DEPARTMENT OF LAND

ADMINISTRATION AND SURVEYING

QUANTITY SURVEYING (LaAd 3084)

Introduction
 Course Information
2

 Course Instructor: Abay Asres (MSc in property valuation and

asset management )
 Mobile: +251918816897
 Email: [email protected]
 Contact Hours: 3 Lecture Hours /Week
 Target Group: 4th-year Regular Land Administration and
Surveying Students
 Course Description
 The student must acquiring knowledge in surveying
measurement for quantities surveyor.
 Investigating factors affecting cost of an item of work and
preparing detailed estimates.

 The student expected to gain general knowledge and

awareness of valuation function and office records.

 The student must also understand the significant features

and relevance of tenders and contracts adopted for
engineering works so as to gain fair knowledge of these
methods.
 Course Objectives
 Students will be able to:
 understand basic surveying measurement for quantity
surveying.
 gather information, estimate materials costs and time,
calculate costs, document details and verify where
necessary.
 Understand Conditions of contract will generally
nominate a set of rules of measurement.
 introduce students to the art of writing various types of

specification for building, civil engineering works.

 Assessment Method 100%
5–5

  Individual Assignment 10%

 Group Assignment 10%
 Project 10%
 Mid Exam 20%
 Final exam 50%
COURSE POLICY

You are
Ask questions responsible for
and participate your own
learning

Be punctual
to lectures
 Introduction
5–7

Once a construction project is completed or depending

on the form of contract upon completion of certain
parts of the work, the contractor must be paid for
appropriately completed works.
This would then require that the actual works done be
somehow estimated or measured for payment purposes.
 Cont…
5–8

On the other hand to estimate how much a civil

engineering project may cost, the actual quantities of
materials, labor, equipment etc. that is needed for the
construction work must be calculated at the beginning
of the work.
Such work of calculating the amount of materials and
other incidentals necessary for the realization of the
work is called quantity surveying
 cont…
5–9

Quantity surveying is a term or processes used in the construction

industry to take measurements of civil works, prepare specifications,
and estimate the cost of works either for each trade of work or for
the whole project.
The term “surveying” means to inspect, study, review, investigate,
asses, and hence “to measure” therefore the term “quantity
surveying” means “quantity measuring” as applied to civil
engineering projects.
Quantity surveying is the application of standard methods of
measurement to quantify the amount of various items in a
construction project, for the undertaking of valuation, and certifying
payments.
 Task of quantity Surveying
5–10

The following tasks are covered in quantity surveying.

Preparation of specification (requirement)
Taking measurements of civil works (Taking off quantities and preparing
BOQ)
Preparation of approximate (preliminary) cost estimate at the very early stage
of the project
Preparation of detail cost estimate at different stages (taking as built
measurements and preparing payment certificates or approval of payment
certificates prepared by taking measurements)
Valuation of property
Preparation of schedule of prices and negotiating of contracts with the
selected contractor
Preparation of tender documents and examination of tenders and priced
B.O.Qs and reporting these findings
Preparation of the final account on completion of the entire contract works.
 Purpose of Quantity Surveying
5–11

The main purpose of quantity surveying in construction

is the preparation of a Bill of quantities is:
Assist the client to have an accurate estimate of the
volume of work as well as the required budget.
To assist in the accurate preparation of tenders, by
providing uniform measurements of quantities.
To give an accurate checklist of work accomplished
To assist in the certification of payments
To give insight into the required variation work
amounts.
 Quantity surveyor
5–12

 A qualified or experienced person who does the

Quantity Surveying works (taking off, squaring,
abstracting and billing) is called a quality surveyor.
 Essential qualities of a good surveyor
5–13

 The quality surveyor must be well experienced and have

knowledge of the drawings of work.
 He should be able to read the drawing correctly and bill
the qualities accurately.
 He should have a knowledge of the construction
procedure to be adopted and the different materials to be
used in the work.
 He should be able to prepare a schedules to be priced by
tender.
 Quantity Surveyor Role in different stage of
construction
5–14

Here are the list of quantity surveyor duties and

responsibilities in the different stage
Quantity Surveyor Duties in Feasibility Stage
 Preliminary Cost advice
 Project Feasibility Study
 Cost Planning and Budget Establishment
 Cont…
5–15

