Chartered Surveyors and Construction Projects

https://delvapatmanredler.co.uk/  & 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 even the majority is specialists in building, property management and similar fields. However, 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 employed 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 your 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 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 also valuers and project managers. A lot of the mandatory and advisory statements made by RICS relate with the role of chartered surveyors with regard 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)
? Public Procurement Contract 2000 (PPC 2000)
? The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT)
? New Engineering Contract (NEC)

Chartered surveyors focusing on building projects are therefore called on to deal not merely with contract administration, but also with areas 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. Along with overseeing the fulfilment of the agreed contract, and being involved with its termination, issues arising before the contract is agreed can include 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 the utilization of non-standard contracts, in addition to those outlined above.

The Role of the Employer's Agent

On a design and build contract a chartered surveyor will often be engaged being an Employer's Agent, a job that may vary greatly with regards to the specific needs of your client or the project itself. The role can also be affected by the quantity of time that is available, but essentially the Employer's Agent acts for the client on any matters associated with the construction contract. Typical projects where an Employer's Agent might be engaged include large commercial or public property building contracts. RICS provides guidelines explaining the entire range of services and activities which might 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; ensuring that 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 website 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. A good PM will be able to spot and resolve problems and issues before they arise, partly insurance firms the breadth of specialised knowledge necessary for asking the right questions. Conflict and dispute resolution will demand 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 must think several moves ahead. It's essential, for instance, for the PM to make sure that the look has been fully understood by everyone working on the project, that the client understands the cost 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 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 sure those guidelines are adhered to 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, but the PM must also be able 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 be vital in producing progress reports as the project runs. These reports will include monitoring the completion of various elements of the build, and ensuring that costs come in line with the budget.

TWC Consulting offers a diverse selection 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 much more) all from under one roof.