Is the Quantity Surveyor ready to
Assume the Lead Role ?
W
hilst we congratulate Dubai, UAE, and its people positions at senior levels in the administration of contracts.
for their success to host the Expo 2020, Quanti- The Quantity Surveyor needs to prepare to meet the fu-
ty Surveyors now need to prepare themselves to ture demands which have already commenced as could be
meet the new challenges that this global event and other seen from the regular circulars of SLQS that are received
mega projects would create in the UAE construction indus- these days on job opportunities at senior levels. Member-
try which is set to go through another boom over the com- ship of Professional institutions should be pursued at the
ing decade. In the procurement and execution of projects, appropriate rank and continued until professional levels are
though the Quantity Surveyor always played a key role in achieved. Opportunities for academic progression, knowl-
the project team, they now have a bigger role to play, as the edge enhancement, and training should be made use of
emphasis of the past on time and quality would now shift whilst in this part of the world, as it is unlikely that one would
to Cost, when Developers and Contractors who learnt their pursue further education after returning to the home coun-
lessons from the bitter events of the recent past would be try. UAE offers a wealth of opportunities in this regard, and
consolidating their efforts to avoid such disaster in the fu- also spare time away from an otherwise demanding family
ture. life back in home country.
Increasingly, developers would seek value for money whilst The necessity of the QS’s contribution to the industry is
the contractors would look for better cost control in order currently at its peak, and therefore, it is left to the Quantity
to improve sustainability of their operations. On the subject Surveyors to rise up to this occasion and show to their em-
of Cost, the Quantity Surveyor is the authority and he would ployers that the decision to employ them have resulted in
now have to lead the team to achieve the stakeholders’ ob- unprecedented dividends. News would spread fast and the
jectives. demand for Quantity Surveyors would no doubt increase
when all sectors of the industry would desire to achieve
Cost planning at design and procurement stages was con- similar success by benefiting from the invaluable services of
sidered an option in the past, but not anymore. No devel- the Quantity Surveyors which are essential for a sustainable
oper would now embark on a development, without having construction industry.
first verified the sufficiency of the available funds for the de-
velopment and being convinced that he would get the best It is not only good news that spreads fast. Bad news spreads
value for the investment. Quantity Surveyors’ involvement faster. It has now become of great importance that the in-
in cost planning, cost benefit analyses, life cycle costing and dustry should not complain of any deficiencies, whatsoever,
value engineering would reach a new height and to this ex- in the services of the Quantity Surveyor. To this extent the
tent they should endure to gain further education and com- Quantity Surveyor now has a more responsible role to play,
petence to meet the industry demands. in identifying the incorrect practices prevailing in the region,
if any, and steering away from them.
At grass root levels, Bills of Quantities need to be prepared
accurately in order to ensure that tender prices are accu- SLQS provides many opportunities through their CPD pro-
rate. This would require competent takers-off not only to grammes to educate the practitioner on how to admin-
prepare BOQs but also to double check their accuracy. Es- istrate the contract in the correct manner. All SL Quantity
timators would now require to achieve a higher degree of Surveyors should make use of such opportunities not only
accuracy in their pricing of work items and project risks. for the benefit of the industry, but also to demonstrate to
the industry, the loyalty of the Quantity Surveyor in adhering
Having a perfect set of contract documents itself is not suf- to the correct practices thus acting with due care and dili-
ficient to achieve a dispute-free project completion. A per- gence as true professionals do, which would pave the way
fect contract administration is also essential, if disputes are for many juniors to follow on their footsteps to this part of
to be avoided. the world in the future, as they themselves did in the past.
When Contractors strengthen their contract administration Time has now come for all SL Quantity Surveyors to live up
/ commercial teams to secure their dues, Employers and to their maxim – “Delivering Diligence”.
Consultants would have no option but to have contract ad-
ministration / commercial staff of equal number and com-
petence to ensure that the Employer’s interests are protect- Prof. Indrawansa Samaratunga PhD, DSc
FRICS, FAIQS, FIQSSL, FCIArb, FCIOB, FCMI, FASI, FBEng
ed against any undue claims.
The recent redundancies saw many senior professionals
leaving the country to greener pastures or leaving the pro- Chartered Surveyor, Chartered QS, Chartered Manager,
fession to take up alternatives in dispute resolution, facili- Chartered Builder
ties management, and other vocations. Those who have Arbitrator / Mediator - London Court of International Arbitration
been engaged in measure and value roles for sometime Arbitrator / Expert - Dubai International Arbitration Centre, UAE
now, need to enhance their knowledge and skills to fill the Middle East Representative - Australian Inst. of Qty. Surveyors
Delivering Diligence...
