A bill of quantities is an essential document for tendering construction projects. It itemizes the rates of materials, parts, and labour to help contractors price the work they’re bidding on.
The BOQ is typically prepared by a cost consultant or quantity surveyor. This ensures that all bidding contractors are pricing the same scope of work.
Definition
The bill of quantities, or BOQ, is a construction document that lists the materials and labor needed to complete a project. It’s usually prepared by an architect or engineer and serves as a guide for companies that are bidding on the job. It’s an important part of the design process and should be reviewed carefully before it is finalized.
The primary purpose of a bill of quantities is to enable all contractors tendering for the contract to price on the same information. This information may be measured in terms of length, area, volume or weight. The preparation of a bill of quantities requires that the design has been finalized and a specification written.
A contractor will first examine the drawings and specifications and then prepare their own estimate of the work to be completed. They will then review the bill of quantities and price the items listed, based on their knowledge of the construction process and the cost of materials. If any item is shown on the drawings but not on the bill of quantities, this should be brought to the attention of the client and a revised bill of quantities prepared.
Once the contractor has finalized the list, they’ll use it to create payment applications as the work is completed. They’ll note the amount of each item and multiply it by the price to get the total for the entire project. The list can be used to track material and labor requirements for each stage of the project and to identify any issues that may arise.
Increasingly, software is being developed to assist in the preparation of a bill of quantities. Some of these programs are also integrated with building information modeling (BIM) systems to help streamline the process and increase accuracy. However, a qualified quantity surveyor is still best suited to prepare a bill of quantities for a construction project. It’s an essential tool for a successful build and can save time and money in the long run. It’s also an important step in the tendering process, and a well-prepared bill of quantities can prevent disputes later on.
Origin
The word ‘quantity’ means a particular or indefinite amount of something. It may refer to size, extent, or importance: a certain quantity of milk; a great deal of fish in the ocean; the length of a note in music. The term is derived from the Latin ‘quantum’, meaning “how much or how many.” Quantity is a fundamental concept in our daily lives. It helps us to plan, control and manage our resources.
The main purpose of a bill of quantities is to standardise the process by which tendering contractors price works on a project. It provides the contractor with measured quantities identified from project drawings and specification. This allows tendering contractors to compare their pricing with other contractor’s offers on a project.
Jones Melling has a team of experts who can assist with the preparation of BOQs and other cost management services for projects. For more information, please contact us. We will be happy to help.
Meaning
A bill of quantities is a document prepared by a quantity surveyor to provide the contractor with measured quantities identified on project drawings and specification. It is used as a basis for tender pricing by the main contractor. It is also used for post-tender work such as; material scheduling; construction planning and cost analysis. The purpose of a bill of quantities is to standardise the process and allow contractors to prepare a firm cost to complete the works. It is also useful for comparing the tender costs of individual items against other contractor offers.
Benchmark quantifies a project by generating quantities from intelligent Revit schedules and exporting them as a spreadsheet in Excel. This allows the user to quickly and accurately estimate their bill of quantities.
Usage
A bill of quantities is a list of all the materials and labor needed for a construction project. It is put together before a construction contractor is hired and used as a guide for companies bidding on the job. The list is usually created by an architect or engineer, as they have the most complete picture of what is needed for a build.
A project owner may choose to hire a professional quantity surveyor to prepare the bill of quantities for them. This is a very common practice for large building projects. Alternatively, they can do it themselves using the detailed drawings and documents provided by the engineer or architect.
The bills of quantities are then shared with the bidders, who use them to create their proposals for the work. This allows the project owner to compare each contractor’s offer and determine which one provides the best value for their money. It also helps the project owner avoid any problems or delays during the construction process, which could result in higher costs for the project.
Using the bills of quantities, the project owner can negotiate a contract price with the successful tenderer. They can also check the prices of individual items to see if any are high or low. Increasingly, software is being used to assist with the preparation of bills of quantities, and some building information modelling (BIM) systems can even produce them from data in the model itself.
Some contracts allow for approximate bills of quantities to be prepared when exact quantities cannot be determined at the time of tendering. However, this will tend to lead to more variation during construction and less price certainty when the investment decision is made. In many cases, it is still better to prepare a full and accurate bill of quantities, and then revise it during the construction phase if necessary. In addition, the bills of quantities can be used to create payment applications as the work progresses, making scope progress easy to calculate based on the quantities recorded on the form.