Comparison between the Role of QS in Main Contractor and ID Firm

This report compares the role of Quantity Surveyors (QS) in main contractors and interior design firms. It discusses the importance of QS in the construction industry and explores the differences in their responsibilities. The report also highlights the skills required to be an effective QS in both sectors.

Comparison between the Role of QS
in Main Contractor and ID Firm
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Problem Statement....................................................................................................2
1.2 Research Questions...................................................................................................3
1.3 Aim of the Research..................................................................................................3
1.4 Research Objectives..................................................................................................3
1.5 Scope of the Project...................................................................................................4
2. Literature Review...............................................................................................................5
2.1 Overview of Literature Review................................................................................5
3. Research Methodology.....................................................................................................10
4. Action Planned.................................................................................................................11
5. Argument and Evidence...................................................................................................12
6. Comparing the differences between the role of QS in a main contractor and the Interior
Design firm...............................................................................................................................14
7. Discussion........................................................................................................................17
7.1 SPSS Analysis...........................................................................................................19
7.1.1 Descriptive Analysis.........................................................................................19
7.1.2 Inferential Analysis In Regression..................................................................20
8. Conclusions......................................................................................................................22
9. Recommendations............................................................................................................24
References................................................................................................................................25

1. Introduction
Architecture refers to the art and science of designing and constructing the built
environment, which supports all the various forms of human activities and interactions. Some
of the main roles of the architectural industry and the necessary skills will be discussed in this
report. It is a fact that, the size of the organization denotes the number of positions i.e., if the
organization is large then there will be many positions to who the work will be divided, but if
the firm is small in such case one individual has to carry out various tasks(Shoko Press,
2019).
The Quantity surveyors supports the firm with professional advice in terms of
property and construction. Their role comprises of completing the detailed reports known as
building surveys. Surveyors also value the worth of properties by identifying defects and they
even give advice related to repair and maintenance.The essential skills needed to be an
effective surveyor are, maths, science and engineering skills, the analyzing ability and the
skills to interpret the graphical data, negotiating, communication and presentation skills.
The interior design firm’s designers ensure that the design and decoration are planned
and supervised inside of the buildings, by concentrating on the aesthetics and functions of the
interior spaces. Moreover, the interior designers are held responsible to the colour added to
the interiors and for the selection of the decorative items like, the furniture, lighting, soft
furnishing and the art work lighting. The essential skills needed to be an effective interior
designer, the creativity, ability to communicate the ideas, imagination, listening and
understandingthe clients’ needs, eye for detailing, colour sense, project and time
management, illustration and technical drawing, and teamwork are required(Shoko Press,
2019).
In the construction industry, the Quantity Surveyor (QS) helps to access the
measurements, quantities, material cost, service cost and labour costs (Willmott Dixon,
2019).This report’s main purpose includes investigating the significant of the QS in the
Interior Design firm.It is believed that the absence of Quantity Surveyor can distort the order
of the work flow process followed by the company. The QS helps to facilitate professional
assistance to prepare the commercial estimations of the tenders/ projects.The QS also
prepares the bills of labour and service costs. It also schedules the quantities of materials
required. They even prepare the builders’ bills of quantities (BOQ) for estimating the tenders
and for other pricing purposes.Thus, in the construction industry, for every single civil
engineering project at least one Quantity Surveyor is necessary.
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The elements of a specialist Quantity Surveyor are extensively worried about the
control of the expense on development projects. The techniques utilized, however covers
thescope of exercises which may incorporate cost arranging, esteem building, possibility
considers, money saving advantage examination, life cycle costing, valuation, and cost
estimation. Quantity surveyors controls the development costs by precise estimation of the
work required, the utilization of master learning of expenses and costs of work, work,
materials and plant required, a comprehension of the ramifications of structure choices at a
beginning period to guarantee that great esteem is gotten for the cash to be exhausted. The
strategy of estimating quantityfrom illustrations, portrayals and particulars arranged by
fashioners, basically designers and architects, so as to get ready delicate/contract records, is
referred to in the business as taking off. The quantity of work undertaken regularly are
utilized to get ready the bills of quantity as consented by the QS and agent’s request for the
development of the construction project. Numerous bigger QS firms have their own in-house
strategies for estimation and most bills of quantities arranged today are in a contracted
configuration from the one required by the SMM. By and large an accomplished surveyor
would encourage every one of the abilities accessible to limit extra expenses to a project and
keep up a top notch benefit for clients.
Therefore, this report will help to understand the various roles of Quantity Surveyor in
main contractor and the interior design firm. In this research work, the Singapore Interior
Design firm will be considered for the case study.
