The quantity surveyor is responsible for figuring out what a construction project is going to cost before and during the construction stage and further making sure that construction cost and production are managed as efficiently as possible. They manage the finances for any type of construction project, whether it's a house, a high-rise, a bridge, or a tunnel. Further, other names people employed with quantity surveying qualifications include estimator, cost engineer, cost manager, cost analyst, project cost controller, billing engineer and cost planner.


Quantity surveyor's main roles are:-

  • Prepare interim payments, bill of quantity(BOQ) and running account bills for the client as well as subcontractors.
  • Prepare work orders for subcontractor and supplier.
  • To keep the project on time and within the planned budget.
  • Ensure that construction cost and production are managed as efficiently as possible.
  • Prepare monthly escalation for the steel, cement, labour, fuel & power and other commodities.
  • Prepare rate analysis for the new items and variations which are not in the scope of the contract.
  • Estimate the quantity of material from the issued drawings.

Role of quantity surveyor before and after the construction project.

Before construction or pre-contract:-

Before the project, the quantity surveyors calculate a budget based on their client's requirement. They prepare detailed estimates to ensure the budget is sufficient for each stage of construction. They can roughly estimate what's involved in the project, based on measurements of the designer's or client's issued drawings. They thoroughly study the clients' issued drawing, identifying the costs involved and then sets an overall estimated budget for the project. Further, they may compare the project with other construction projects. The final detailed estimate is prepared by the quantity surveyor, together with a design team.

During the construction of Post-Contract:-

When construction starts, the quantity surveyor keeps on the track and provide cash flow data so the client can arrange the finances needed for each stage of the project. The quantity surveyor can also access cost effects when changes to the project occur, such as delays, and agree on 'variation' with the contractors. When construction is over, the quantity surveyor adds up the total cost and prepares a statement of final account, which records the actual costs for all section of the job.

Common software used by quantity surveyors:-

  1. Microsoft Excel:- For prepares measurements sheets, BOQs, Rate analysis, costs reports and budget etc.
  2. SAP software:- It's basically used for data management of the bills and work orders for the subcontractors. This software used by the organisation for the large construction project.
  3. Autocad-2D:- For estimating the quantities from the drawings and if any changes found by the quantity surveyor then they intimate the design team to incorporate changes in the drawings.