The history of BOQ ‘s goes back to the nineteenth century harmonizing to Ashworth and Hogg ( 2000 ) . They say that with the rise of general catching in the industrial revolution, the contractors were using surveyors to fix a BOQ for the work. The contractors shortly realised that it was unneeded duplicate of the measures with all them using their ain surveyor so began to use a individual surveyor to fix the papers from which all the houses would monetary value the work.
It was agreed between the houses that the winning contractor would cover the surveyor ‘s fees. With the payment of the surveyor finally coming from the client it shortly became evident that these surveyors would be better employed on their behalf under the direct authorization of the designer ( Ashworth & A ; Hogg, 2000 ) . This was the traditional recognized signifier of procurance until post 2nd universe war and is still used today chiefly on the little to medium graduated table ( Cartlidge, 2006 ) .
The pros and cons of the BOQ ‘s have been debated and deliberated upon for many old ages now and the statement has generated some strongly held sentiments and many differing positions. Harmonizing to Duncan Cartlidge ( 2009 ) that: “during the recent past the measure of measures has been much maligned as out-of-date and unneeded in the modern procurance environment. Indeed it is undeniable that on the face of it the figure of contracts based on a measure of measures has declined aggressively over the past 20 old ages or so ” . This is a position held by many in the building industry as the advantages and a disadvantage of the BOQ ‘s usage is debated.
Brook ( 2008 ) tells that the BOQ has two primary utilizations in building ; the first is the pre contract phase of tendering ( described above ) , and the 2nd is at the station contract phase where it is used by the contractor and QS to value work and monetary value fluctuations from the design. Davis, Love and Baccarini ( 2009 ) in their article Bills of Measures: Nemesis or enlightenment, discourse the benefits and drawbacks of the BOQ at both the pre and station contract stage.
Advantages of BOQ at pre contract stage:
- Database – The pricing inside informations within the BOQ provides a cost database for future estimating.
- Fee computation – The BOQ provides an absolute footing for the computation of advisers ‘ fees.
- Asset direction – The BOQ provided readily available informations for plus direction of the completed edifice, life rhythm bing surveies, care agendas, general insurance and insurance replacing costs.
- Taxation – BOQ supply a footing for speedy and accurate readying of depreciation agendas as portion of a complete plus direction program for the undertaking.
Disadvantages of BOQ at pre contract stage:
- Cost and clip – The readying of a BOQ tends to increase the cost and lengthen the certification period.
- Estimating pattern – Tenderer ‘s may disregard the specification ( e.g. craft demands ) , pricing merely harmonizing to the BOQ. This may take to under pricing and the consequent hazard of unsatisfactory public presentation as contractors try to avoid losing money.
- Procurement – The usage of a elaborate design and associated BOQ discourages contractors from subjecting alternate design solutions, as options will amend measures. The BOQ is merely suited ( if at all ) to the traditional procurance system.
Advantages of BOQ at station contract stage:
- Certainty of advancement payments – The BOQ provides a post-contract disposal tool and becomes a footing for the rating of advancement payments. The computation of these advancement claims is straightforward and dependable. This certainty offers contractor, chief and moneymans peace of head in the cognition that all work is being carried out at monetary values just and sensible to all involved.
- Variation direction – The BOQ provides a sound, common footing for the rating of fluctuations. Besides, the monetary values for fluctuations are reduced by the usage of BOQ unit rates. Without a BOQ, the pricing of fluctuations leads to more drawn-out dialogues.
- Risk direction – The monetary values in the BOQ can be used as a footing for comparing a contractor ‘s monetary value with current tendencies in the market place. This provides a footing for direction to find the likely manifestation of hazard factors.
- BOQ mistakes – Mistakes are non a major cause of fluctuations. Choy ( 1991 ) found the mean alteration order to be 7.7 per cent of contract value with BOQ mistakes stand foring 4.5 per cent of entire fluctuations.
Disadvantages of BOQ at station contract stage:
- BOQ mistakes – Because of the sum of item required in a BOQ, there is a important opportunity of happening mistakes, skips and disagreements between drawings and the BOQ, with attendant debate. This hazard of debate originating from misunderstanding and mistake outweighs the advantages of BOQ.
- Unit of measurement rates – The cost informations obtained from contactor-priced BOQ is frequently used by QSs for cost direction, such as valuing interim ratings. This information can be fishy for grounds such as: contractors increase rates on early trades above their existent cost, and cut down the cost of later trades, to better hard currency flows ; some contactors may lade subsequently trades to derive benefits from rise and autumn.
- Duties – BOQ involve a displacement in, or “hazard blurring ” of, the contractor ‘s duty that consequences in claims and differences.
- Standard Method of Measurement – it is frequently said that the SMM is much excessively complex and many differences arise from its linguistic communication and how it is interpreted by the contractor and QS.
There are many other articles that have been published in recent old ages that have added to the statement over BOQ usage. Richard Schofield of the RICS Project Management Faculty in his article “A procurance hamlet ” in the RICS Construction Journal supports the usage of the traditional procurance and the traditional function of the professional QS. Harmonizing to Schofield ( 2007 ) the traditional patterns succumbed to economic force per unit areas from clients to present undertakings faster in times of high rising prices and gave rise to direction catching and building direction.
These drivers, and the desire to reassign more hazard to the contractor, besides made design and construct more attractive to many clients. Harmonizing to Schofield ( 2007 ) , authorities force per unit area to prosecute in mandatory competitory tendering for consultancy services forced fee degrees down and with this diluted the degree of service from the design squad.
