Cost Overrun: Determinants and Quantity Surveyor's Role

This report delves into the critical issue of cost overruns in construction projects, examining the various factors that contribute to this problem and the role of quantity surveyors in mitigating them. The report begins with an introduction that highlights the importance of effective cost management in ensuring project success, emphasizing that quantity surveyors are employed for financial and management issues in relation to the process of construction in projects of buildings. A comprehensive literature review follows, defining quantity surveying and exploring the responsibilities of quantity surveyors, including cost estimation, dispute resolution, and project management. The report then identifies key determinants of cost overruns, such as project size, supply chain dynamics, project duration, and procurement methods. The methodology section outlines the research approach, including the aims and procedures of the research. The report concludes by summarizing the findings and emphasizing the significance of quantity surveyors in controlling cost overruns. The report covers the role of quantity surveyors, determinants of cost overrun, research methodology to help in management of construction and building projects in relation to the aspects of finances.

Running Head: COST OVERRUN
Cost Overrun
Student’s Name
Institution

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 3
a) Background.......................................................................................................... 3
2. Literature Review................................................................................................. 3
a) Definition of Quantity Survey............................................................................... 3
b) Built Environment Quantity Surveyor...................................................................4
c) Role of the Quantity Surveyor..............................................................................9
d) How to control consultants.................................................................................10
e) Creating awareness of change...........................................................................11
f) Significance of communication..........................................................................12
g) Reports on cost.................................................................................................. 13
h) Monitoring cash flow.......................................................................................... 14
i) Engineering and management of value.............................................................14
j) Expertise and experience of the quantity surveyor............................................15
3. Relations that are Determinants to Overrun in Cost..........................................16
a) The size of the project........................................................................................ 16
b) Chain of supply.................................................................................................. 17
c) Duration of the project....................................................................................... 17
d) Method of procurement...................................................................................... 17
e) History of the case study...................................................................................18
4. Methodology of Research................................................................................... 20
a) Why research..................................................................................................... 20
b) Aims of research................................................................................................ 20
c) Procedure........................................................................................................... 21
5. Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 29
References............................................................................................................... 30

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1. Introduction
a) Background
Considerations on whether a project of construction is successful upon the delivery of needed
standards that are of quality within the budget and time estimations. Managing of costs is a way
that is efficient to achieving outcomes desired from the project as the main expectations of the
customer, is for the project not to above the budget that has been approved. Therefore, the reason
why quantity surveyors are employed for financial and management issues in relation to the
process of construction in projects of buildings. The construction building projects are in nature
dynamic and incurs risks and uncertainties outcomes where overruns in costs is a great risk that
shows up in projects on construction and may have an adverse and serious effect on the
perspectives of finance to the client. Effectives in relation to investments are minimized as result
of overruns in cost and added support in financing is necessary for the completion of project
hence margins of profit of the contractual organizations are minimized or done away with as
result of performance that is poor on issues of cost.
This paper begins with the review of a number of literature that explain the cost overrun effect
and the roles played by quantity surveyors in controlling it. For example, one source discussed
mentions that quantity surveyors provide roles which are wide and includes adjustment of losses,
expert witnessing, resolving of disputes auditing, management of values and managing projects.
Later, it shows the reason for its research whereby quantity surveyor are to help in management
of construction and building projects in relation to the aspects of finances. Next, the aims of the
research which are coming up with the roles and responsibilities of quantity surveyors in the
management of cost overrun during construction of structures. The main part comes in to

