engineering

Quantity surveyor

Quantity surveyor is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Quantity surveyor rather than just read about it. In short: In the construction industry, a quantity surveyor (QS) is a professional with expert knowledge of construction costs and contracting. Qualified professional quantity surveyors can be known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) in the UK and Certified Quantity Surveyors (a designation of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors) in Australia and other countries.

Key takeaways

Quantity surveyor belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Quantity surveyor to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Quantity surveyor from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In the construction industry, a quantity surveyor (QS) is a professional with expert knowledge of construction costs and contracting. Qualified professional quantity surveyors can be known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) in the UK and Certified Quantity Surveyors (a designation of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors) in Australia and other countries. In some countries, including Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius, qualified quantity surveyors are known as Professional Quantity Surveyors, a title protected by law. Quantity surveyors are responsible for managing all aspects of the contractual and financial side of construction projects. They help to ensure that the construction project is completed within its projected budget. Quantity surveyors are also hired by contractors to help with the valuation of construction work for the contractor, help with bidding and project budgeting, and the submission of bills to the client.

Duties The duties of a quantity surveyor are as follows:

Conducting financial feasibility studies for development projects. Cost estimate, cost planning and cost management. Analyzing terms and conditions in the contract. Predicting potential risks in the project and taking precautions to mitigate such. Forecasting the costs of different materials needed for the project. Prepare tender documents, contracts, budgets and other documentation. Take note of changes made and adjusting the budget accordingly. Tender management including preparation of bills of quantities, contract conditions and assembly of tender documents Contract management and contractual advice Valuation of construction work Claims and dispute management Life-cycle cost analysis Reinstatement cost assessment for insurance purposes.

Qualification A university degree or diploma alone does not allow one to register as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. Usually, anyone looking to qualify as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Certified Quantity Surveyor must hold appropriate educational qualifications and work experience, and must pass a professional competence assessment. The RICS requires an RICS approved degree, several years of practical experience, and passing the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) to qualify as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. Some candidates may be entitled to qualify through extensive experience and reciprocity agreements.

Professional associations The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) AIQS – Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors IQSSL - Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka ASAQS – Association of South African Quantity Surveyors BSIJ – Building Surveyors Institute of Japan Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) – Professional surveying organisation CIQS – Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors CCEA - China Cost Engineering Association GHIS - Ghana Institute of Surveyors HKIS – Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors IIQS – Indian Institute of Quantity Surveyors IQSI – Ikatan Quantity Surveyor Indonesia IQSK – Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya JIQS – Jamaican Institute of Quantity Surveyors NIQS – Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors NZIQS – New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors PICQS – Philippine Institute of Certified Quantity Surveyors RISM – The Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia SISV – Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers SCSI – Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland SACQSP – South African Council for Quantity Surveying Profession QSI - Quantity Surveyor International UNTEC - Union nationale des Économistes de la construction (France)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Quantity surveyor

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Quantity surveyor claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Quantity surveyor before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Quantity surveyor ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Quantity surveyor

In research: Quantity surveyor appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Quantity surveyor in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Quantity surveyor is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Building engineering, Building estimators, Construction and extraction occupations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Quantity surveyor outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Quantity surveyor in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Quantity surveyor means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Quantity surveyor out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Quantity surveyor in simple terms?

Why does Quantity surveyor matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Quantity surveyor?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Quantity surveyor.