Quantity surveyor manages and controls all costs related to the construction of a building or other civil engineering projects. To accomplish the work they initialize the calculation from the starting to the final figure of the project. They involve in a project from initial stage working either for a client or a contractor. The aim of involving a quantity surveyor in projects is to minimize the cost of the project. Reducing the cost without reducing the level and quality or standard of work and enhance the value for money. A quantity surveyor needs to estimate and cost of the working before starting and keep track of the same. They keep track of variation of the cost that may affect the progress of the project and create the report of profitability.
In a company or project they work as a cost consultant or cost manager or a cost engineer. The main consideration of a quantity surveyor is to complete the project within the proposed budget. Throughout the construction of a project, the quantity surveyors visit on to fairly value progress payments at regular intervals of time. With the reference of an appropriate bill of quantities rates the surveyors also make some valuable changes to design or quantities of the materials. After the completion of the construction work, the quantity surveyor produces the list of depreciation in the schedule of the various component involved in the project and suggest a realistic insurance replacement costing.
Quantity surveyors serve as a decision making a body of a company throughout the project from initial to the final stage. They used to intimate the contractor or owners of the building and architects about the estimated cost. They also provide some other cost-effective design alternates to the contractor or owner of the project. The Surveyors may also use their experience and skills in the refurbishment of old buildings rather than doing a new project. They also the changes or maintain existing buildings and insurance replacement estimates. Quantity surveyor also plays a crucial role as project managers and gives a major contributor to the successfully completing of all kinds of projects in all sectors of the industries, including public buildings, education, healthcare, retail and commercial, residential, leisure and infrastructure projects.
A quantity surveyors use their experience and skill of construction methodology and costs effectiveness. They intimate the owner of the project or contractor in the most economical way of successfully achieving their requirements at a feasible stage. In the whole process of achieving the goal, a quantity surveyor uses techniques such as cost-in-use studies, estimating, cost planning, cost analysis, and value management to estimate the whole budget of a project. The technique of cost management ensures a quantity surveyor that the design of the project remains it in the same budget. They also identify some additional saving for the project at the completion of design and drawing.