Quantity Surveying Practice Report Assessment

Assignment Overview

Assessment Task Details and Instructions

Ensuring construction projects are completed within budget and with a high degree of cost certainty is a central feature of quantity surveying practice.

With construction projects becoming more complex and challenging, clients require confidence in the cost advice provided, with developments requiring the consideration of a wide range of issues.

You are therefore required to identify and critically review key aspects of pre-contract cost control throughout the development of the GMIoT building (Drawings attached).

A considered report is required which should address the following:

Tasks

1. Develop a comprehensive order of cost estimate (RIBA Stage 1) for the construction of the GMIoT building.

2. Identify and critically review, in the context of the GMIoT project, the particular and recognised problems in preparing the ‘order of cost’ estimate at RIBA Stage 1 when predicting capital cost.

3. Identify and critically evaluate how digital transformation, including the use of technologies such as BIM and AI, can assist in pre-contract financial cost control and management practice.

4. In addition to capital cost considerations, what advice could be provided in seeking to achieve the most economical solution over the life of the project and ultimately provide optimum value

Brief Summary of Assessment Requirements

You are asked to prepare a considered report that critically examines pre-contract cost control for the GMIoT building. The report must specifically:

1. Produce a comprehensive order of cost estimate (RIBA Stage 1) for the GMIoT building.

2. Identify and critically review recognised problems when preparing an order of cost at RIBA Stage 1 (i.e. early-stage capital cost prediction issues) in the context of the GMIoT project.

3. Critically evaluate how digital transformation (BIM, AI and related technologies) can assist pre-contract financial cost control and management.

4. Provide advice on achieving the most economical life-cycle solution to deliver optimum value (i.e. whole-of-life economic considerations beyond initial capital cost).

Key Pointers to Cover in the Assessment

• Clear statement of scope, assumptions and exclusions for the RIBA Stage 1 order of cost.

• Elemental breakdown of the cost estimate (building elements, preliminaries, provisional sums, contingencies).

• Basis of rates, source of unit costs, and applied uplift/contingency percentages.

• Identification of key uncertainty drivers (design incompleteness, ground conditions, market volatility, scope changes).

• Risk allowance and how contingency was derived (e.g., quantitative/qualitative basis).

• Procurement and contract strategy implications on cost certainty.

• How BIM and AI would be used practically (automated take-off, parametric estimating, clash detection, predictive analytics).

• Data, tools and workflow required to integrate digital outputs into cost management.

• Whole-life costing considerations: maintenance, energy, replacement cycles, resilience and sustainability premiums.

• Clear, actionable recommendations for clients and project team to improve cost certainty at the pre-contract stage.

How the Academic Mentor Approached the Assessment — Step-by-Step Guidance

Below is a concise walk-through of how the academic mentor guided the student through the whole assessment process, with brief explanations for each section.

Step 1 — Clarify the Brief and Define Deliverables

Mentor action:

• Reiterated the four assessment tasks and confirmed submission format and word limits.

• Helped the student draft an outline and a checklist of required deliverables (Order of Cost, Critical Review, Digital Transformation Evaluation, Life-Cycle Advice).

Why:

• Ensures alignment with assessment criteria and prevents scope creep.

Step 2 — Project Familiarisation and Data Collection

Mentor action:

• Guided the student to review the GMIoT drawings and any provided site/brief notes.

• Recommended what data to extract (gross floor area, building type, key building elements, site constraints).

• Emphasised logging assumptions where data was missing.

Why:

• Early, documented assumptions are critical at RIBA Stage 1 and make the estimate transparent and defensible.

Step 3 — Prepare the Order of Cost (RIBA Stage 1)

Mentor action:

• Taught an elemental approach: break the building into major elements (substructure, superstructure, envelope, internal finishes, services, external works, preliminaries).

• Showed how to select and justify base rates (historical data, published cost guides, local market checks).

• Co-developed the cost table and calculation layout so it’s auditable (item, unit, quantity basis, rate, amount).

• Advised inclusion of provisional sums and a clearly justified contingency.

Why:

• Producing a transparent, auditable elemental estimate demonstrates professional practice at an early design stage.

Step 4 — Identify and Critically Review RIBA Stage 1 Estimating Problems

Mentor action:

• Led a structured critique: incompleteness of design, lack of site information, volatile material/labour prices, scope ambiguity, assumptions dependency.

• Guided the student to give examples from the GMIoT drawings where ambiguity affects the cost (e.g., unspecified facade finish, unclear service core layout).

• Coached the student on how to present these as risks and the implications for capital cost prediction.

Why:

• Critical review shows the student can recognise limits of early estimates and recommend mitigation strategies.

Step 5 — Evaluate Digital Transformation (BIM, AI) for Cost Control

Mentor action:

• Explained practical BIM uses: automated quantity take-offs, model-based change tracking, clash detection to reduce errors that lead to cost growth.

• Demonstrated how AI/analytics could be used for parametric estimating, cost trend prediction and sensitivity analysis.

• Helped the student draft a realistic implementation workflow: data inputs → model validation → automated quantities → cost database → scenario runs.

• Advised the student to be critical — identify data quality needs, interoperability issues and training/resource implications.

Why:

• Shows the student can evaluate not just the potential benefits but also the limitations and implementation barriers.

Step 6 — Whole-life Cost and Value Advice

Mentor action:

• Coached the student to move beyond capital cost: prepare a short life-cycle comparison (e.g., higher initial façade cost vs. lower maintenance/energy cost).

• Suggested inclusion of value engineering, sustainable material choices, maintainability and procurement strategies (e.g., selecting a procurement route that balances cost certainty and value).

• Helped frame recommendations in client-facing language (cost-benefit, payback, risk allocation).

Why:

• Demonstrates a professional, pragmatic approach to achieving optimum value over the asset life.

Step 7 — Compile, Review and Present the Report

Mentor action:

• Reviewed structure: Executive summary, methodology, order of cost (with assumptions), critical review, digital transformation evaluation, life-cycle advice, conclusions and appendices.

• Performed a proofread pass and checked that assumptions and sources were consistently documented.

• Recommended visual aids (cost tables, simple charts, risk matrix) to improve clarity.

Why:

• Ensures report is readable, professional and meets academic/professional standards.

How the Outcome was Achieved

• Order of Cost: Produced using an elemental breakdown, documented assumptions, benchmarked unit rates and a justified contingency. Result: a defensible RIBA Stage 1 order of cost with audit trail.

• Critical Review: Identified key uncertainty drivers for GMIoT and explained their impact on capital cost accuracy, plus mitigation options (contingency strategy, targeted site investigations, staged pricing).

• Digital Evaluation: Delivered a balanced assessment of BIM/AI benefits and constraints, and proposed a phased digital workflow to integrate model outputs into cost control.

• Life-Cycle Advice: Presented practical life-cycle options (value engineering, whole-life costing examples, procurement recommendations) to achieve long-term economy and value.

Learning Objectives Covered

• Ability to prepare a RIBA Stage 1 elemental order of cost and document assumptions.

• Critical awareness of early-stage estimating limitations and risk identification.

• Understanding of how digital tools (BIM, AI) support pre-contract cost control, plus recognition of implementation challenges.

• Competence in whole-life cost thinking and advising clients on value optimisation.

• Professional reporting skills: structuring a technical report, presenting evidence, and communicating recommendations clearly.

• Ethical and professional practice: transparency in assumptions, auditability of cost data, and client-focused advice.

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