Certified Quantity Surveying training for civil engineers

Summary

This article delves into the domain of Quantity Surveying; The importance of Quantity Surveying in the field of construction and designing, the qualifications required to become a skilled Quantity Surveyor and What are the certified Quantity Surveying Training for Civil Engineers.

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What is Quantity Surveying?

In a nutshell, Quantity Surveying is supervising all the finances pertaining to construction work, building and other civil engineering projects. As a quantity surveyor, you are supposed to have expert knowledge of construction costs and contracts. You need to work either for the client or the contractor, either in an office or on-site and look after the monetary figures throughout your involvement in the project. So, it’s your job to ensure that the given construction project is completed within the prescribed budget without any compromises made in the quality of the raw material used or failing to adhere to the building, health, and safety regulations.

Quantity Surveyors are also known as Construction Economists, Cost Manager or Construction cost consultant. They gather tender and contract documentation, supervise feasibility studies, and undertake risk management. Once the building process commences, quantity surveyors closely look after any variations that may give rise to cost fluctuations. The primary focus is kept on outcome analysis, work evaluation, and progress reports.

Quantity Supervisors also take on additional responsibilities like distributing work to sub-contractors, placing an order for construction materials, and arranging payments. The kind of tasks they deal with depends on the requirements of the project and employer. As advisors, it’s their task to gauge and monitor construction costs, right from the starting stage of the project till its completion. Other responsibilities include involvement with tax reduction plan, replacement cost estimation and if required, mediation and arbitration.

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Some of the responsibilities associated with Quantity Surveying are mentioned below:

• Preparing tender, budgets, contract documents and bills of the quantities with the architect and the client. During designing the Quantity Surveyor makes sure of the fact that the design remains on budget through cost management.
• Tackle the cost analysis for repair and maintenance of the project work at hand.
• Assist in setting up a customer's prerequisites and embrace attainability research.
• Perform calculated risks, value management and ensure effective cost control.
• Advise on a procurement strategy.
• Recognize, analyze and develop responses to any supposed commercial risks.
• Allocate work to sub-contractors.
• Advice on legally binding cases.
• Examine outcomes and write detailed progress reports.
• Evaluate completed work and look after payments.
• Understand the implications of health and safety regulations.

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What Qualifications do you need to become a Quantity surveyor?

Quantity Surveyors usually complete an appropriate tertiary degree course and undertake certain work experienced which makes them eligible for the membership of AIQS. They carry out mega-projects ranging from building hospitals, schools, office blocks, and factories to bridges, railways, oil and mining development. Apart from this they also work on shipbuilding and large process engineering works like in oil refineries.

To become a certified Quantity Surveyor, you need to finish a degree or advanced education course which is accredited by the Institution for Chartered Surveyors (RICS). You need to have specific skill sets like the ability to understand technical plans, IT, Numeracy, Problem Solving, and Technical Ability. A surveying degree or a surveying HND is a must.

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Courses to become a Quantity Surveyor:

Useful degree subjects include Construction, B. Tech in Civil Engineering, M. Tech in Structural Engineering, Maths, Geography, Economics, and Land Studies.

A degree in Construction Management teaches construction skills and management, the art of estimation, mechanical systems, and surveying skills.

Building Science UG degrees include courses like alternative energy, building methodologies, sustainable building practices, building performances, and structural sciences.

Construction Science degrees gives you an insight into building technology, construction safety, effective management, and procedures.

The RICS accredited postgraduate courses will enable graduates to work as quantity surveyors. A list of relevant courses is available at the RICS website. The Master’s course takes one year to complete full time and around two years part-time. Some employers may take on fresh graduates as 'non-cognates' (those with a degree that is not RICS accredited) and support and fund them through the UG course.

Those who do not have a degree may begin as a technical surveyor in the industry. However, to secure work as a quantity surveyor, you must complete a degree.

Further study is imperative to gain membership of RICS. A good amount of work experience, either on-site or within an office, gives you a good jump start.

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Importance of Quantity Surveying

• Quantity Surveying is concerned with contracts and costs on construction projects and quantity surveyors basically regulate construction processes by taking accurate measurements of the work required.
• The quantity surveyor facilitates the design process by systematically applying cost criteria to ensure and regulate a systematic economic relationship between cost, quality, utility, and appearance. This helps in achieving the client’s requirements within the agreed budget.
• It is recognized that surveyors are now playing a more important role in contract administration and all of the duties associated with their profession relate directly or indirectly to all kinds of construction works.
• The art of Quantity Surveying is the first step towards integrated construction. The exchange of information between designers, contractors and the methods behind the exchange of quantity is very crucial in the construction industry.

Certified Quantity Surveying training for Civil Engineers

To gain mastery in the domain of Quantity Surveying, joining a certified training program at the earliest is very essential. After gaining a degree in Civil Engineering you must undertake training in Quantity Surveying techniques to gain the required skills.

Skyfi Labs provides an engaging learning experience through the certified training on Quantity Surveying.

As a part of this training program, you will get to learn how to take off various quantities from the CAD design, the art of estimating the resources, budget finalization techniques and cost analysis of the project. You will gain theoretical knowledge along with hands-on-experience on quantity estimation and financing of resources by working on an industrial-grade software.

With this certified training program, you will be able to understand the various steps involved in the quantity surveying and budgeting techniques that are associated with construction projects. As part of this training program, you will also develop two real-time projects using the software.

Explore other civil training programs

Apart from this Quantity Surveying course, we at Skyfi Labs have developed some other courses related to civil engineering. You can have a look at those courses here.

If you have any other queries, let us know in the comments section. Our experts will get back to you shortly.

Certified Quantity Surveying training for civil engineers