1.1 Problem Statement
As in the construction industry, the quantity surveyor plays a significant role almost in
all the phases. The Quantity Surveyors play an essential role mainly in estimating the cost of
the building, but the modern quantity surveyor also facilitates the service which covers
procurement, contractual schedules along with cost management of the project.Thus, there is
an increasing demand for better quality, cost effectiveness and environment friendly
construction, which has led the development of Building Information Modelling (BIM)
technology. However, without the Quantity Surveyor in the Interior Design Company, the
company’s procedure gets disorganized and loses its systematic flow. Thus, the problem
refers to determining the role of QS in the main contractor and in the interior design firm, so
that it is determined whether the advanced technology is required for quantity surveying or
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not, which has the capacity to address and resolve the issues related to cost, controlling the
resource, schedules and so on.
Thus, from the above statement the problem in the Singapore based interior design
firm includes, lack of motivation for the QSs in the Malaysian construction industry,for
improving their performance.
1.2 Research Questions
The below listed research questions must be addressed:
1) What is the difference between the role of QS in various interior Design
companies and in the main contractor?
2) Who is the Main contractor?
3) What does the interior firms do?
4) Is QS important or not?
5) What are the current industry practices related to Quantity surveying?
1.3 Aim of the Research
This research work’s aim refers to studying the comparison between the role of the
QS in the main contractor and Interior Design Firm. It is mainly to differentiate the roles of
the Quantity Surveyor in terms of main contractor and in terms of the interior design firms. In
the project delivery processes, the services of Quantity Surveyor (QS) are valued. The main
strengths of QS includes, negotiation skills and networking skills.In the construction industry,
the Quantity Surveyor (QS) helps to access the measurements, quantities, material cost,
service cost and labour costs (Willmott Dixon, 2019). It is believed that the absence of
Quantity Surveyor can distort the order of the work flow process followed by the company.
1.4 Research Objectives
This research work’s objective includes identifying the role of the main contractor and
the interior firms with regards to Quantity Surveying. This study contains the following sub-
objectives:
1) To conduct a comprehensive review onthe sources and the constraints present in the
interior design firms and main contractors with the QS.
2) To select a methodology for easily identifying the constraints.
3) To review the present practices in the construction industry related to interior design.
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4) To provide solutions to help avoid the constraints.
5) To probe the task of quantity surveyors in the Interior Design Companies and main
contractors.
6) To critically review the literature on roles of QS in main contractor and in the interior
design firm.
7) To explore the quantity surveyors’ role.
8) To study and recognize the factors which has effect on the motivation of the QSs.
1.5 Scope of the Project
Here, the scope of this project includes clarifying the different roles of Quantity
Surveyor in main contractor and in the Interior Design Firm. Moreover, the scope helps to
understand the importance of QS in the construction industry.On the other hand, it helps to
find an alternative for the identified constrains during the delivery process.
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2. Literature Review
2.1 Overview of Literature Review
The preliminary literature review explains the Quantity surveyor’s role in the delivery
of construction projects. Next, QS’s role in the international construction field is reviewed
effectively. The study related to quantity surveying practice of the contractors in the
construction process is also researched. The study on motivatingthe QSs, in the Malaysian
construction industry to improve their performance is studied completely.The importance of
QS in the interior design companies is also determined. The previous research papers are
used to identify the research problems,strengths and weaknesseswith justification. It is
understood that, the QSsare important for facilitating professional assistance to prepare the
commercial estimations of the tenders. The QS also helps to access the measurements,
quantities, material cost, service cost and labor costs. The limitations due to the lack of QS in
the interior design firm are also reviewed. This research is important to determine whether
the advanced technology is required for quantity surveying or not.
According to (Mbachu, 2015), from the existing studies and based on the information
available publicly, the author aimed to find answers related to how the stakeholders value the
QS's services in the project delivery process, with the help of desktop survey. Further, the
author investigates the strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement in QS services.
However, it is observed that the NZIQS Conditions of Engagement and a wider literature
could eventually project some insights on the traditional roles of the QS. Boththe pre-contract
and post-contract stages of project development are researched. This research highlights
certain insightswhich refer to the areas of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of
the QS profession. Totally twenty five strengths, twenty five weaknesses, fourteen
opportunities and twenty two threats were found. The strengths included various skillslike,
negotiation skills, networking skills, the weaknesses include lack of business and managerial
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skills, poor attitude, towards the CPD, the inconsistencies related to cost estimate, improper
planning and controlling the expenses of construction for decreasing the cost overruns. It is
observed that in QS services further improvization is required for enhancing its delivery
values. On the other hand, long-term viability includes lifelong learning experience which is
essential to have a diversified portfolio of services. This engages in the joint ventures, and for
those who partner withthe foreigncompanies for exploring the foreign markets related to
construction industry.
