What is Qs ?

Quantity Surveyors world wide are farmiliar with a very common question

Engineers, architects, site managers are widely known professions. Qs is a relatively modern and ever evolving profession that people still take for granted. If you ask me to give a short and simple definition of who a Quantity surveyor is, I could sum it up as

Jack of all trades

I cannot consciously complete this as “master of none”, because we are masters at budget control and smoothly streamlining the construction process. Plus, Qs must know what other professions contribute to a project to provide feedback and to manage a project.

Qs practices cannot be defined as exact at any point in history. It’s an ever-changing profession that represents the evolution in the construction industry. We were born out of necessity for change. Fortunately, more developed nations are already in the hunt for the best talent to close the gap.

How do you describe quantity surveying?

It’s a process of identification of the financial components and profitability of the project by performing various fundamental tasks such as feasibility studies, cost projections, and legal and process supervision throughout the project life-cycle.

If you allow an engineer to decide how to finish a project, they might be more concerned about the structure and not about the aesthetical functions or the financial impact on the client.

If the architect was allowed to decide how to proceed, they might be more concerned about the looks rather than the cost or the structure.

But Qs will act as the binding element in this mix to regulate the project so that the engineer will properly design the structure and the architect will design the looks both within the budget restraints so that the client would not go bankrupt by the end. Now you know why this profession is very important financially.

What does the quantity surveyor do?

Construction employees Qs’s through two main front

• As Consultant Qs’s
• As Contractor Qs’s

Consultant Qs are mostly oriented towards managing a project on behalf of the client. Plus, they are involved in both the inception phases. Tendering, and construction phases as well. They also tend to client needs and design variations throughout the process.

Contractor Qs are operating on behalf of the contractor. They are mostly leaned towards the construction process.

In a general perspective, these are the activities performed by a Quantity surveyor.

• Cost estimate, cost planning, and cost management
• Analyzing terms and conditions in the contract.
• Predicting potential risks in the project and taking precautions to mitigate such.
• Forecasting the costs of different materials needed for the project.
• Prepare tender documents, contracts, budgets, and other documentation.
• Recording adjustments in the budget.
• Tender management including preparation of bills of quantities (BOQ), contract conditions, assembly of tender documents, and tender analysis
• Contract management and contractual advice
• Valuation of construction work
• Claims and dispute management
• Lifecycle costing analysis

What skills do you need for quantity surveyors?

All those aspiring students who are excited about the professions will now have this question.

If you do your research, you will figure out that there are thousands of public and private institutions that offer degree programs with varying periods. But, as the demand for qualified Qs’s are skyrocketed, firms only do tend to hire from selected degree programs, chartered Qs’s are established institutions and also based on the no of field experience.

• The very first step is to select a well-recognized degree program to pursue. This can also be pursued until a master’s degree.
• In the current industry, there is a huge demand for IT skills. You may be a very experienced Qs, but if you are unable to scale up your output to match the scale, then you have no use in the current industry.  
• Additional qualifications can be obtained by completing an accounting-based degree such as CIMA.

Lastly, Quantity surveying is a good career as most developed countries are having a void of professionals. They seek foreign talent and offer certain benefits to relocate. Also, salaries are heavily based on the economy. If the economy performs well then there will be a construction boom, which is favorable for Qs and vise versa.

Professional bodies

As any well-recognized profession, Quantity surveying is also regulated by multiple institutions established globally. RICS (Royal Institute of chartered surveyors) is the oldest and was formed back in 1881.

Besides it, there are fairly many institutions based on geographic location, for example,

• RICS – The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
• AIQS – Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• ASAQS – Association of South African Quantity Surveyors
• BSIJ – Building Surveyors Institute of Japan
• CIQS – Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• CCEA – China Cost Engineering Association
• HKIS – Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors
• IIQS – Indian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• IQSI – Ikatan Quantity Surveyor Indonesia
• JIQS – Jamaican Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• NIQS – Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• NZIQS – New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• PICQS – Philippine Institute of Certified Quantity Surveyors
• RISM – The Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia
• SISV – Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers
• SCSI – Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
• SACQSP – South African Council for Quantity Surveying Profession
• IQSSL – Institute Of Quantity surveyors Sri Lanka
• NIQS – Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors
• IQSK – Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya
• QSI – Quantity Surveyor International
• GHIS – Ghana Institute of Surveyors
• UNTEC – Union nationale des Économistes de la construction (France)

Conclusion

Qs is a profession that was developed to increase efficiency and protect the interest of parties involved. This is performed by performing different processes. Modern constructions are done more efficiently thanks to an army of Qs working day and night.

It is a secure career that is formally recognized by constitutions and there are several global institutions to regulate the practices and development of the profession.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantity_surveyor

https://www.rics.org/uk/surveying-profession/what-is-surveying