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describe the procedure of researching for quantity surveyor cost overrun data afterwhich the
paper concludes.
2. Literature Review
In this chapter, a number of sources that contained information on the relating factors affecting
quantity surveyor roles in cost overrun were reviewed. The reviews are put in various sub-topics
for easier clarification on the sources, content in review.
a) Definition of Quantity Survey.
According to (Allan, Keith, & Catherine, Willis's Practice and Procedure for the
Quantity Surveyor, 2013), surveyors make a definition of quantity surveyors as the cost of
constructing where professionals estimate and measure how much resources projects in
construction would cost, the individual’s role to keeping budgets on projects. The quantity
surveyor’s duty has beyond just estimating and measuring of the costs and amounts of structure
projects widened to new roles which include resolving of disputes, valuation of insurance,
managing projects and administering contracts. Lately, quantity surveyors provide roles which
are wide and includes adjustment of losses, expert witnessing, resolving of disputes auditing,
management of values and managing projects (Andrew P. , 2014). This article considers the
role of a quantity surveyor from an angle of one who represents consumers as a trade
contractor’s specialist, a consultant on cost, major contractors rather as cost or commercial
manager (Allan, Keith, & Catherine, Willis's Practice and Procedure for the Quantity
Surveyor, 2013).
b)Built Environment Quantity Surveyor
According to (Frank & Steven, 2018), apart from the old expertise role quantity surveyors
played in viability and feasibility improvement of structural investments such as documenting

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and compiling of contracts in construction, drafting, preparing relevant analysis on contractual
bids in construction, tenders and quotes, managing of finances of all works in construction,
selection of contactor advice, allied reporting which includes indexing costs, auditing, planning
of costs among others, quantity surveyors are also very important in management of projects in
construction, managing facilities , managing values, contract management, consultancy,
resolving of disputes in construction and research. Moreover, quantity surveying practice has got
impact in managing of assets, law, taxation insurance and managing of projects, manufacturing
of gas and oil and also banking. Much awareness about the profession has to be made to the
public by way of marketing of images that attractive which are professional putting in to
consider ethics in regards to discipline and technicalities, enterprise packaging and
advertisements. (Surveyors, 2006) says old ideas on quantity surveying and conducts of
professionalism have been revoked by the current technology, politics and society which have
changed. However, it is beyond control that as the profession experiences rapid growth in major
demand outside and inside construction, it is important that the growth be maintained because it
changes with increased demand and the good service attitude, time, the reasonable mind of
professional compensation bearing in mind duty of care to maintain exclusive productivity in the
company. Ethics of profession puts out the acceptable minimal required conduct compared to
practical problems which are not fully limited to institution assessment and pursuits, transactions,
tasks, technology but has more expectations of the public in relation to their need of
responsibilities, practical conceptualization, and voluntary service to the public and competency.
An increase in the requisite obligations, proliferation in professional institutions and academic
produced professionals, it is important to maintain the state of confidence and trust of the public
in practices of quantitative research professionals which applies to both the original and the latest

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practitioners of whom their profession has been viewed as impaired. Practitioner’s behaviour has
to be similar with the intent, ends and means of involved individuals in the manner of instinct
perception and variables which include employer or company, superiors, colleagues, customers,
members of the family, the public at large. For example the graduates, entrants who are new,
juniors, technicians and associates with least exposure in the field of profession have a different
view in ethics and techniques as opposed to senior members who are more experienced with
higher professional and academic qualifications with experience, more so at time of recession in
the economy and systemic dilemmas.
(Allan, Keith, & Catherine, Willis's Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor,
2013) says this is due to different academic backgrounds and exposures, duration of
professional practice, age hierarchy in an organisation as affects decision making in companies,
and general exposure to systemic problems of quantity surveyors, conscience and many more
others. Additionally, it increases economic relevance by continent rewards and policy of
organisations whereas there is believe that the professional’s role and nature in a business
establishment may have an influence on their professional disposition to disciplined ethics and
their conscience. As ubiquitous and problems widen with newcomers in quantity survey field
with different ambitions, it would be really hard to put them under legal responsibilities to
observe ethical practices. This is due to lack of recognition by professional bodies as their
members unless they are duly registered and examined, which may not be a requisite mandate to
work as according to delimited scope.
According to (Simon & Ramus, Contract Practice for Surveyors, 2008), exceptional
instances where academic institutions are not keen in supervising the ethical behaviours of
graduates from their establishments outside the school, as many educational facilities available