As per (Wao and Flood, 2016), in certain countries the profession of quantity
surveying is disagreeable, for example, the USA. But, in the universal development field,
quantity surveyors have prestigious development abilities and are generally engaged with the
projects related to construction. They have diverse names in various nations like for instance,
construction accountant, building economist, cost engineer or the cost manager. Regardless of
the diverse names, they have huge abilities that have advanced to meet the expanding and
changing needs of customers, particularly in the international construction field. This
research paper has successfully explored the quantity surveyors' roles and the complexities
they may discover in global construction. A writing audit and study survey were utilized to
explore the complexities, roles and the dimension of rivalry from other construction experts.
The outcomes demonstrated that the quantity surveyors had numerous jobs in construction,
with a large share of them going about as delegates of customers in the construction ventures.
Likewise, they encountered differed complexities and confronted rivalry from other
construction experts. It is critical that they had methods to defend the profession's survival
and had space for future development and enhancement of their roles in global development.
The examination gives valuable data to those experts and customers wishing to participate in
the international construction.
It is stated in (Cornick and Osbon, 2006), that the Quantity surveyors in construction
organizations apply customary practices of quantity surveying to meet the prerequisites of
the specialist quantity surveyors representing the customer. Different practices must be
utilized to suit the organization's internal cost accounting and reporting prerequisites. The
construction organization's quantity surveyor practice should fulfil both the outside and
interior needs and, so as to help corporate input, must be institutionalized over the
organization's projects. This paper depicts an examination of the role played by the quantity
surveyor in the construction organization, where a specific organization was studied. It was
done as a feature of the organization's quality enhancement process. The examination
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distinguished the requirement for various changes to fulfil the points of the quantity
surveying practice. Also, the paper depicts the consequence of their execution. Further,
during the construction period, it upgrades the cost control of a project and empowers the
quantity surveyor to give better help to the site project manager.
According to(Herman, 2016), the construction industry is effectively contains
competitive environment, and because of this, the economy and quality of life gets affected,
and the method of working used by the people is also changing, for the sake of
sustenance.Motivation of the employees’ play a significant role in the construction based
industry, as it is the factor which contributes to the performance of the QS’s job. Motivation
is the key factor that influences people to do better by initiating action to achieve the set goals
and results in increased performance. Meanwhile, the employees’performance is the measure
of the quality of an organization. In construction, quantity surveyors contribute to the overall
construction performance, mainly, by adding value to the contractual and financial
management of projects starting from the preconstruction stage until post-construction stage.
For adapting to the challenging environment, the way the QSs carry out their work has
changed. Sadly, no motivation framework is available related to the profession of QS which
can relate to motivation for improving their performance. Hence, this research is carried out
focusing on the motivation factors of quantity surveyors from three types of organizations
such as the private consultancy firms,government agencies, and the private contracting
companies, in the context of Malaysian construction industry. This research adapts the
mixed-methods research for achieving the triangulation. Nearly 200 questionnaire surveys
were distributed with the help of email, web and postal based methods. Statistically, 71
questionnaires were analyzedwith the help of KruskalWallis analysis and the rest of the
analysis used the SPSS software. The interviews were analyzedwith the help of content
analysis by using the Nvivo software, post transcription process. The result showed that the
motivation factors of QSs in the construction industry won’t differ based on the various sorts
of organizations. Therefore, one conceptual framework for QSs, irrespective of the
organizationstypes they work in/ with, is developed. The conceptual framework is developed
and validated for benefiting the QSs, construction organizations, education institutions, and
professional bodies’ performance when it is utilized effectively.
Thus, the interior design firm’s service contains some general practices like, the
Consultation of Design, DesignConceptual, Presentation of the Design, project’sbudgeting
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and costing, management of the projectand assigning the roles. During this process, each
party compels on the design and it is the role of the project manager to take care of the budget
by controlling and managing the tasks prepared by the QS.
The quantity surveyor’s role in the interior design firm comprises of ensuring that
each costings are prepared in the quotation form prior to the actual spendings, thus all the
expenses are reported right from the starting throughout the construction period. In various
project, the customer does this in the tender format,which is needed by the QS to propose the
quotations and for spreading it into various categories of personnel associated to the project.