Quantity Surveyor duties in Design Stage

 Budget Cost Control
 Advice on Contractual methods and Tendering Procedures

Quantity Surveyor duties in Tender Stage

 Advice on Selection of Contractors
 Preparation of Expenditure Statements for Tax and Accounting
 Technical Auditing
 Cont…
5–16

Quantity Surveyor duties in Construction Stage

 Contract Documents
 Project Control
 Interim Payment
 Evaluation of Variations
 Measurement of Civil Works
5–17

 Measurement of civil works includes the billing of each trade of work

either from drawings or the building itself for defining the extent of
works under each trade.
 In order to avoid ambiguity in measuring quantities, there is now a
recommended principle of measurement in construction activities.
 Many professional organizations publish recommendations on units of
measurement, degree of accuracy, etc. This assists in setting common
parameters so that dispute is avoided.
 The standard book, which is used in Ethiopia, is Standard Technical
Specification & Method of Measurement for Construction of Buildings
by BaTCoDA, March 1991.
 Ethiopian Road Authority Standard Specification, 2002 is used for
Road Construction.
 Principles of Measurement
5–18

The following is a list of the basic principles of quantity

surveying, applicable to all items of work.
 Each work section of a bill shall contain a brief description of the
nature and location of the work.
 Work shall be measured net as fixed in position.
 Measure the full work area and adjust deductions later.
 Items that are to be measured by area shall state the thickness or such
other information as may be appropriate.
 Items that are to be measured by length or depth shall state the cross-
sectional size and shape, girth or ranges of girths, or such other
information as may be appropriate.
 Items that are to be measured by weight shall state the material
thickness and unit weight if appropriate ( Ex. Ductwork)
 cont…
5–19

 Piece of work shall be taken in numbers.

 For items of pipe work it shall be stated whether the diameter is
internal or external.
 Mass voluminous and thick works shall be measured in volume
(cubic meter)
 Thin, shallow, and surface work shall be measured in the area
(meter square) specifying the thickness.
 Long and thin work shall be measured in length (linear measure,
running meter)
 Bills are deemed to include labor, materials, goods and plant and
all associated costs for fixing, assembling, etc.
 Units of measurements
5–20

 The units of measurements are mainly categorized for their nature, shape
and size and for making payments to the contractor.
 The principle of units of measurements normally consists the following:
– a) Single units work like doors, windows, trusses etc., are
expressed in numbers.
– b) Works consists linear measurements involve length like
cornice, fencing, hand rail, bands of specified width etc., are
expressed in running meters .
– c) Works consists areal surface measurements involve area like
plastering, white washing, partitions of specified thickness etc.,
are expressed in square meters (m2)
– d) Works consists cubical contents which involve volume like
earth work, cement concrete, Masonry etc are expressed in
Cubic meters.
5–21
 Rules for measurement
5–22

However some of the general rules are listed below.

1. Measurement shall be made for finished item of work and

description of each item shall include materials, transport, labour,

fabrication tools, and plant and all types of overheads for finishing
the work in required shape, size and specification.
2. In booking, the order shall be in sequence of length, breadth, and
height or thickness.
3. All works shall be measured subject to the following tolerances.

I. Linear measurement shall be measured to the nearest 0.01m.

II. Areas shall be measured to the nearest 0.01 sq.m
III. Cubic contents shall be worked-out to the nearest 0.01 cum
 Cont---
5–23

4. Same type of work under different conditions and nature shall be

measured separately under separate items.
5. The bill of quantities shall fully describe the materials, proportions,
and workmanship and accurately represent the work to be
executed.
6. In case of masonry (stone or brick) or structural concrete, the
categories shall be measured separately and the heights shall be
described:
a) From foundation to plinth level
b) From plinth level to first floor level
c) From fist floor to second floor level and so on.
 Measurement Practice
5–24

 It is vitally important that measurement practice applied

to buildings is both accurate and consistent.
 There are a number of situations that require a quantity
surveyor to measure and record dimensions from both
drawings as well as on site, depending on the stage of the
project.
 In order to standardize measurement rules and
conventions, there are a number of standard codes and
methods of measurement that are available.
 CONT…
5–25

There are various approaches to measurement for bills of quantities

and these are as follows:
 Each (numbers): Piles, doors, Windows, Precast concrete, etc.

