UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA

Faculty of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

Name: Siddiq Khan

Course: Measurement and Costings
Course Code: ARH 2206
Lecturer: Miss Norton
USI: 1015831
Date: 19-03-2018
 Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2

2.0 Components of the Bill of Quantities ............................................................................... 4

2.1 Preliminaries .................................................................................................................. 4

2.2 Preambles........................................................................................................................ 5

2.3 Measured Works ............................................................................................................ 6

2.4 Prime Cost Sums ............................................................................................................ 6

2.5 Provisional Sums ............................................................................................................ 6

2.6 Dayworks ........................................................................................................................ 7

2.7 General Summary .......................................................................................................... 7

3.0 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 8

4.0 References ........................................................................................................................... 9

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1.0 Introduction
The bill of quantities, BoQ, is a document prepared by the cost consultant or quantity
surveyor that provides project specific measured quantities of the items of work identified by
the drawings and specifications in the tender documentation. The quantities may be measured
in number, length, area, volume, weight or time. Preparing a bill of quantities requires that
the design is complete and a specification has been prepared.
The bill of quantities is issued to tenderers for them to prepare a price for carrying out the
works. The bill of quantities assists tenderers in the calculation of construction costs for their
tender, and, as it means all tendering contractors will be pricing the same quantities (rather
than taking off quantities from the drawings and specifications themselves), it also provides a
fair and accurate system for tendering.
The prime purpose of the bill of quantities is to enable all contractors tendering for a
contract to price on exactly the same information. Subsequent to this, it is widely used for
post-tender work such as: material scheduling; construction planning; cost analysis; and cost
planning (Kodikara et al., 2006).
The contractor tenders against the bill of quantities, stating their price for each item. This
priced bill of quantities constitutes the tenderer's offer. As the offer is built up of prescribed
items, it is possible to compare both the overall price and individual items directly with other
tenderers' offers, allowing a detailed assessment of which aspects of a tender may offer good
or poor value. This information can assist with tender negotiations.
The priced bill of quantities will also: assist with the agreement of the contract sum with
the successful tenderer; provide a schedule of rates assisting with the valuation of variations;
provide a basis for the valuation of interim payments; and provide a basis for the preparation
of the final account etc.
It is very important that bills of quantities are prepared according to a standard, widely
recognised methodology. In the UK, The Standard Method of Measurement, 7th Edition,
(SMM7) and the Code of Measurement Practice (MC), both agreed by the Royal Institution
of Chartered Surveyors and the Building Employers Confederation, set out rules for the
measurement and description of building work.
The orthodox method of preparation of a Bill of Quantities can conveniently be broken
down into two main processes: the measurement of the dimensions and the compilation of the
descriptions from the drawings and specification. This process is commonly known as taking-
off; and the preparation of the bill. This involves the calculation of volumes, areas etc.,

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(squaring the dimensions). Traditionally this was followed by abstracting to collect similar
items together on another sheet called the Abstract Sheet. From this abstract the bill was
written. This process is commonly known as working-up.
The aim of this document is to state and elucidate the components of a bill of quantities.

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2.0 Components of the Bill of Quantities
Parts of the bill of quantities can be varied according to the project magnitude as well the
practices. Generally it has the following format:
 Preliminaries
 Preambles
 Measured Works
 Prime Cost Sums
 Provisional Sums
 Dayworks
 General Summary

2.1 Preliminaries
According to Cunningham (2016), preliminaries are work and other expenditure that is
necessary but forms no part of the finished fabric of the building. The preliminaries describe
the contractor’s general obligations covering the contract in its entirety. The preliminaries
section provides the contractor with the opportunity to price all matters in connection with the
conditions of contract, special requirements of the employer and for all temporary works
necessary in carrying out the contract. The contractor has the opportunity to price these
individually rather than having to include them in the rates for specific items of work.
Significantly, it could be said that the preliminaries form the framework around which the
contract is organised.
The information contained in the preliminaries section falls into four general categories:
1. Preliminary Particulars: this section sets out general project details including a
general description of the project and site, the names of the employer and
consultants and a list of drawings from which the bill has been prepared.
2. Contract: this section describes the form, type and conditions of contract to be used
identifying any amendments to the standard conditions.
3. Work by Nominated Subcontractors, Goods and Materials from Nominated
Suppliers and Work by Public Bodies: this sections covers requirements relating to
nominated subcontractors and suppliers and work by utility providers and work by
others engaged directly by the employer.
4. General facilities and obligations: this section covers the contractor’s general cost
items: the section often contains a large amount of information, despite this