This technique is broadly utilized by numerous financial specialists for controlling the use of
the funds and ensures that it was lead in the most reasonable and legit practice. When the
majority of the classifications are listed the items, then the QS’s obligations includes to
completely look into the detail of all the costing that are valued in the most ideal way. Above
all, each quotation that was drafted, should be explained by the QS either to the sales
personnel or to the designers, as the most of the QS won't meet the customer to legitimize the
expenses. It is also obvious that leading any project requires various personnel like the
administrators,designers, workers and the sub-contractors. Everybody must perform their
respective roles with utmost care and with responsibility for accomplishingthe project
effectively. As a whole, the QS’s role refers to a scaffold or the interpreter between the
designers, project manager and the sales for executing the respective design. The QS can be
denoted as the core for running the business.Thus, detail attention is needed to ensure that
there won't be any cost spillage during the project’s execution time. The project’s directions
and task execution is firmly specified in the quotation.
The following is the proof that various reviews related to motivation factors of the
construction professionals are researched.
According to (Leung, Chen and Yu, 2008) concentrates on the interrelationship
between the job performance, commitment and the job satisfaction of the construction
professionals present in Hong Kong.
The author from (Oyedele, 2010) investigates on designers’ motivation in the Irish
based construction companies.
As per (Lim and Ling, 2012) the research relate to HR (human resource) practice
which leads to job satisfaction of the professional staff in contracting companies present in
Singapore.
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From various studies it is determined that there is at least one motivation factor,
which is later utilized as the foundation of this study. However, a lot of research on the
factors which impact employees’ motivation in the organisations is present, and thus enough
literature are present and updated to deal with the professional quantity surveyor’s motivation
(Bowen and Cattell, 2008).
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3. Research Methodology
For this study, Literature reviewis the primary research method. The constraints are
identified and classified in a structured approach by using SPSS. The role of QS in main
contractor and ID Firm are compared. The difference in the roles are determined. Thus,
depending on the results the importance of QS will be determined. At last the usage of
advanced technology for quantity surveying will be researched (Pittard and Sell, 2016).This
research uses the quantitative approach, where the descriptive and inferential analysis will be
carried out.
The strategy to be implemented for this research could effectively include,
investigation, archiving the study, ethnography, actions on the conducted study and
researching on the case.The data is collected from the literature review, document
commentary and the prepared questionnaire.Thus, the collection of data will be carrying out
qualitatively with the help of the method like, questionnaire survey. In the survey, the
question form need to be formulated to provide opinions for the participants. Hence, the data
will be collected quantitatively with the help of numeric data, and this information will be
included in the survey’s form. The SPSS software will be used to statistically analyze the
results of the survey.
As a whole, the necessary steps to be followed in this study are listed below:
1) Reviewing or reading the articles related to Quantity Surveyor and the Interior
Design.
2) Identifying the issues related to Quantity Surveyor and the Interior Design.
3) Establishing the research proposal’saim and objectives.
4) Reviewing more number of articles associated with the problems in the project
without the Quantity Surveyor.
5) Comparing the role of Quantity Surveyor in the main contractor and in the
interior design firm.
6) Reviewing more number of articles associated with the problems in the project
with Quantity Surveyor.
7) Then, ensuring the development of the research design and the research
method.
8) Preparing and developing the research programs.
9) Submitting the research proposal.
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4. Action Planned
The set of procedures adopted to conduct this project are discussed in this section of
the report. Thus, the actions planned includes the following:
STEP 1:Identify the constraints.
STEP 2:Design effective plan.
STEP 3:Utilize the advanced technology for quantity surveying like the
Quantity Analysis.
STEP 4:Take precautions to discard any faults.
STEP 5:Regularly monitor the action plan and its implementation.
STEP 6:Check the progress of the implemented plan.
STEP 7:Revise the action plan if effective results are not achieved.
The construction projects are selected, which needs effective management at the work
sites. The main participants include, main contractor, manager, designers, workers, and the
sub-contractors. Thus, the collection and analysis of data must take place consistently and
effectively, if not it can harm the delivery process and can have serious impact on the clients
and the project owners.
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5. Argument and Evidence
It is strongly believed that the role of the QS in a main contractor is extremely
different than its role in the Interior Design firm. This is proved based on the comparison on
the roles played by the QS in the main contractor and in the interior design firm.
This research’s strategy comprises of investigation, archiving the study, ethnography,
actions on the conducted study and researching on the case. Here, the data is collected from
the literature review, document commentary and from the prepared questionnaire.
In the Interior Design firm located in Singapore, when the QS is not appointed allows
the organization's procedure to end up muddled and also loses its systematic work flow.
However, the personnel from the sales department will work out the quotation without even
checking the quotes, whether it tallies with the proposed design format or not, this can lead
the organization to confront the problems related to the lost cash, missingitems from the
quotation, absence of material control, and so on. Thus, for all these problems, it is necessary
to research the problems, their methods and get the normal outcome for resolving the
problem(W. E, S and P.D, 2007).