 Length (meter): Windows sills, Pipes, Skirts, stair steps, etc.

 Area (Square meter): Flooring, painting, plastering, Brick walls

(12 cm or less), etc.
 Volume (Cubic meter): Brick walls (>12 cm thick), Excavation,
Backfilling, Reinforced Concrete, etc.
 Weight (Ton): Metallic works, Reinforcement steel, etc.

 Lump Sum: Some electrical and plumbing works, Manholes, etc.

 Effort (Man-day): Renting of equipment or labor, etc.

 Earth works
5–26

Earth works comprises site level, excavation, backfilling and

transportation of excavated materials.
Excavation
 Quantities are calculated based on the dimensions of the
foundation in plans from the owner perspective.
 Contractors should consider the excess of material excavated to
all for safe operations.
 Prices differ based on the soil type, deep of excavation, ground
water level, site location, shoring system, Equipment used, etc.
 Unit of measurement is cubic meter (volume).
 CONT…
5–27

Plan and cross section of building foundation

 CONT…
5–28

 The length of excavation = 5.4 × 2 + (4.4 – 2) × 2 = 15.6 m

 Depth of excavation = 1.8 m

 Width of excavation = width of plain concrete footing = 1.0 m

 Volume = 15.6 × 1.8 × 1.0 = 18.8 m3

 Consider another example (Figure 2.4).

 Plain concrete dimensions (1.2 × 2.0 × 0.2 m), reinforced
concrete footings dimensions (0.8 × 1.6 × 0.4 m); depth of
excavation 1.2 m and ground beams cross section is (0.25 × 0.4
m).
 Find the volume of the excavated material (see Figure 2.4).
Distance between centerlines is 5 m.
5–29
 Backfilling
5–30

 Backfilling = Excavation – volume of all works inside the

excavated pit (footings, smells, column necks, brickwork, etc.) +
amount above GL (or – amount below GL) as shown in Figure
2.5.

Figure 2.5 Backfilling quantities calculations

 CONT…
5–31

Consider the example shown in Figure 2.4, the volume of backfilling

could be calculated as follow:
 Volume of backfilling = excavation – (concrete + brick)
 Volume of concrete = 15.6 × 1 × 0.4 = 6.24 m3
 Volume of brick = 15.6 × 0.4 × 1.4 = 8.736 m3
 Volume of backfilling = 18.8 – (6.24 + 8.736) = 3.824 m3
 Site leveling
5–32

 Measured in m2 (area) if thickness less than 30 cm.

 Measured in m3 (volume) if thickness more than 30 cm.

Soil transportation
 Transported soil = vol. of exc. – (vol. of backfilling + additional soil at
site)
 Add swelling factor based on the soil type: 5% sandy soil. 15% clayey soil
and 25% for demolition material. (owner or contractor)
 Concrete works
5–33

Concrete works comprises of both plain concrete (PC) and reinforced

concrete (RC).
Plain concrete (PC):
 Measured in m2 (area) if thickness < 20 cm.
 Measured in m3 (volume) if thickness ≥ 20 cm.
 Average thickness should be mentioned when measurement is
done by area.
Reinforced concrete (RC):
 All RC elements measured by volume (m3) except hollow
block slabs measured by area (m2).
 Domes, cylindrical roofs and shells measured by area in the
horizontal projection.
 Brick works
5–34

The rules and precautions that should be followed when

measuring brick works are (Figure 2.6):
 Measured in m2 (by area) if thickness <25 cm.
 Measured m3 (by volume) if thickness ≥25cm.
 Deduct all openings.
 Deduct half the area (volume) of curves.
 Deduct all Concrete elements.
 Facades are measured by area.
 Separate item for each brick type
5–35

Figure 2.6 Cross section of brick walls

 Plastering
5–36

Plaster works are measured according to its location of being internal or external
works.
Internal Plaster:
 Engineering measurement by area (m2).
 Internal plaster work measured as it is
 All openings are deducted.
 All openings sides are added.
 Inclined slabs are calculated based on their horizontal projection.
External plaster:
 Measured by area (m2).
 Openings with areas < 4 m2 are kept with deduction.
 Deduct half the area of the openings ≥ 4 m2.
 Cantilever slabs < 1 m projection not added
 Add half the area of cantilever slabs ≥ 1 m.