Chartered Surveyors & the Construction Industry
In the UK, 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 are entitled utilize the suffix MRICS or FRICS [Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors]. To the general public in general, the chartered surveyor is a person who works in the construction industry, and indeed the majority are specialists in building, property management and similar fields. However, a great many other areas require the services of a chartered surveyor, including artwork and antiques, mineral surveying and auctioneering.
Within the construction and property fields, chartered surveyors get excited about performing surveys for homebuyers, valuations for mortgage companies, full surveys of buildings, consultancy on construction developments, and also land surveys, management of estates and different other areas relating to land and property. Chartered surveyors have a tendency to specialise within these fields, and frequently form professional partnerships with those working in different areas within exactly the same industry.
RICS & Construction Contracts
Construction contracts are at the heart of each building project undertaken in the united kingdom, and are designed to be legally binding agreements between your building owner [developer] and the contractor(s) who will be performing the work. Labour costs, the supply of 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 are the specifications, design plans, and agreements regarding any potential changes through 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 areas of the varied roles of chartered surveyors during construction projects. These roles include not only building and quantity surveyors, but additionally valuers and project managers. Many of the mandatory and advisory statements made by RICS relate to the role of chartered surveyors pertaining to construction contracts, and RICS members must follow them.
Contract Administration
Building contracts in the UK fall into many different subcategories. Some of the most common are as follows:
? International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)
? https://delvapatmanredler.co.uk/ (PPC 2000)
? The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT)
? New Engineering Contract (NEC)
Chartered surveyors focusing on building projects are therefore called to deal not merely with contract administration, but additionally with regions of project management that can include material and labour costs, initial planning and feasibility studies (including site surveying and legalities), site and building safety, preventing and resolving any disputes which could arise, and building control.
Contract administration is critical to the successful completion of a construction project, and chartered surveyors have a significant role to play. In addition to overseeing the fulfilment of the agreed contract, and being involved in its termination, issues arising before the contract is agreed range from insurance for both 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 in relation to building contracts can include working with and managing the usage of non-standard contracts, and those outlined above.
The Role of the Employer's Agent
On a design and build contract a chartered surveyor will often be engaged as an Employer's Agent, a role which can vary greatly depending on the specific needs of your client or the project itself. The role may also be affected by how much time that is available, but essentially 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. RICS 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 to, 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 and the like; and the look and management of costs and risks. Analysing tenders from contractors is also an important part of the role, and running meetings and ensuring smooth progress on the site itself are generally 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 initial planning stage to completion. An excellent PM should be able to spot and resolve problems and issues before they arise, partly by having the breadth of specialised knowledge necessary for asking the right questions. Conflict and dispute resolution will demand good diplomatic skills.
At the heart 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 working on the project, that the client understands the cost implications of the work 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 can frequently affect the success of a build. The creation of clear guidelines understood by everyone involved on the project may be the first responsibility of a PM; making certain those guidelines are honored is equally important.
Targets must be set that enable cost, time scale and safety concerns to be met. Those targets must be agreed by both client and contractor, however the PM must also manage to keep up with the good working relationship between them when unforeseen circumstances - for instance, a rise in the cost of materials or labour, or revised legal duties - arise during 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 will include monitoring the completion of varied elements of the build, as well as ensuring that costs come in line with the budget.
TWC Consulting offers a diverse range of Construction Consultants on all types of major & minor works projects including Chartered Surveyors, Construction Project Managers, Employers Agents, Contract Administrators, Cost Consultants, Planning Advisors (and more) all from under one roof.