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Corbett, P and Rowley, P (1999) The use of BCIS elemental cost data by quantity surveyors as part of cost planning techniques: the practitioners’ perspective. In: Hughes, W (Ed.), Proceedings 15th Annual ARCOM Conference, 15-17 September 1999, Liverpool, UK. Association of Researchers in Construction Management, Vol. 2, 465–72.

  • Type: Conference Proceedings
  • Keywords: BCIS; cost estimating; cost planning; quantity surveying; reliability
  • ISBN/ISSN: 0 9534161 2 7
  • URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/ar1999-465-472_Corbett_and_Rowley.pdf
  • Abstract:
    Professional Quantity surveyors’ main service to clients is to forecast likely construction costs. This is a service that they are best qualified to provide amongst the plethora of construction professionals. However, criticism can be levelled at the profession regarding the accuracy of this cost planning service, and hence, by inference, the quality of cost information used in preparation of these cost forecasts. A pilot study of West Midlands Quantity Surveying Practices has indicated that more practices than ever are offering cost planning services, and that they are increasingly accurate and rely upon BCIS cost data for this accuracy. The most used BCIS cost data is: elemental data; cost per m2 GFA; and tender price indices. Reservations still exist within the QS profession regarding whether the elemental approach is the best way to relay cost information and also that the BCIS databank should move away from its reliance on tender prices to incorporate ‘as built’ costs. This research indicates that inaccuracies in cost plans, in QSs’ opinions, are most likely to be as a result of poor communication amongst other design team members. Most notably in terms of variations by designers, poor initial client brief, client led changes and insufficient specification information.