The Quantity Surveyor’s role in the Interior Design firm is represented in the below
paragraph.
In the Interior Design firm’s project, the role of the QS begins from the project’s
pitching stage or from the tender project. The below section represents the collaborative roles
of the QS who works in the interior design firm located in Singapore.
a. Primary Expense Proposal
Therefore, the cost advice given by the quantity surveyor must be trustworthy so that
the client have sufficient amount to carry on the project.
In the initial stage, prior to the commencement of the project related tasks, must take
advice from the quantity surveyor with regards to cost problems and the technique for
selecting the contractor or the tendering proposes. Hence, the cost exhortation given by the
quantity surveyor must be reliable so the customer have adequate add up to carry on the task.
b. Cost Budgetary
Generally,in the initial stage of the project progressthe cost program refers to a
fragment of cost command.Else, the cost program could easily give customer the relative
price of various materials that are to be utilized and it even helps the designer in utilizing
various techniques for solving the design. Thus, based on this the contract documents could
be prepared to promote easy preparative cost resolution.
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c. Contract Agreement and Documentation
This includes advising the client about the procurement route and contract selection.
The Contract documents comprises of specifications, drawings and BOQ, approximate
quantities or without quantities. Basically, the least expensive contractor can be selected by
the employer who establishes the contract. (Davis, et. al. 1991).
d. Cost Control
Always the QS must be ensured that the overall expense should not be spent more and
the expenses must be within the budget of the customer.It is necessary to take care of cost
control right from the starting stage till the tender stage, however even while the work is in
progress it has to be controlled. An appropriate approach for controlling the costs of the
project is carrying out project valuation. It supports handling the capability timetable along
with the expenses of the project.
The function of the Interior Design Company in Singapore is represented in the below
paragraph.
a. Interior design function
The Interior design refers to a service of consulting the experts on planning the space
and the interior space with conceptual design. Their objective includes accomplishing useful
space, keep the space stylish, comforting and engaging, for the individuals who utilize the
respective space. Furthermore, the expert consultation includes prompting instructions and
protocols from the authoritative bodies who supervise the overall practice of construction are
legitimately practice it, as well as with an effective secure way. It is likewise to guarantee the
design and illustrations by following the instructions and protocols present in Singapore.
Along these lines, the jobs of the interior designer are very critical, and it is not just making a
quality design.
b. Process of design
The interior designer service has developed into the design and building service
industry, where one party controls the majority of the building cost and design. The action
plan of the business will deal with the start to finish of the project, by handing over the tasks
and consulting the experts. In Singapore, it is turning out to be progressivefor most of the
interior design organizations, to carry out the services of design and building. This is due to
the ease the service offers its clients, which makes it less difficult and less demanding to
coordinate with only one main contractor. There are points of interest and hindrance of this
action plan for example, the nature of design may be tradeoff for costing reason.
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6. Comparing the differences between therole of QS in a main
contractor and the Interior Design firm
The main contractor generally, manages the work related to commercial management,
tender and contract administration. Whereas the interior design firms manage the work
related to measurement of project, to check the quantities against the tender allowances. The
main contractor holds the responsibilities of the daily supervision of the construction site,
managing vendors and trades, and establish communication will all the parties involved
throughout the course of a building project (Cadvantage.co.uk, 2017). The Main Contractor
oversees and manages the construction of a building project, but the interior design firm takes
care of meeting the needs of the clients in terms of interior design.
The interior design companies follow a set of procedure to accomplish the
construction and its administration. But, no specific procedure is followed by the main
contractor. The procedure followed in the interior firms include Initial Consultation,
Conceptual design, Design development and Site Scope, Design Agreement, Preliminary
Design Presentation, Budgeting and costing, Final Presentation and, finally Construction
administration and Documentation (Implementation) (Idec.org, 2017)(Rgkdesigns.com,
2017).
In main contractor, the QS provides the benefits of accessing the measurements,
quantities, material cost, service cost and labour costs. Whereas, in the Interior design firm it
assists the users/ firmto prepare the project budgets, administering projects Contracts and
checks the projects contracts.
The essential skills needed to be an effective surveyor are, maths, science and
engineering skills, the analyzing ability and the skills to interpret the graphical data,
negotiating, communication and presentation skills. Whereas, the essential skills needed to be
an effective interior designer the creativity, ability to communicate the ideas, imagination,
listening and understandingthe clients’ needs, eye for detailing, colour sense, project and time
management,illustration and technical drawing, and teamwork are required (Shoko Press,
2019).
