Quantity Surveying is a dying profession? see expert views

this is a non.Africa views.enjoy the viable discussions

Maher A. • The role will not die, but the nature of services and way of doing business will definitely change drastically in the next years. The idea of measurements and Taking-off will be secondary if not non-existing. The QS role will be the Cost Manager of a BIM Model or any other virtual building model in addition to the related Conditons of Contract, whether of collaborative nature or others

Roger K. • We will always require construction work to be underaken
This will involve financial management
I cannot see any other profession other than the Quantity Surveyor taking on this role

Roger Knowles

Michael Gyan B. • with in introduction management softwares, software for taken off and bill production I think other professional with strong financial background like accountants and good knowledge of construction like engineers can and are filtration and performing similar roles play the the professional Quantity Surveyor. In the new near future if this trend continuous I quantity surveyor will be unemployed because this engineer and accountants with the help of the current softwares could actually manage the financial aspects of big civil, building and other works which is actually than by the professional QS.

Bob M. • Your argument supposes that the only quantity surveyors are those in private practice; your views totally ignore the vast numbers of professional quantity surveyors world wide who work for construction companes and subcontractors; who provide a valuable service to the property industry as a whole not just as measurers and valuers but as cost engineers, cost managers, contractual advisers, procurement experts and much much more. Quantity surveying is a broad church, if your proposition is worthy of discussion, it must treat with the whole of the profession, not only that narrow branch employed in PQS practice.

Michael Gyan B. • The point is other professionals in management and others related to construction are expanding with their scope of work to include duties undertaking by the professional Quantity Surveyors either working for client or for the contractor or subcontractor. They act as cost engineer, cost manager, procurement experts etc and this will affect the role of the traditional Q.S in the near future if we do not diversify and expand our scope.

Bob M. • I think if you look back at the role of the QS in private practice and of the QS in construction 30 years ago and compare it to what it is today, you will see a dramatic shift in the role, particularly in PQS practice. 20 years ago people were saying that the QS was a dying breed, but we have evolved to meet the challenge and we continue to evolve.
Your comment about other professions expending into the QS role is valid, but they are having to evolve to survive too, just as we are. Don't forget that it is not all that long ago that the only QSs in civil engineering were employed by contractors; why do you think the RICS is so focussed on building, almost to the total exclusion of civil engineering? There is nothing new in civil engineers doing their own quantities and cost plans, it has been part of the ICE syllabus since before I joined the industryin the 1960s.
Don't write your profession off (I assume you are a QS?), help it to evolve and survive.

Derek H. • I agree with Bob on all counts, after twenty years in industry I have seen a number of changes take place. These however, are more to do with the how QS's provide their services be it as a PQS or Contractor QS not necessarily the services provided. Individuals may specialise but this does not mean that the profession is dying. Over time different professions within industry ask themselves the same question – Is this the end – adaptation to new technologies and techniques are all part of professional development.
BIM may appear at this stage to remove the QS from the take-off and bill preparation role, but with my limited understanding of the software someone has to still populate it with the information in the first place. If it was that easy, there would be no need for QS’s to carry out this function now because Architects and the like would do it for themselves - We all know this doesn’t happen. Ultimately the services offered by QS’s need to be undertaken by people who understand the industry and have an interest in protecting the clients/ employers position not just trying to build the project which as we all knows can sometimes be competing objectives. It is down to the individual and the profession to decide how we are to evolve and I’m sure in another twenty years time, things will change again.

Michael M. • Look at the US example. There the role of the QS has traditionally been undertaken by accountantants and engineers. There is certainly a correllation between contract overruns and the absence of professional financial management. The QS profession in the US is a strong growth area with more government departments and large corporations realising the benfits of a QS to understand and implement cost planning, and cost management processes. Certainly my colleagues are able to "run rings around" their counterparts there.

milkynice - -. • There will always be a Quantity Surveyor. Those of you who think other managers will poach the QS job do not have a clue about the profession.

Trevor B. • only being an undertaker or a bad doctor is a dying profession....
Pt1: Building companies survive by being commercially aware. Nobody will be given the responsibility of being commercially responsible for a project or tender unless he is properly trained. Pt 2: The term Quantity Surveyor has grown across Europe greatly over the last 15 years (my time) through word of mouth and the reputation of our colleagues and not by marketing or shouting from the rooftops but by growing demand for trained commercial managers with contractual awareness (leave out claims for the moment) Pt3; PQS have cost planning skills and the unique ability to create a cost model and track the budget to completion. This service provides timely, accurate and essential information during the lifecycle of any project including transparency and accountability at the end. A dying profession ? - it's only the beginning of a great adventure in the profession but you must be prepared to take on new challenges and add to your skill set while continually brushing up on the basics that no other profession had the opportunity to learn properly. Over to you.

Jeremy W. • If we are dying, then the illness that is killing us must surely reside in the syllabi that is being taught to the young talent preparing to skewer us with their newfound qualifications.
We must remain relevant and firmly abreast of all developments within the industry and embrace the changes that ensue.
Besides, have you forgotten that age and duplicity will always defeat youthful ambition and i quite like my position as company assassin :D
Fundamentally ours is a profession of communication, the more folks realize and become comfortable with how we communicate and the varying messages we convey, the better for all concerned.
The more that know the easier my job is, and i am nothing if not lazy enough to recognize the benefits of a quiet word in an ear attached to a pair of legs with more miles left in them than my own.

Jose M. • ? I know at least 120 people preparing for their APCs. Shall I go tell them the world is ending very soon?

....to be continued