Chartered Surveyors and Construction Projects

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 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 general public in general, the chartered surveyor is a person who works in the construction industry, and indeed the majority is 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 get excited about performing surveys for homebuyers, valuations for mortgage companies, full surveys of buildings, consultancy on construction developments, together with land surveys, management of estates and various other areas relating to land and property. Chartered surveyors have a tendency to specialise within these fields, and sometimes form professional partnerships with those employed in different areas within the same industry.

RICS & Construction Contracts

Construction contracts are in the heart of each building project undertaken in the UK, and are made to be legally binding agreements between your building owner [developer] and the contractor(s) who'll be performing the task. Labour costs, the supply of labour for the project, costs and offer of materials, and enough time frame for the completion of the project are all covered in the contract, as are the specifications, design plans, and agreements regarding any potential changes during the build.

The RICS is closely involved 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. https://www.blackacresurveyors.com/ include not just building and quantity surveyors, but also valuers and project managers. Lots of the mandatory and advisory statements made by RICS relate to the role of chartered surveyors with regard to construction contracts, and RICS members must follow them.

Contract Administration

Building contracts in the united kingdom fall into a number of subcategories. Probably 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 only 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 legalities), 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 an important role to play. And 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 usage 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 may also be engaged being an Employer's Agent, a role that may vary greatly based on 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 relating to the construction contract. Typical projects where an Employer's Agent may be engaged include large commercial or public property building contracts. RICS provides guidelines explaining the entire range of services and activities which may be undertaken by the Employer's Agent.

These will often include, but are not limited by, picking or recommending contractors following a 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 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 original planning stage to completion. An excellent PM will be able to spot and resolve issues and problems before they arise, partly by having the breadth of specialised knowledge necessary for asking the proper 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 original 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 focusing 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 the 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 adhered to is equally important.

Targets should 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 maintain the good working relationship between them when unforeseen circumstances - for example, 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 because the project runs. These reports includes monitoring the completion of various parts of the build, together with ensuring that costs are in line with the budget.

TWC Consulting provides 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 more) all from under one roof.

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Pub: 21 Dec 2023 03:00 UTC
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