In main contractor, the QS prepares the bills of labour and service costs. Then
schedules the quantities of materials required. Whereas, in the Interior design firm it prepares
the tender documents, contracts and the budgets.
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In main contractor, the QS prepares the builders bills of quantities (BOQ) for
estimating the tenders and for other pricing purposes. Whereas, in the Interior design firm the
QS assists in preparing the bills of quantities and other documentation.
In main contractor, QS helps to estimate the cost. Whereas, in the Interior design firm
the QS forecasts the cost of various materials required for the project.
In main contractor, the QS provides practical advice on cost. Whereas, in the Interior
design firm it tracks the design changes in the construction work and accordingly adjusts the
budget projections.
In main contractor, the QS helps with procuring and management trades packages.
Whereas, in the Interior design firm the QS helps to procure or agree to the contractor and
subcontractor services, based on the parameters set by the manager.
In main contractor, the QS plays the role of maximizing the project value by
effectively managing the subcontractors. Whereas, in the Interior design firm the QS
measures and values the work done on the site.
In main contractor, the QS ensures to establish communication with the sub-
contractors. Whereas, in the Interior design firm the QS cooperates with the clients and the
other professionals in the construction field like, the project managers,site managers and the
site engineers.
In main contractor, the QS takes care to prepare the progress and cost reports with the
sub-contractors. Whereas, in the Interior design firm the QS assists in preparing the final
reports.
In main contractor, the QS ensures appropriate commercial controls but are paid by
the firm. Whereas, in the Interior design firm the QS provides payment to the subcontractors.
In main contractor, with QS lacks cost effectiveness. Whereas, in the Interior design
firm the BIM provides cost effectiveness and environment friendly construction.
In main contractor, the QS does not ensure systematic flow. Whereas, in the Interior
design firm the QS offers systematic flow.
The main contractor ensures building long-term and influential relationships with the
respective suppliers, to offer flexibility especially when there are changing business needs.
Whereas, in the Interior design firm the QS effectively communicates with the production
and operations teams for dealing with any variations in the project.
The main contractor ensures working on the strategies of project procurement with
specific reference for issuing the enquiries of tender, package reconciliations and
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producingthe orders of the subcontract. Whereas, in the Interior design firm the QS selects
and sources or the materials required for the construction of the building.
Hence, the Interior design firmselects the contract, collects the information, chooses
the negotiator, reviews the contract and takes signs on the contract.But, the main contractor
follows the set contract and tries to accomplish the requirements of the clients.
The reviews of various researchers on motivation factors, with respect to the
construction professionals include the following: According to (Leung, Chen and Yu, 2008)
concentrates on the interrelationship between the job performance, commitmentand the job
satisfaction of the construction professionals present in Hong Kong. The author from
(Oyedele, 2010) investigateson designers’ motivation in the Irish based construction
companies. As per (Lim and Ling, 2012)the research relate to HR (human resource) practice
which leads to job satisfaction of the professional staff in contracting companies present in
Singapore.
From various studies it is determined that there is at least one motivation factor,
which is later utilized as the foundation of this study. However, a lot of research on the
factors which impact employees’ motivation in the organisations is present, and thus enough
literature are present and updated to dealwith the professional quantity surveyor’s
motivation(Bowen and Cattell, 2008).
Henceforth, the role of QS in main contractor and ID Firm is compared successfully.
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7. Discussion
The construction projects are selected, which needs effective management at the work
sites. The main participants include, main contractor, manager, designers, workers, and the
sub-contractors. Thus, the collection and analysis of data must take place consistently and
effectively, if not it can harm the delivery process and can have serious impact on the clients
and the project owners.
In the construction industry, the quantity surveyor has animportant role especially in
all the phases of the project. The Quantity Surveyors play an essential role mainly in
estimating the cost of the building, but the modern quantity surveyor also facilitates the
service which covers procurement, contractual schedules along with cost management of the
project. Thus, there is an increasing demand for better quality, cost effectiveness and
environment friendly construction, which has led the development of Building Information
Modelling (BIM) technology. However, without the Quantity Surveyor in the Interior Design
Company, the company’s procedure gets disorganized and loses its systematic flow. Thus,
the problem refers to determining the role of QS in the main contractor and in the interior
design firm, so that it is determined whether the advanced technology is required for quantity
surveying or not, which has the capacity to address and resolve the issues related to cost,
controlling the resource, schedules and so on.The research’s aim is to study the comparison
between the role of QS in main contractor and ID Firm. It is mainly to differentiate the roles
of the Quantity Surveyor in terms of main contractor and in terms of the interior design firms.
