Quantity surveying / cost management

The role of the Contractor’s QS is to protect the commercial interest of the contractor through cost control, risk management and value recovery processes. To do this, they need to “know the deals”. By that, we mean to have a very clear understanding of what each party has committed to deliver, how and when, with a good working knowledge of the contractual frameworks being used to manage and administer these deals both with clients and the supply chain.

At VOLOCO we have a pool of talent with the knowledge and experience required to support your business with this role. See below to find out more about what we can do to support you.

• Financial management & reporting
• Procurement
• Design review & management
• Supply chain valuation & payment
• Pricing change
• Client valuations
• Retention recovery

Financial management & reporting

The QS is responsible for setting up, managing and reporting the financial control documents which vary slightly from company to company and project to project, but the consistent functions are tracking actual costs of the projects against the budget, (cost vs value) both as a snapshot at a point in time and more importantly a forecast of the end of day result.

These control documents also inform the budgets to procure the project and are broken down into each element of cost that is necessary to deliver the project including the project preliminaries and the trade/sub-contract packages.

Cashflow forecasting is integral to the role and is a vital management function of any business. The QS will be expected to plot both cash in and out on projects, with the aim to create a positive cash position.

Procurement

The QS will get involved in the procurement of all the packages and therefore must understand the scope that needs to be procured, how each package interfaces with others, what attendances are required for each, the sequence and programme for any design, lead-in and installation periods. The best way to develop this is to work closely with team members in the other disciplines including Design Management, Operations & Planning.

A procurement schedule is an essential tool for this phase of the project and it provides a series of dates and periods for each package that are worked back from the programme to ensure that procurement is progressed so as not to delay the project. It should be updated to reflect progress and monitored by the project team moving forward.

Design review & management

The role of the QS can involve some Design Management input ensuring that any design solution is compliant with the requirements of the contract (no more and no less). We can assist with cost advice to ensure that as designs are developed and materials selected, budgets are maintained.

We can support by reviewing drawings and design documents as they are issued for compliance and/or change.

Supply chain valuation & payment

As your project(s) move forward, we can assess the progress of your supply chain and value that progress to enable payments to be made with confidence. It may include a combination of site assessment/measurement and measurement from drawings.

The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act, also known as the ‘Construction Act’ timetables the obligations for the payer and payee including the issuing of notices. The timely issue of these is imperative as failure to do so can end up being costly. VOLOCO can schedule these out for you, prepare the notices and supporting valuation documentation and issue on your behalf.

Pricing change

The words Change Order, Variation Order, Compensation Event and others are all used to describe the fact that something has or will change from the original agreement. We can undertake a review of the project documents, to identify, value and pursue change costs on your behalf.

VOLOCO can manage the change control process on your behalf, preparing schedules, valuing change, submitting, and negotiating final agreement of the value of change for you.

Client valuations

Through the client valuation process and at intervals pre-agreed in the contract, the QS will assess progress and agree the value of that progress with the client’s commercial representative including any change that has occurred.

We can prepare a format for the valuations to include preliminaries, contract works, change and materials on site. This can include all interim valuations and the Final Account negotiation and agreement.

Retention recovery

Many businesses have money tied up in retentions, which are often significantly overdue. Recovery of these is not always straightforward and is often time-consuming. We can support you in recovering these in a solution and fee structure tailored to suit your business.

Our experience and expertise mean our team of consultants will work to recover your retention, quickly, efficiently and to achieve the best commercial outcomes.