Terminologies Quiz for QS Lecture

Quantity Surveying

the process of managing all financial and contractual aspects of construction projects, from initial planning and budgeting to final costing.

Quantity Surveyors

responsible for managing costs, ensuring projects stay within financial constraints, maximizing value for money.

Estimate

an assessment of the probable total cost of some future activity.

Conceptual Estimate

the forecast of project costs that is performed before any significant amount of information is available

Preliminary Estimate

can be prepared as the design develops, informing the designers that their proposed design does not meet the project budget - can also assist the designers by providing cost information about alternative design details sot that they can make more informed design decisions.

Traditional Delivery

Requires the project to be fully designed before work begins.

General Contractor > Subcontractors

Construction Management Delivery

Fast tracking will allow for the earlier completion of the project. - dividing the project into a number of phases. This approach allows construction work to begin after the design and bid for phase one only are complete.

Design-Build Delivery

The owner deals with a single organization that assumes the responsibility for both design and construction of the project.

Cost-Plus Contract

the owner may not be able to avoid paying for the contractor’s mistakes and inefficiencies - the owner is vulnerable to financial position.

Unit-Price Contract

based on a pricing schedule that consists of  a breakdown of the work and estimated quantities for each of the items on the breakdown - provided by the designers for the use of prospective contractors in preparing their bids.

Stage 1. Quantity Takeoff

the work to be performed by the contractor is measured in accordance with standard rules of measurement

Stage 2. Recap Quantities

the quantities of work take off are sorted and listed to comply with the CSI MasterFormat or other standard to facilitate the process of pricing

Stage 3. Pricing the Recap

prices for the required labor, equipment, and materials are entered against the quantities to determine the estimated cost of the DETAILED ESTIMATES contractor’s work.

Stage 4. Pricing Subcontractor’s Work

prices are obtained from competing subtrades who quote to perform the work of their trade, then, usually, the lowest bid from each trade is entered into the estimate.

Stage 5. Pricing General Expenses

the costs of the anticipated project overheads are calculated and added to the estimate.

Stage 6. Summary and Bid

all the estimated prices are summarized, the contractor’s mark- up is added, and the tender documents are completed. The bid can then be submitted and, finally, the bid results recorded and analyzed.

Concrete

either plain or reinforced

Plain Concrete

result of mixing cement, fine and coarse aggregates, and water - the conglomeration of these materials producing a solid mass

Reinforced Concrete

concrete with reinforcement

Ordinary Portland Cement

a type of Portland cement that is mixed with water and aggregates to form concrete, mortar or plaster

Rapid Hardening Portland Cement

Preferred when high early strength concrete is desired.

Blast Furnace or Sulfate Cement

Used on concrete structures designed to resist chemical attack.

Low Heat Portland Cement

Used for massive sections designed to reduce the heat of hydration

Portland Pozzolan Cement

Allow hardening characteristic concrete

High Alumina Cement

Sometimes called Aluminous Cement or Cement Fundu

Coarse Aggregate

particles retained on a 5mm sieve

Fine Aggregate

particles passing on a 5mm sieve.

Designed Mixture

will achieve the required strength and workability as specified in the plan

Prescribed Mixture

provide a properly mixed concrete containing the right proportions as prescribed in the plan.

Concrete Hollow Blocks

classified  as bearing and non-bearing blocks

Load bearing blocks

blocks whose thickness ranges from 15cm. to 20cm – used to carry load aside from its own weight.

Non-bearing blocks

blocks which are intended for walls, partitions, fences or dividers carrying its own weight whose thickness ranges from 7.5cm to 10cm.