In the project delivery processes, the services of Quantity Surveyor are valued. The main
strengths of QS includes, negotiation skills and networking skills. In the construction
industry, the Quantity Surveyor (QS) helps to access the measurements, quantities, material
cost, service cost and labour costs.The absence of Quantity Surveyor could easily distort the
order of the work flow process followed by the company. Thus, the objectives of this
research refers to identifythe role of the main contractor and the interior firms with regards to
Quantity Surveying. This study also contains various sub-objectives like, for providing a
comprehensive review onthe sources and constraints available in the interior design firms and
main contractors with the QS; To select a methodology for easily identifying the constraints;
To review the present practices in the construction industry related to interior design; To
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provide solutions to help avoid the constraints; To probe the task of quantity surveyors in the
Interior Design Companies and main contractors; To critically review the literature on roles
of QS in main contractor and in the interior design firm; To explore the quantity surveyors’
role; and to study and recognize the factors which has effect on the motivation of the QSs.
Even the characteristic of the Singapore based design interior company arewell
defined in this report.
The quantity surveyor’s role in the interior design firm comprises of ensuring that
each costings are prepared in the quotation form prior to the actual spendings, thus all the
expenses are reported right from the starting throughout the construction period. In various
project, the customer does this in the tender format,which is needed by the QS to propose the
quotations and for spreading it into various categories of personnel associated to the project.
This technique is broadly utilized by numerous financial specialists for controlling the use of
the funds and ensures that it was lead in the most reasonable and legit practice. When the
majority of the classifications are listed the items, then the QS’s obligations includes to
completely look into the detail of all the costing that are valued in the most ideal way. Above
all, each quotation that was drafted, should be explained by the QS either to the sales
personnel or to the designers, as the most of the QS won't meet the customer to legitimize the
expenses. It is also obvious that leading any project requires various personnel like the
administrators,designers, workers and the sub-contractors. Everybody must perform their
respective roles with utmost care and with responsibility for accomplishingthe project
effectively. As a whole, the QS’s role refers to a scaffold or the interpreter between the
designers, project manager and the sales for executing the respective design. The QS can be
denoted as the core for running the business.Thus, detail attention is needed to ensure that
there won't be any cost spillage during the project’s execution time. The project’s directions
and task execution is firmly specified in the quotation.
The implemented strategy for this research includes, investigation, archiving the
study, ethnography, actions on the conducted study and researching on the case. It is
observed that the data is collected from the literature review, document commentary and from
the prepared questionnaire.Hence, the collection of data is carried out qualitatively with the
help of the method like, questionnaire survey. In the survey, the question form is formulated
for providing opinions for the participants. Then, the data is collected quantitatively with the
help of numeric data, and this information is included in the form of the survey. The SPSS
software is used to statistically analyze the results of the survey.
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7.1 SPSS Analysis
The SPSS analysis is discussed in this section.
First, a graph is plotted for the variables and year for private and public sector of
construction industry in Singapore. It is as shown below.
7.1.1 Descriptive Analysis
Descriptive Statistics are demonstrated as shown in the below table.
Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
VAR00001 0
@1997 16 72 78 74.39 1.616
@1998 16 72 78 75.51 2.188
@1999 16 72 79 75.78 2.359
@2000 16 55 81 75.13 8.016
@2001 17 69 80 76.42 2.484
@2002 14 73 82 77.91 2.718
@2003 15 74 86 78.70 2.937
@2004 16 73 84 79.13 3.352
@2005 13 77 84 80.67 2.317
@2006 12 78 84 80.63 1.995
@2007 13 78 85 80.05 2.348
@2008 13 64 86 77.87 6.661
@2009 18 73 95 81.02 5.190
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@2010 15 78 86 82.19 2.197
@2011 16 82 88 84.84 1.322
@2012 18 79 91 85.58 3.772
@2013 15 82 91 85.93 2.899
@2014 16 77 92 86.43 3.721
@2015 18 72 93 86.33 6.219
@2016 16 79 93 87.54 4.138
VAR00002 0
VAR00003 0
Valid N (listwise) 0
7.1.2 Inferential Analysis in Regression
The Curve Estimation in Regression analysis is demonstrated as shown in the below table.
The description of the model is represented below:
The case processing summary is represented below:
The variable processing summary is represented below:
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The model summary and parameter estimates are listed in the below represented table.
The above graph is used to show the private and public sector of construction industry
development right from the year 1997 to 2016.
