Whether you are looking at getting into construction or already work within the industry, you may have heard of and perhaps come across both Quantity Surveyors and Building Surveyorsbut many of you may wonder if there are differences in the roles and responsibilities of the 2 professions and if so, what exactly the differences are. Well, if you want these questions answered to make a career path decision or simply gain a better understanding of the 2, you are in the right place so keep reading!
To put it simply, building surveyors focus more on the technical side of both the property and construction sectors. Meanwhile, quantity surveyors deal with the financial side of the construction industry, making sure every project is cost-effective. Both are covered and can be a member of RICS and can be invaluable team members on a construction project. Lets take a deeper look…
We are going to with some of the most common responsibilities of Building Surveyors, these include:
- Surveying properties, identifying structural faults, and providing recommendations for essential repairs
- Assessing damage (following a fire or flood) for insurance purposes
- Establishing who is responsible for building repair costs
- Advising clients on issues such as property boundary disputes
- Inspecting properties to make sure that they meet building regulations, and fire safety and accessibility standards
- Dealing with planning applications and with improvement or conservation grants
The main roles and responsibilities of Quantity Surveyors on the other hand more commonly include:
- Studying drawings and specifications about a new building, usually provided by architects or engineers
- Must use their strong financial, analytical, interpretative skills to ensure the smooth running of projects
- Calculating the materials, time, and labour costs of a project
- Preparing, negotiating, and analysing costs for project contracts
- Using their good interpersonal skills and abilities to organise teams
- Advising on a range of legal and contractual issues
- Valuing completed work and arranging for payments to be made or preparing applications for payment to be submitted to clients.
So, as you can see from the roles and responsibilities, a typical day at the office is likely to look pretty different for building surveyors and quantity surveyors.
A great way to look at it is the information gathered by building surveyors at construction siteswill be used to prepare contract and tender documentation and advise the client before construction commences. In turn, these documents will then be given to the quantity surveyor,so they can use the information to prepare bills of quantities and take the project further through pricing and cost management throughout. Quantity Surveyors are also extremely likely to be involved after projects during the final accounting stage.
If you are looking at the 2 professions with the intention of pursuing one as a career then, quantity surveying could potentially be a better fit for someone who sees themselves as more of an office person. They spend most of their time working independently or in their clients’ offices, with minimal time on the construction site.
In contrast, building surveyors are in the thick of things, typically onsite with less hours in an office.
The most important thing to note however, is that generally every major construction project will require a building and a quantity surveyor for it to be a successful one and both promote very competitive and good salaries on average depending on level of experience.