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aim at producing graduates with high technical skills as compared to aspects of the ethical
discipline. Generally, it has been hard for bodies of professions to follow up on cases of
professional misbehaviour due to no reward or appreciation by professional bodies or
government neither recognise practitioner’s effort or attempts to deal with serious ethical
challenges. There has been a variety of scholarly ethical definitions of routinization and
conceptualization in their applications to justify what makes up professional misbehaviour and
the effects of correspondence on the aspect of professionalism in the roles which are sensitive in
relation to a quantitative research in the industry of construction. Also, (Andrew & Peter,
Financial Management in Construction Contracting, 2012) mentions that there have been
studies on dilemmas in ethics of manager in construction, factors which affect views on ethics
and instincts in the decision making of administrators in construction and the relationship
between conduct or ethics of profession in quantity, the performance of projects and how
construction is managed.
There have also been further studies on personal ethics where each individual is treated with an
equal level of honesty, an opinion on the view about ethics of quantitative surveyors may be
affected by variables which are demographic and are likely to lead to a conflict of interest that is
intrinsic between practitioners working in the given variables. This includes the following level
of education, position in the company, nature of the business, age and nature of the task in
relation to the employment strict policies and gender, , according to (Surveyors, 2006). It is
easy to considerably discover misconduct and relate them in the ethically polarised quantity
surveyors cadres. Negative habits of quantity surveyors tempted frequently to sell out trade
secrets for something in return, inducements, compromised dispensation of professional service

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with a minimal level of honesty in most cases when they encounter competency issues in relation
to stern denial of a wrong and negligence.
(Warren. & Mahoney., 2005) proves that the tendency of exaggerating of services offered to
deceived customers is also very common so as they are lured to pay much than is needed. There
is a number of cases reported where quantity surveyors who are employed to protect the interest
of customers conspire with contractors who are greedy in order to defraud clients who are
unsuspecting. Quantity surveyors who are notorious most of times also give false reports in order
to favour self-interests without putting to play professional implications and the ambition of the
employer. They hide systemic errors to prove negligence adapt contract or trade figures without
professional reasons and compromising to inducement that comes with pressure or threats that
are expressed to prevent professional standards and opinions. Quantity surveyors major role in
management of costs in construction, they are vulnerable to auctioning of their conscience by
way of bribes that are not deserving , gifts and inducements especially during visitations at the
sites and valuation at the initial construction in the sense that poisoning of the professional
obligations tempered and pocketed at the will of the payer.
Reports from (Wayne, 2014) on abuse of office indicate that there are cases of
misappropriation of resources and time of organisations and offices for self-gains. Much time is
spent on a given that the required time and shows indolence at work. Furthermore, the habits of
compromising personal values principles of professionalism to achieve the demand of the
employer to the detriment of the public at large or client. Other than the vices that have been
revealed in the article, experience indicates that some quantity surveyors in consultancy can bow
low to even changing tender figures for contractors so as to win the interest of the client more so
when bids are lowest and the selection of a contractor is subjectively driven by data or price

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paradigm only. There are also instances where claims of revealing confidential and delicate
secrets of the contracts were released, whereas a good number of customer’s quantity surveyors
get involved in pricing bids candidate contractors. From the latest report, it is obvious that
professional bodies in some nations may in the future be politicised to indict unjustly the
members, in the case that the professional body is pressurized or hired to dent members who are
aspiring in bigger political ambitions of their image. The procedure of the judiciary has no power
in various similar instances in a number of countries that are developing at the expense of
quantity surveyors in consultancy, whereas some refuse to blow the whistle the corruption
defaults of executives who are in senior positions engaging in illegalities with contractors.
c) Role of the Quantity Surveyor
It is important that cost is managed other than being monitored. A research on a variety of
techniques and actions used by quantity surveyors to avoid overruns in cost on construction
projects in Irish. The research contains opinions of around 55 construction professionals that
represented a wider range of professional groups (Andrew D. , 2016). The responses ranked
various actions effective and if performed by the quantity surveyors to avoid cost overruns. The
actions were on a scale of 1-3 rated, of which 3 was very vital, 2 vital and 1 was least vital. The
below table shows the results;