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 however it is usual for no more than a dozen items to be priced by tendering
contractors.
Typical examples for preliminaries are listed below:
 Charges for performance bond, advance payment guarantee & Workmen
compensation;
 Maintenance of the site clean;
 Requirement of site office, site stores & staff accommodation;
 Cost towards the project management staff (QS, Project Manager, Engineering
professionals);
 Charges for drawings & safety;
From the above mentioned examples, it can be understood these costs cannot be
distributed to work item but without these expenses there will be no project. Preliminaries are
general in nature and are related to the project as a whole rather than any specific trade or
element. Generally, they are not quantified since the cost of many of the preliminaries items
are time-related.
2.2 Preambles
A preamble is an explanation of a document, commonly found in contracts, specifications
and bills of quantities. For bills of quantities, preambles are specification clauses of a general
nature intended as concise definitions of the materials required and of the standard of
workmanship to be employed in working or assembling the items contained in the measured
work sections of the bills. Preambles are not priced but they must be brought to the
contractor’s attention as they affect the rates tendered for the billed items of measured work
(Cunningham, 2016).
For example a bill description might read:
Paving works as described
HMA
120mm thick m2
This shows that thorough information regarding the exact nature of the work is described
elsewhere in the preambles section. When pricing the bill the contractor reads the paving
works section of the preambles, which describes in full detail the related material,
workmanship and construction standards to be achieved.

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2.3 Measured Works
This section comprises a list of quantified work descriptions which can be readily priced
by the contractor. It is the actual or estimated work that will be carried out to complete the
project. The works shall be measured in different units, accordingly; these include: liner
meter, square meter, cubic meter, number, or item etc. Value of measured works will be
calculated by multiplication of quantities and rate. Importantly, measured works form the
main part of the bills.
Other types of works includes: work which cannot be measured is given as a provisional
sum; work, the extent of which is not known is described as provisional or is given as
approximate quantities; and prime cost sums which are included for work by specialists.
2.4 Prime Cost Sums
According to the Construction Industry Federation and the Society of Chartered Surveyors
(2009), prime cost sums are defined as, “a sum provided for work or services to be executed
by a nominated sub-contractor or for materials or goods to be obtained from a nominated
supplier.”
Prime cost sums are sums included in bills for private sector projects to cover works by
specialist sub-contractors and/or to procure materials from specialist suppliers. Such
specialists are chosen (nominated) by the client but are employed by the main contractor. The
Prime cost sums are the amount of money the employer pays the main contractor who in turn
pays the nominated subcontractor / supplier. Hence, the contractor is provided the
opportunity of pricing items for profit and special attendance on nominated subcontract work.

2.5 Provisional Sums

Provisional sums, according to the Construction Industry Federation and the Society of
Chartered Surveyors (2009), is “a sum provided for work or for costs which cannot be
entirely foreseen, defined or detailed at the time the tendering documents are issued.”
Provisional sums are budgets covering the cost of particular aspects of the design that
remain to be finalised at the time the bills are sent out to the tendering contractors. They are
also used to provide contingency sums to cover situations where additional unforeseen work
may be required. Provisional sums are adjustable in final accounts, and if the cost of the work
exceeds the amount provided, the excess will be added to the contract sum (Cunningham,
2016).

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2.6 Dayworks
Bills occasionally contain a ‘dayworks’ section which provides for the reimbursement of
works on the basis of costs incurred rather than valuation by tendered rates. This section sets
out provisional amounts to be included for various categories of labour and allows for
percentage additions to be tendered by contractors on labour, materials and plant accounts to
cover on-costs, overheads and profit.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in the ‘New Rules of Measurement, Detailed
Measurement for Building Work’ (2018), defines daywork as; “.. the method of valuing work
on the basis of time spent by the contractor’s workpeople, the materials used and the plant
employed.”
2.7 General Summary
Bills of quantities typically conclude with a General Summary where the various sections
of the bill are totalled and transferred to the Form of Tender which represents the contractor’s
offer to carry out the work.

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3.0 Conclusion
In the construction industry, the bill of quantities is a document used in construction
projects with complete descriptions of materials, workmanships including quality, and the
quantities. The prime purpose of the bill of quantities is to enable all contractors tendering for
a contract to price on exactly the same information. Subsequent to this, it is widely used for
post-tender work such as: material scheduling; construction planning; cost analysis; and cost
planning.
The bill of quantities is a multipurpose document and comprised of vast amount of
imperative information which generally include: preliminaries; preambles; measured works;
prime cost sums; provisional sums; dayworks; and the general summary.

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4.0 References
Agreed Rules of Measurement. 4th ed. Dublin: Construction Industry Federation and the
Society of Chartered Surveyors, 2009.
“Basic Things You Should Know about Bill Of Quantity (BOQ).” Basic Civil Engineering.
September 24, 2016. Accessed March 20, 2018.
http://www.basiccivilengineering.com/2015/06/basic-things-you-should-know-about-
bill.html.
“Bill of Quantities.” Designing Buildings Wiki. Accessed March 19, 2018.
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Bill_of_quantities_BOQ.
Kodikara, G. W., A. Thorpe, and R. Mccaffer. "The Use of Bills of Quantities in Building
Contractor Organizations." Construction Management and Economics 11, no. 4 (1993):
261-69. doi:10.1080/01446199300000026.
Razali, A., A. Tajudin, and A. Tajuddin. "Importance and Functions of Bills of Quantities in
the Construction Industry: A Content Analysis." International Journal of Engineering
Science Invention 5, no. 3 (March 2016): 29-36.
“The Purpose of the BOQ.” SJF 1995. Accessed March 19, 2018.
http://www.arca53.dsl.pipex.com/index_files/admin3.htm.