Quantity Surveying Challenges

Quantity Surveying Challenges In future day, the prospect of a quantity surveyor will being an interesting issue to discuss due to the various services, knowledge, and skill it provided. The liability of the role of quantity surveyor will be concerned in the aspects of ability and characteristic of them to adapt in the future development. There will be suspicion toward on how a quantity surveyor going to survive within the threats and opportunities faced in future. The form of perception in quantity surveyor will be redefined in the conditions of breakthrough from the traditional mode. According to Marcel Frei and Jasper Mbachu (2009 ), it stated that Every profession evolves in response to the ever-increasing changes in the global business environment. In order to remain relevant, globally competitive and successful, the Quantity Surveyors need to constantly scan their business landscape to discern new directions and to adapt to imminent changes in their professional practice.Fadhlin Abdullah and Ismail Haron (2007) said that The environments for quantity surveying practice have changed along with the countrys rapid economic development. The roles of quantity surveyors have also evolved along with the changes. Future development prospects and changes will have implications on the development of the profession.RICS (1998) indicated that The QS Think Tank Report noted that many regular clients are critical of traditional quantity surveying services and are demanding a different and more comprehensive range of services that is proactive, customer orientated and suppo rted by significantly better management and business skills. Scope of Study This paper will focus on the types of changes and challenges influencing the quantity surveyor on their future practices. The study will determine the factors that lead to change in quantity surveying job. This study will focus on the external factors which are the threats and opportunities that would imperil and optimize the career of quantity surveyor in future. The research will only be bounded in city nearby Kuala Lumpur due to the limitation in carry out the job. There will be around 20 QS firms and 50 Registered QS being investigated for the findings of necessary information and data. It is because the KL is the most developed city in Malaysia, and as a result the KL QS firms will confronted the most innovation and evolution due to the rapid growth in changes of development. Hence, the outcomes of result will be reliable. Background Generally, a quantity surveyor is a professional in the construction industry which their role is concerned with construction cost in a project. In inception or design stage of a project, quantity surveyor shall prepare a preliminary estimating and cost planning for design brief, and advice for procurement method suitable for the project. In tendering process stage, quantity surveyor shall prepare for Bill of Quantity, tender documents, tender reports, and contract documents which to select a contractor for the project. A quantity surveyor basically should requires the technique to measuring quantities from the drawings prepared by designers, which known as Taking Off and it is means to figure out the quantities of work where is used to prepare Bill of Quantity. Then the Bill of Quantity is purposely for the contractor to fill in prices inside in order to determine out the construction cost. During construction stage, a quantity surveyor shall provide services like valuation of works for interim, evaluations and certificates, contractual advice, and prepare final account after completion of construction stage. Those services stated on above are likely the traditional perception of the job of quantity surveyor. In latter day, the Quantity Surveyor with the other professionals in construction industry seems to have some significant changes. The traditional technical and professional services of quantity surveyors still relate to measurement and documentations, price, value and cost of construction, pre- and post- tender management, contract administration, and final account. Those services contribute as the main income for the majority part of QS practices. Nevertheless, there are exist of approaches to newer areas on procurement included Private Finance Initiative (PFI) / Public Private Partnerships (PPP), privatization, construction law and dispute resolution, socio-economic development, governance and else. There are now getting more of cooperative approaching like partnering which have been seen as a shift in utilize of traditional methods of procurement and it shown a number of challenges to the QS profession, practices and academic. The QS profession is not even more just stay in standing still and has evolved to the development of new services which concern on risk and value management, facilities management, construction project management, project financing, international construction, contract administration, sustainability, legal and environmental services. Such development is innovated in order to response the changes required by the procuring clients. Those services provided by the profession are not bounded anymore by the traditional form which implicated that new service and greater competition will be arise internally and externally from the profession. Quantity Surveyor job also can be related with the extension, refurbishment, maintenance and demolition of a facility. Notwithstanding, construction industry is global and extends across all real estate and infrastructure markets. Nowadays, Quantity surveyor job cover in all sector of the construction industry worldwide, which in real estate it including on Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Leisure, Agricultural, and Retail. In infrastructure, the sector including Roads, Railways, Airports, Waterways, Seaports, Coastal defenses, Power generation and Utilities. Also, Quantity Surveyor job can be linked to in process engineering, such as chemical engineering plants or oil rigs. Absolutely, they need to understand all aspect relevant to the whole life of a building or facility. They also necessary to require the capability to admin cost effectively, equating quality and value which personally deal with demand of client. Importance of Study This study is purposely to provide an overview of perception in career of quantity surveyor practices in future. It is to allow the practitioner of quantity surveyor under education stage to gain understand on the field which they are going to explore in future. The research will grant them with the information of knowledge, technique, and skills which they are required in future career in order to allow them to adapt easily with future trend development. It is also to provide them with a new perception to well prepare on their self so that they are readily and able to face those challenges in future. Research Methodology The study for the exploration on other areas will started by secondary data resource in literature review to find the essential resources which from reading relevant magazine, journal, newspaper and book. The searching from internet will be applied by viewing the relevant authorized articles, thesis, research and related website. The data and statistic for the exploration will expected to gain from the statistic department and organization such as CIDB, BQSM, ISM, RICS and others. The finding for threats and opportunities will obtained by primary data resource in survey questionnaire which distributed to those professional of Register QS in order to get some data analysis. Then a series of interview will be undertaken to identify and investigate for more details and specify issue which come from their own opinion and ideal whereby it is unable to obtain from survey questionnaire.