13/08/2017 Taking off construction works - Designing Buildings Wiki

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Taking off construction works

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The term taking off refers to the process of identifying elements of construction works that can
Related articles
be measured and priced. This is necessary to produce bills of quantities and requires that the
design is complete and a specification has been prepared. Approximate bill of quantities.
Approximate quantities cost plan.

Analysis of drawings and specifications allows the cost consultant (usually a quantity surveyor) to Bill of quantities.
prepare a taking off list, which lists all of the individual elements that comprise the works. Common Arrangement of Work Sections
(CAWS).

These elements can then be measured in number, length, area, volume, weight or time then Comparison of SMM7 with NRM2.
collated and structured to produce an unpriced bill of quantities. This process is sometimes Computers in tendering.
referred to as working up. Construction work packaging.
Contract documents
Where there may be uncertainty about some elements, they may be entered onto a query sheet
that can be issued to the appropriate members of the consultant team for clarification.

The unpriced bill of quantities will have price and rate columns for tenderers to complete.

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.

Best practice for the preparation of bills of quantities is set out in the New Rules of Measurement
(NRM) published by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and replacing Standard Method of
Measurement, seventh edition (SMM7). Adopting the New Rules of Measurement means that all
projects are taken off in the same way and in the same order following consistent rules.

Increasingly, software packages are available to assist in the preparation of preparation of bills of
quantities, and building information modelling systems can be used to produce bills of quantities
from information already contained within the model.

Bills of quantities are normally only prepared on larger projects. On smaller projects, or for
alteration work the contractor can be expected to measure their own quantities from drawings and
schedules of work. Schedules of work are 'without quantities' instructional lists that allow the
contractor to identify significant work and materials that will be needed to complete the works and
to calculate the quantities that will be required.

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Approximate bill of quantities.
Approximate quantities cost plan.
Bill of quantities.
Common Arrangement of Work Sections (CAWS).
Comparison of SMM7 with NRM2.
Computers in tendering.
Construction work packaging.
Contract documents
Cost plans.
Elemental cost plan.
How to take off construction works.
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