The Role of Quantity Surveyor in Six Stages of Construction

A quantity surveyor is a professional responsible for financial, material, and contractual management in a construction project. And their duties are ever-present throughout the planning and execution to the finishing phase of a project. The duties stated here might vary depending on the size and nature of a project. The success or completion of a project means that the quantity surveying team employed in the project has efficiently planned, procured, and managed the time, capital, labour, and other resources required. But how do they achieve it? We can categorise a construction project into six stages. In each stage, the quantity surveyors have to perform some particular duties. We have read about the responsibilities a quantity surveyor might have in a project as a whole. Let us dig a little deeper into this subject and learn more about the role of a quantity surveyor in stage construction.

What is the role of a quantity surveyor in staged construction? Are you curious to learn what all these duties are? Before getting into it, we need to know what construction is. Read on to understand more about it.

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What is Construction?

This is the era of modernisation. The word construction implies the act of building a structure. It combines the arts and sciences to change our surroundings. Appropriate planning and management of labour, money, and raw materials is essential for construction. A construction project could involve anything. It could be a building of skyscrapers, sturdy bridges, shopping malls, or even residential units. The act of planning, coordinating, budgeting, and supervising the construction project from the starting phase to the finishing phase is known as construction management. The categorisation of a construction project is into six stages. What are the six stages of a construction project? Let’s delve deeper into this subject before getting to our main topic.

Role Of the Quantity Surveyor in the Stages of Construction

There are six stages of construction in general understanding. Every stage of construction has specific characteristics and purposes. They talk with the contractors, engineers, and planners. After that, these professionals plan and design the project according to these demands.  A contractor for the project is then selected. The contractor will start executing the field operations. The building is an entirely separate phase. Finally, the project gets to the closing phase. The closing phase is quite distinct from the installation works. Hence, it is considered a separate phase.

It is difficult to explain project management using the phases of construction. It’s because some actions might be present in more than one phase. There will be many overlaps of actions. We will try our best to explain this so that you can understand the lifecycles of the project, its stages, and the roles played by a quantity surveyor in each stage better. This includes everything from the client’s decision to build something to the vacating of the construction site by contractors and workers. So, let us look into each of these phases individually and understand The Role of the Quantity Surveyor in the stages of construction.

1. Pre-Construction Phase

A construction often begins as an idea. It may arise from a need or a desire for improvements, the addition of new amenities, or making something innovative as a part of bringing more productivity to society. The idea of being brought to the physical world as a building or structure is entirely dependent on the planning as well as designing phase. But first, the client has to decide what type of project delivery system they want to use. Will a single person be responsible for all the aspects of the project? Or will they arrange a designer, planner, and contractor separately? And if there are several separate professionals, how will they coordinate to complete the work?

Another option is the hire specialty contractors. Each of them will be bound by the contract they make with the client. Then the client has to hire a construction manager for advice and guidance in this field. The client also has to find the workforce and employ them themselves.

Another thing that a client should think about is the type of contract they are going to draw with their contractors. Are you going to pay a fixed pay to the contractor irrespective of the quantity of materials used in the project and the money spent by the contractor? Or are you going to measure the actual quantities of each material and pay per unit as per pre-agreed prices? Another way is to reimburse the contractor for the payments made for the material purchases and add a fee for them. Of course, a pre-agreed upper limit for this fee should be fixed.

Role of Quantity Surveyor in Pre-Construction Phase

These decisions should not be made without any consultation or advice. A client can hire an engineer, quantity surveyor, or project manager during the pre-project phase to help and counsel them while administering contracts. Hiring a Quantity surveyor is the best option in the pre-construction stage. The role of the quantity surveyor in the pre-construction phase is given below.

• They examine the plans made by architects and engineers.
• QS professionals give counsel on the preparation of construction contracts.
• They assess the conditions of working sites.
• QS professionals analyse the expenses that may arise for each event of the construction.
• After all these, they prepare construction budgets for each task in the project.

2. Design Stage

The project is completely planned and prepared for selecting an appropriate contractor and starting execution in the design phase. We can categorise this phase into three stages for convenience. The first stage aims to fix the objectives of the project, find various ways to achieve these objectives, and ensure that the project is financially feasible. While the planning and feasibility studies are being done, many other things are also done with that. Some of them are:

• A project brief is developed.
• All the available details will be put into a program statement.
• Investigation of various sites will be done.
• The planners and designers may seek out some public opinion in certain matters.
• Then they will prepare a preliminary estimation of costs for the project.
• After that, they will have to identify some funding resources.
• Then they will decide whether they need to proceed with the project.

Then the designers start their work. They will use the results of the planning done above and do the following things. Professionals develop detailed schematic diagrams that portray the relation between various components of the project. Then they prepare very detailed designs of many systems in the project such as structural systems and electrical systems. This activity is very much based on engineering principles and associated mathematical calculations. Thus, they select the load and requirements, find the sizes of components that are to be used, and adapt configurations that are appropriate for the parts of the project. They also have to ensure that every element that they have selected for use in the project is compatible with each other.  The conclusions drawn from this design stage are used for the next stage.

Role of Quantity Surveyor in the Design Phase

During the design phase, a quantity surveyor mainly does some important things. Their main role here is to coordinate with the designers and give counsel to them to ensure that the project is economical and spending stays within the budget. This procedure is commonly referred to as value engineering and is a very important responsibility of a quantity surveyor employed in the project.

