At CMC we value every Client as if they were our first. We demonstrate an unwavering commitment to our Clients by providing a dedicated senior member of staff to every project we are appointed to, who will have full involvement in the project from inception to completion and thereafter. Each client is appointed a dedicated Director, who will always know about the specifics of the client’s projects and will be available to step in and assist if required. The client will have the mobile number of the dedicated director and the director will regularly attend progress meetings to ensure our clients always know that their project is important to us. Our Client base is the cornerstone of our business and we ensure that through attention to detail, close liaison at all stages of a project and open and honest communication and dialogue, we build lasting partnerships.
At CMC we have no minimum or maximum project size, as we can tailor our services to suit your project. For example you may have a very small domestic project which you wish us to just prepare the tender documents for and appoint the Contractor. Or you may have a much larger project which can be divided up into bite size chunks. An example of this is when we commercially managed £65m of the off park overlay works for 8 of the Olympic venues for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
At CMC we have worked in many fields and continue to cover all sectors. That said we now have vast experience in Health, Residential, Hotels, Retail and Commercial projects.
It is sometimes hard to appreciate the value of a Quantity Surveyor when reviewing the initial fee proposal, especially when the architects says they can handle the tender, your solicitor can put the contract together and you believe you can handle the monthly payments to the contractor. Unfortunately though what you are missing is cost awareness and the experience to determine value for money and a person dedicated to cost control. Statistically 71% of construction projects are delivered over budget, and the average cost overrun is 43%. Let’s just say your project is £1m to build that could mean that if not managed properly this could cost you the client £1.43m to build; thus £430,000 more that you initially budgeted. Weigh this up against the QS fee of say £30,000 and clearly the numbers speak for themselves. The 43% quoted is perhaps a little misleading as it takes into account some pretty major projects such as HS1 which was 100% over its original budget, that said although it is unlikely even without a QS that a modest Residential project will overrun on cost by 43%; it is not uncommon for such a project to overrun by anywhere up to 20%. By employing a QS these cost overruns are managed effectively; where a good well managed project is considered to have anything up to a 10% cost overrun thus saving you up to 10% or £100,000 on a £1m project. Therefore in summary based on statistics, on a simple £1m project a QS should be able to save the client almost 3 times the cost (on variations) of the fee for employing the QS; without even taking into account all the other benefits mentioned above. In summary a good QS will save you money in the long run.
A Quantity Surveyor (QS) is a professional working within the construction industry concerned with construction costs and contracts. A quantity surveyor manages all costs relating to building and civil engineering projects, from the initial feasibility costings to the agreement of the final account with the contractor. Surveyors seek to minimise the costs of a project and enhance value for money, while still achieving the required standards and quality. A quantity surveyor may work for either the client (developer) or the contractor, or even the sub contractor, working in an office or on site. They are involved in a project from early concept stage, preparing budgets and estimates, through to the day the project is completed on site and the tenant takes possession. When the project is in progress, quantity surveyors keep track of any variations to the contract that may affect costs and create reports to show profitability. The title of the job may also be referred to as a construction cost consultant or commercial manager.