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8. Conclusions
The Quantity Surveyors of the construction industry supports in accessing the
measurements, quantities, material cost, service cost along with the cost of the labour. This
report’s main purpose includes investigating the significant of the QS in the Interior Design
firm.It is believed that, the absence of Quantity Surveyor can distort the order of the work
flow process followed by the company. The QS helps to facilitate professional assistance to
prepare the commercial estimations of the tenders/ projects. The QS also prepares the bills of
labour and service costs. It also schedules the quantities of materials required. They even
prepare the builders’ bills of quantities (BOQ) for estimating the tenders and for other pricing
purposes.Thus, in the construction industry, for every single civil engineering project at least
one Quantity Surveyor is necessary. This report has helped to understand the various roles of
Quantity Surveyor in main contractor and in the interior design firm.
The quantity surveyor in the construction industry has an important role in all the
phases. The Quantity Surveyors mainly estimates the cost of the building, but the modern
quantity surveyor also facilitate the service which covers procurement, contractual schedules
along with cost management of the project.Thus, there is an increasing demand for better
quality, cost effectiveness and environment friendly construction, which has led the
development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology. However, without the
Quantity Surveyor in the Interior Design Company, the company’s procedure gets
disorganized and loses its systematic flow. Thus, the problem refers to determining the role of
QS in the main contractor and in the interior design firm, so that it is determined whether the
advanced technology is required for quantity surveying or not, which has the capacity to
address and resolve the issues related to cost, controlling the resource, schedules and so on.
This research’s aim includes studying the comparison between the role of QS in main
contractor and ID Firm. It mainly differentiates the roles of the Quantity Surveyor in terms of
main contractor and in terms of the interior design firms. The research shows that in the
project delivery processes, the services of Quantity Surveyor are valued. The main strengths
of QS includes, negotiation skills and networking skills. In the construction industry, the
Quantity Surveyor helps to access the measurements, quantities, material cost, service cost
and labour costs. It is believed that the absence of Quantity Surveyor can distort the order of
the work flow process followed by the company.
The objectives are met, where the research identifies the role of the main contractor
and the interior firms with regards to Quantity Surveying. Further, the sub-objectives are also
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met, such as the present sources and constraints’ comprehensive review, related to the interior
design firms and main contractors with the QS is presented. An effective methodology for
easily identifying the constraints is selected. The present practices in the construction
industry related to interior design are reviewed. The solutions are provided to help in
avoiding the constraints. The task of quantity surveyors in the Interior Design Companies and
main contractors are investigated.
Literature review is the primary research method for this study. The constraints are
identified and classified successfully in a structured approach by using SPSS. The role of QS
in main contractor and ID Firm are compared. The difference in the roles are determined.
Thus, depending on the results the importance of QS is determined. At last, the usage of
advanced technology for quantity surveying is researched.).Therefore, this research uses the
quantitative approach, where the descriptive and inferential analysis are carried out.
However, the preliminary literature review successfully explains the Quantity
surveyor’s role in the delivery of construction projects. Next,QS’s rolein the international
construction field is reviewed effectively. The study related to quantity surveying practice of
the contractors in the construction process is also researched. The study on motivatingthe
QSs, in the Malaysian construction industry to improve their performance is successfully
completed. The importance of QS in the interior design companies is determined. The
previous research papers helps to identify the research problems, their strengths and
weaknesseswith justification. Literature review provides the understanding that the QS is
essential to facilitate the professional assistance for preparing the commercial estimations of
the tenders. It is observed that the QS helps to access the measurements, quantities, material
cost, service cost and labor costs. The limitations due to the lack of QS in the interior design
firm are also reviewed.
On the other hand, the characteristic of the Singapore based design interior company
are defined.
Therefore, this project clarifies the different roles of Quantity Surveyor in main
contractor and in the Interior Design Firm. Further, the scope helps to understand the
importance of QS in the construction industry. However, it also helps to find an alternative
for the identified constrains during the delivery process.
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9. Recommendations
Hence, in the construction industry, the quantity surveyor plays a significant role
almost in all the phases. This study directs certain recommendations such as, it is essential to
use BIM (Building Information Modelling) technology or any other methods likeQuantity
analysis, as it plays a significant role in successfully managing the related tasks.
The BIM solution such as the Revit Architecturecould support to investigate the
design by allowing the designers to simultaneously develop and study various design
alternatives,inside a single model. Thus, resulting in easing the design work.
Moreover, the Quantity Surveyors mainly estimates the cost of the building, but the
modern quantity surveyor also facilitate the service which covers procurement, contractual
schedules along with cost management of the project.Thus, there is an increasing demand for
better quality, cost effectiveness and environment friendly construction, which has led the
development of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology.
Thus, thefuture study can be done on the intention to work for the quantity
surveyor’simprovement in the Singapore based interior design firm. The future research
could focus on improving the work capability corresponding to various types of work.
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