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Factors with an average score greater to or similar to 2 were considered important, the measure
indicated that the top 5 which are shaded in the above diagram were seen important as compared
to the other 2 factors. The respondents considered the accuracy review of tender documentation
as the most relevant factor to avoiding cost overruns.
d)How to control consultants
According to (Andrew D. , 2016)t is important that the quantity surveyor sustain the financial
discipline in the design team giving advice to the consultants and architect is such a crucial
diplomatic duty. Cost control that is effective involves making sure that decisions in relation to
design are overall made within the constraints of the budget, for example, the sum of the
contract. The quantity surveyors take over the role of financial management of the team in
design and hence responsible for making sure that financial discipline throughout the team is
maintained. It is necessary that the team for the project awareness on the fact that no team
member is allowed to increase costs on any element or section of work. An outstanding
developed design must, therefore, be done within the specific allocation of the consultant’s
budget of their own.

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However, (Simon & Ramus, Contract Practice for Surveyors, 2007) says it is also
important for individuals in design be aware of their targets on costs of work and still work
within the given limits, and should not go on with design proposals which are above their
budgets. This activity may need given strategy as costs may turn out not to be the major priority
of a specific designer. By the designers training and instincts desire to come up with possible
best solutions. Development of design is continuous during the cycle of construction and a
continued desire to better the product. There is the risk of escalation of the cost is clear during
the process. However it is important to emphasize that that design is not behind the remit of
quantity survey and quantity surveyor except when playing the duty of the project manager,
have no sole power over decision making in design. The quantity surveyor must, however,
promptly react to developments and offer the needed information in reasonable time so as
designers can be able to create solutions in the budget.
e) Creating awareness of change.
The quantity surveyor must have knowledge of what is happening around them. They normally
maintain an updated revision, drawing checks and registers against specifications and contract
drawings so as to point out potential issues of costs that architect or consultants will discuss
before the issuance of the drawings. This is according to (Simon & Ramus, Contract
Practice for Surveyors, 2008). The quantity surveyor will closely work with other members
of the design team to know if they have considerations about changing their own designs. This
task helps the quantity surveyor to comment and evaluate the general cost, implications of the
programme on the proposals before the issuance of variables and quality. The envisaged
variables valuation may at first, be based on measurements that are approximated and notion

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lump sums, therefore, it is necessary to update the estimations as the availability of records and
detailed measurements.
Also, (Allan, Contractual Procedures in the Construction Industry, 2013) depicts the
importance of the quantity surveyor reviews all minutes and correspondence to be able to
identify relevant cost issues. They must aware of what is going on at the site so as to be able to
detect whether variations have not been confirmed or documented and also take advantage of the
opportunities available to communicate with representatives of clients at the site. Resident
architects, clerks of work employed individuals and engineers specifically are important sources
of information on developments, progress and challenges faced on site. Developing a working
relationship that is conducive to surveyor’s contractor is worth so as to agree and identify
changes and issues of the contractor at an early chance. The quantity surveyor should utilize the
time they make to the meetings sites to further account negotiations that are going on with the
surveyor of the contractor. Rolling final account is the signing off of the final elements of
account promptly and is regarded as a good practice.
f) Significance of communication
(Andy, 2014) makes a pro-active approach of managing cost is important as the quantity
surveyor is required to adopt such approaches towards controlling cost other than using the role
of monitoring and allowing the costs to come up in a manner that they are not controlled. It is
useless to have required information on cost overrun prevention and then fail to communicate to
the concerned designers. It is important that advice on cost and recommendations are
communicated to the client and the design team in such a reasonable time. The advice given
earlier on the information that is not complete is better off by far than a delayed information on