This issue is addressed in Building magazines article “Whatever happened to the QS ” by Jonathon Woods ( 2008 ) . Harmonizing to Woods ( 2008 ) many QS ‘s are stating that they do n’t acquire a large plenty fee to pass the clip bring forthing a measure of measures or do n’t acquire adequate clip to bring forth a measure of measures.
The authorities studies of the 90 ‘s from Latham ( 1994 ) and Egan ( 1998 ) questioned the principle behind utilizing the traditional procurance as the chief method of building procurance despite its restrictions. However since their studies there has been a important displacement from traditional procurance to the usage of other modern methods of procurance. And with the diminution of traditional procurance the usage of one of its chief constituents, the BOQ, declined excessively.
The RICS Contracts in Use Survey inside informations down through the old ages the shifting nature of procurance methods in the UK, and it is clear from its most recent consequences that the BOQ usage is decreasing. The debut to this study which was conducted on undertakings in 2007 speaks a batch about the displacement from BOQ to chunk sum Design and Build: In the 1985 study, Bills of Quantities dominated the study with minor usage of the Design and Build signifiers. By the 1998 study, Design and Build was in front of Bills of Quantities. This was the clip of major displacements in procurance schemes. Clients wanted certainty of hazard transportation. This study ( 2007 ) reinforces the laterality of Design and Build as a procurance scheme, with a continued diminution in Bills of Quantities. However, Bills of Quantities refuse to decease.
The study besides alludes to the fact that a batch of smaller/minor plants undertaking are simple program and specification and some ball sum BOQ contracts, the larger undertakings show penchant for the building direction version of design and physique. The study itself captures up to 1300 undertakings across the UK in the twelvemonth of 2007, the cumulative value of these undertakings of about ?7.8 billion. The undermentioned figures and tabular arraies show the distribution of procurance methods in 2007 based on figure of undertakings taking a certain method and besides based upon the value of contracts.
From the above consequences we can see that BOQ by value of contracts is at its lowest degree in the studies history and at its 2nd lowest degree in footings of figure of contracts. This has lead to rises in spec and drawings and design and construct in footings of figure of contracts, in footings of value spec and drawings has once more risen at the BOQ disbursal. However design and construct contracts by value are down due to lift in building direction contracts and spec and drawings.
It is clear from these consequences that the usage BOQ in procurance is worsening, nevertheless that does non intend that they are non being used in another sense. Harmonizing to Ndekugri and Rycroft ( 2009 ) that such is the topographic point of the BOQ in the instruction of the UK ‘s edifice industry professionals that even under chief contracts non incorporating BOQ, the contractor will constantly bring forth his ain measures of measures, either for his ain cost control purposes, or for usage in bomber contracts. Many others believe that the BOQ should be still incorporated in procurance even if it is non in the traditional sense. Schofield ( 2007 ) believes that we should take the best of the new patterns that have demonstrated the most betterment and expression at uniting them with the traditional patterns.
It is his belief that “the most reasonable clients would see the virtue of taking a more mensural attack to procurement to give them the cost, clip and quality certainty they expect ” . Woods ( 2008 ) besides believes that more investing in traditional QS patterns can pay the client dividends. Harmonizing to him the client should gain that by paying less to the QS for their services they are really paying more for their undertaking. Jointly the QS should be reding the client of this fact about traditional QS patterns.
Malcolm Taylor ( 2010 ) joins the statement for holding BOQ involved in some manner as in his belief tenderers can non offer on complex strategies without them. His fright is that tenderers will shortly fall in in naming a Q to bring forth one measure for them all to tender, which could open the door for collusion for high pricing to obtain higher net incomes. So one inquiry raised by some of these statements is does the BOQ have a topographic point in other procurance methods, or even yet does the QS have a function in any other procurance methods?
The chief procurance method taking the topographic point of the traditional is Design and Build ( D & A ; B ) . Harmonizing to Kennedy et Al ( 1995 ) most QS ‘s tend to resent D & A ; B as they perceive it as the chief ground for the ‘erosion of their professionalism ‘ within edifice professions. Harmonizing to a study conducted by Kennedy et Al ( 1995 ) QS ‘s encountered the undermentioned jobs with D & A ; B.
Some sharp patterns do offer D & A ; B services but harmonizing to Kennedy et Al ( 1995 ) they are comparatively low. The chief function for QS ‘s in D & A ; B lies in working with the contractor, which to traditional procurance QS ‘s is a detrimental idea ( Turner 1995 ) .
“Design and Build is a serious menace to traditional measure surveyor ‘s work. It will cut down demand for Numberss of staff to fix measures of measures and cut down the demand for technician staff. Practice forces will alter to consist qualified, experienced, flexible persons capable of accommodating to altering client demands. ” Kennedy et Al ( 1995 )
Another menace to QS ‘s and the BOQ is the computerisation of the BOQ. In 1999 Sir John Egan told a group of undergraduate QS ‘s that the building industry would no longer be necessitating them as computing machine engineering would make shortly be making their occupation. From them monolithic progress have been made in computerised measure production, the package available now can make a BOQ through the CAD system utilizing the design drawings, others can take written take-offs and treat them into a measure ( Ashworth & A ; Hogg, 2007 ). Either manner they have changed enormously the manner a batch of patterns operate.
