Chartered Surveyors & the Construction Industry
In the united kingdom, chartered surveyors are professionals with many varied roles across a wide variety of industries and specialisations. Essentially, all chartered surveyors are members of RICS; the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, based in London SW1, and so are entitled use the suffix MRICS or FRICS [Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors]. To the public generally, the chartered surveyor is somebody who works in the construction industry, and indeed the majority are specialists in building, property management and similar fields. However, many other areas require the services of a chartered surveyor, including fine art and antiques, mineral surveying and auctioneering.
Within the construction and property fields, chartered surveyors are involved in performing surveys for homebuyers, valuations for mortgage companies, full surveys of buildings, consultancy on construction developments, along with land surveys, management of estates and different other areas relating to land and property. Chartered surveyors tend to specialise within these fields, and sometimes form professional partnerships with those working in different areas within exactly the same industry.
RICS & Construction Contracts
Construction contracts are in the heart of every building project undertaken in the united kingdom, and are made to be legally binding agreements between the building owner [developer] and the contractor(s) who will be performing the work. Labour costs, the way to obtain labour for the project, costs and supply of materials, and enough time frame for the completion of the project are covered in the contract, as will be the specifications, design plans, and agreements regarding any potential changes during the build.
The RICS is closely associated with construction contracts, and issues both statements that outline best practice guidelines for surveyors, and mandatory practice statements that cover all aspects of the varied roles of chartered surveyors during construction projects. These roles include not just building and quantity surveyors, but also valuers and project managers. Lots of the mandatory and advisory statements produced by RICS relate to the role of chartered surveyors pertaining to construction contracts, and RICS members are required to follow them.
Contract Administration
Building contracts in the UK fall into a number of subcategories. Many of the most common are the following:
? International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)
? Public Procurement Contract 2000 (PPC 2000)
? The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT)
? New Engineering Contract (NEC)
Chartered surveyors working on building projects are therefore called to deal not merely with contract administration, but additionally with regions of project management that may include material and labour costs, initial planning and feasibility studies (including site surveying and legal issues), site and building safety, preventing and resolving any disputes which could arise, and building control.
Contract administration is crucial to the successful completion of a construction project, and chartered surveyors have a significant role to play. And overseeing the fulfilment of the agreed contract, and being involved in its termination, issues arising prior to the contract is agreed range from insurance for both the contractor and the project owner, warranties and guarantees, and adequate provision to cover any potential time overruns, payment difficulties, and defective work. The role of surveyors with regards to building contracts range from working with and managing using non-standard contracts, and those outlined above.
The Role of the Employer's Agent
On a design and build contract a chartered surveyor may also be engaged being an Employer's Agent, a role which can vary greatly according to the specific needs of your client or the project itself. The role can even be affected by the number of time which is available, but basically the Employer's Agent acts for the client on any matters associated with the construction contract. Typical projects in which an Employer's Agent might be engaged include large commercial or public property building contracts. Visit this page provides guidelines explaining the full selection of services and activities which may be undertaken by the Employer's Agent.
These will most likely include, but are not limited by, picking or recommending contractors following the creation and agreement of the client's brief; making certain sustainability goals are achieved; advising on adherence to CDM or Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, updated recently with new legal duties for clients, designers and contractors amongst others; and the planning and management of costs and risks. Analysing tenders from contractors can be an important area of the role, and running meetings and ensuring smooth progress on the site itself are frequently involved.
The Role of the Project Manager
Project Managers have an integral role in construction projects, which includes responsibility for overseeing the successful progress of the build, from the original planning stage to completion. An excellent PM can spot and resolve problems and issues before they arise, partly insurance firms the breadth of specialised knowledge essential for asking the proper questions. Conflict and dispute resolution will require good diplomatic skills.
In the centre of the Project Manager's role is good communication. In order for a project to be completed within the allotted time scale and budget, while satisfying the initial brief, a PM needs to think several moves ahead. It's essential, for example, for the PM to make certain the design has been fully understood by everyone focusing on the project, that the client understands the price implications of the task they will have requested, and that the contractors are fully conversant with both client's requirements and the legal requirements involved. These can, and do change, and will frequently affect the success of a build. The creation of clear guidelines understood by everyone involved on the project is the first responsibility of a PM; making sure those guidelines are honored is equally important.
Targets should be set that allow for cost, time scale and safety concerns to be met. Those targets must be agreed by both client and contractor, however the PM must also have the ability to keep up with the good working relationship between them in the event that unforeseen circumstances - for instance, a rise in the cost of materials or labour, or revised legal duties - arise through the lifetime of the project.
Finally, the communication skills of the PM will undoubtedly be vital in producing progress reports because the project runs. These reports includes monitoring the completion of various parts of the build, as well as ensuring that costs come in line with the budget.
TWC Consulting provides a diverse range of Construction Consultants on all sorts of major & minor works projects including Chartered Surveyors, Construction Project Managers, Employers Agents, Contract Administrators, Cost Consultants, Planning Advisors (and much more) all from under one roof.