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3. Tender Stage

The Role of a Quantity Surveyor in Construction during the Tender stage is not an easy task. The outputs that the engineers and designers give after the design phase are put to use here. In this phase, these data are used for the preparation of the contract and hence selecting an appropriate contractor for carrying out the construction and installation procedures. The professional, besides preparing important and detailed construction drawings, does many other things. Some of them are listed below.

• They write the contract conditions that contain legal requirements.
• In this, they also give technical specifications stipulating the materials that should be used and how they should be installed.
• A set of additional documents are also added which discusses the procedure for selecting the needed contractor and fixing the contract or business with the tendered who was successful.

Role of Quantity Surveyor in Tender Stage

The main duty of a quantity surveyor is to advise the clients on how to proceed after analysing the information provided by the engineers and designers. They also analyse and talk about insurance requirements and other related liabilities with the client’s commercial construction consultants. The final tender will be submitted after all estimates are prepared with the combined effort of the quantity surveyor and project architect.

4. Tender Appraisal and Selection

Before getting into the process of comparing the tenders and selecting the contractor, the client has to decide a few things. Some of them are listed below.

• Are you going to issue an open invitation to all of the possible vendors?
• Are you going to issue invitations to only some select contractors to submit offers?
• Are you choosing some prequalification criteria or tests to limit the number of tenders?

Selection of Contractors

If you are a contractor, then you have to consider a variety of factors before deciding to start working toward the preparation of the proposal for a project. The first thing is to determine whether the benefits and remuneration offered by the project are appealing to you. If it is, then you have to think about two things. The first thing to do is to carry out a series of planning steps. This will include studying and analysing various equipment and methods that you are considering employing during the execution of the project. Then you have to prepare a preliminary project program and set up an approximate timetable for each event in the course of the project. The second thing is the preparation of a priced proposal. This will include all the things listed below.

• direct costs of labour
• direct costs of materials
• direct costs of the plant
• direct costs of subcontractors
• various overhead charges
• the added amount of profit

What remains after the proposal is submitted to the client is the opening and evaluation of tenders. Then the contract that the client finds the best is selected and the construction contract is finalised.

Mobilisation of the Project

Once the contractor is selected by the client, several things need to be done before the installation works at the construction site can begin. A list of them is given below.

• Secure the needed licenses, bonds, and insurance.
• Prepare a detailed program chart for construction activities.
• The cost estimate should be converted to the project budget.
• Establish a system to track the project cost.

The construction site should always be well prepared and should always have provisions for the following things.

• Temporary buildings
• Services
• Access and delivery
• Storage areas
• Site Security

The procedures for obtaining raw materials and equipment for the project must start from this stage. The same could be said for the organisation of the necessary workforce. After all these things are arranged, we can begin the construction process.

The Role of Quantity Surveyor in the Tender Appraisal and Selection Stage

Important duties a quantity surveyor has to complete during the tender appraisal and selection stage of construction. Some of them are listed below.

• QS professional has to shortlist the bidders
• Now they have to analyse the experience and financial standing
• They negotiate the bidder’s offer
• Surveyors find errors in the tender
• Final reviews of the tenders are made
• Then they give the best recommendations for the best offer

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5. Construction Stage

The duties of a contractor are mainly in four areas when it comes to the role of quantity surveyors in stages of construction. They are:

• monitoring and control
• resource management
• documentation
• communication

They have to make sure that the project schedule is being followed strictly by comparing the actual progress with the project program. If it is not by the schedule, then it has to be brought under control soon so that the project can be finished in the stipulated time. Similarly, the costs should also be put under the same scrutiny to ensure that performance is on par with the budget. Another important factor that comes under the section of monitor and control is quality management. The work that is being done should be analysed and made to ensure that it complies with the technical demands posed in the contract. Attention should be paid to the site safety measures and the sustainability and environmental impacts caused by the structure or the process of construction.

The Role of the Quantity Surveyor in the Construction Stage

During the construction phase, a quantity surveyor has many duties. Some of them are mentioned below.

• They have to keep track of progress in the work
• They must offer the commercial consultant suggestions
• They have to check the bills and payments that must be given to the suppliers and contractors as per the agreements
• QS professional also has to analyse the changes made in project planning, the delays they might bring, and the impact they will create on the budget
• They are responsible for resolving construction disputes with the architects, clients, engineers, designers etc.

6. Post Construction Stage

Lastly, before the contractor’s obligations are deemed fulfilled as the project draws to a close, a few unique actions need to be completed. In addition to the numerous testing and startup chores, there is also the final cleanup, a variety of inspections, potential remedial work, and the procedure for shutting the construction office and releasing the employees. A plethora of additional documents is also needed, such as operation manuals, warranties, a final report, as-built drawings that show all modifications made to the original design, and approvals and certifications that enable the contractor to get the final payment.

The Role of the Quantity Surveyor in the Post-Construction Stage

The final accounts are prepared by the quantity surveyor following the completion of the construction project. In collaboration with a project-affiliated commercial construction consultant, all actual costs are accurately documented throughout the project. They provide access to the records for technical and financial audits as needed. Policies governing tax deductions are followed where applicable.

We have to learn a lot more to understand the role of a quantity surveyor in staged construction thoroughly.

Final Thoughts

A Quantity Surveyor’s role is multi‑dimensional and evolves at each stage of a construction project. From ensuring cost feasibility at the start to managing final accounts at the end, their expertise keeps projects financially healthy and contractually sound.

With construction projects becoming larger, more complex, and more technology‑driven, the demand for skilled QS professionals is only set to rise. Mastering these six stages will not only enhance your professional value but also open global career opportunities.