown that much compensating work was undertaken by personnel of contracting organizations during the management of construction projects when they used measured quantity data prepared by the Clients' Quantity Surveyor. It was further shown that a standard method for preparing measured quantity data which reflected contracting management and construction methods could be developed if the amount and type of compensating work was identified. This method for measuring construction work would consequently find a use in the increasingly popular Design and Construct procurement method resulting from the swing in investment in construction work to the private sector which eroded the existing four-cornered Client: Designer: Quantity Surveyor: Contractor relationship. This swing allowed entreprenurial contracting organizations to by-pass the middle men (Designers and Quantity Surveyors) and liaise directly with the Client, adopting the traditional design team's role in the process. This situation effectively removed the centralised and controlled production of measured quantity data at pre-tender stage (i.e. Bills of Quantities prepared by the Quantity Surveyor) leaving the contractor to prepare his own measured quantity data ad-hoc. The main objectives included researching within contracting organizations to defme the use to which measured quantity data was put within the management functions of estimating, purchasing, surveying, planning and site management. Determining what quantity data should be measured for the benefit of these management functions. Field testing the determined measurement rules with upto three live specification and drawing contracts, in order to show that improvements could be made in the data flow and efficiency of data management. Publishing the fmdings of the research. Case studies within three contracting organizations were undertaken and interfaces between and within the management functions where compensating work was undertaken were identified. The measured quantity data required by contracting personnel for management tasks was defmed. A set of measurement rules for Builders' Quantities was compiled and tested on five projects, each of which was supplied by a different contractor. Some work was published and more publications were planned at the time of submission. It was shown during the field tests that savings of up to 50% in management staff time could be made using a prototype set of measurement rules. It was thought that the use of Builders' Quantities would also result in saving in construction costs and had implications for use in decision making by higher management. The work was documented in report form and submitted to the Science and Engineering Research Council who awarded the project a grade of excellence, the highest possible category.