Chartered Surveyors & the Construction IndustryIn the UK, chartered surveyors are professionals with many varied roles across a multitude of industries and specialisations. Essentially, all chartered surveyors are members of RICS; the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, located in London SW1, and are entitled use the suffix MRICS or FRICS [Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors]. To the general public generally, the chartered surveyor is a person who works in the construction industry, and indeed the majority are specialists in building, property management and similar fields. However, a great many other areas require the services of a chartered surveyor, including fine art and antiques, mineral surveying and auctioneering.Within the construction and property fields, chartered surveyors are involved in performing surveys for homebuyers, valuations for mortgage companies, full surveys of buildings, consultancy on construction developments, as well as land surveys, management of estates and various other areas relating to land and property. Chartered surveyors tend to specialise within these fields, and frequently form professional partnerships with those employed in different areas within the same industry.RICS & Construction ContractsConstruction contracts are at the heart of each building project undertaken in the UK, and are made to be legally binding agreements between the building owner [developer] and the contractor(s) who'll be performing the task. Labour costs, the way to obtain labour for the project, costs and supply of materials, and the time frame for the completion of the project are all covered in the contract, as are the specifications, design plans, and agreements regarding any potential changes through the build.The RICS is closely involved with construction contracts, and issues both statements that outline best practice guidelines for surveyors, and mandatory practice statements that cover all areas of the varied roles of chartered surveyors during construction projects. These roles include not just building and quantity surveyors, but also valuers and project managers. Most of the mandatory and advisory statements produced by RICS relate with the role of chartered surveyors pertaining to construction contracts, and RICS members must follow them.Contract AdministrationBuilding contracts in the united kingdom fall into a variety of subcategories. Some of the most common are as follows:? International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)? Public Procurement Contract 2000 (PPC 2000)? The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT)? New Engineering Contract (NEC)Chartered surveyors working on building projects are therefore called to deal not only with contract administration, but also with regions of project management that can include material and labour costs, initial planning and feasibility studies (including site surveying and legal issues), site and building safety, preventing and resolving any disputes that may arise, and building control. Daylight Analysis London  is critical to the successful completion of a construction project, and chartered surveyors have a significant role to play. As well as overseeing the fulfilment of the agreed contract, and being involved with its termination, issues arising before the contract is agreed range from insurance for both contractor and the project owner, warranties and guarantees, and adequate provision to cover any potential time overruns, payment difficulties, and defective work. The role of surveyors in relation to building contracts can include dealing with and managing the application of non-standard contracts, and those outlined above.The Role of the Employer's AgentOn a design and build contract a chartered surveyor will often be engaged as an Employer's Agent, a job which can vary greatly with regards to the specific needs of the client or the project itself. The role can be affected by the quantity of time that is available, but fundamentally the Employer's Agent acts for your client on any matters relating to the construction contract. Typical projects in which an Employer's Agent may be engaged include large commercial or public property building contracts. RICS provides guidelines explaining the full selection of services and activities which may be undertaken by the Employer's Agent.These will most likely include, but aren't limited to, picking or recommending contractors following the creation and agreement of the client's brief; ensuring that sustainability goals are achieved; advising on adherence to CDM or Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, updated recently with new legal duties for clients, designers and contractors amongst others; and the planning and management of costs and risks. Analysing tenders from contractors is also an important area of the role, and running meetings and ensuring smooth progress on the site itself are frequently involved.The Role of the Project ManagerProject Managers have an integral role in construction projects, which includes responsibility for overseeing the successful progress of the build, from the initial planning stage to completion. An excellent PM can spot and resolve issues and problems before they arise, partly by having the breadth of specialised knowledge essential for asking the right questions. Conflict and dispute resolution will require good diplomatic skills.In the centre of the Project Manager's role is good communication. In order for a project to be completed within the allotted time scale and budget, while satisfying the initial brief, a PM needs to think several moves ahead. It's essential, for instance, for the PM to ensure that the look has been fully understood by everyone focusing on the project, that the client understands the cost implications of the work they will have requested, and that the contractors are fully conversant with both the client's requirements and the legal requirements involved. These can, and do change, and can frequently affect the success of a build. The creation of clear guidelines understood by everyone involved on the project may be the first responsibility of a PM; making sure those guidelines are adhered to is equally important.Targets must be set that allow for cost, time scale and safety concerns to be met. Those targets must be agreed by both client and contractor, however the PM must also manage to keep up with the good working relationship between them in the event that unforeseen circumstances - for example, a rise in the expense of materials or labour, or revised legal duties - arise through the lifetime of the project.Finally, the communication skills of the PM will be vital in producing progress reports as the project runs. These reports will include monitoring the completion of varied elements of the build, and ensuring that costs are in line with the budget.TWC Consulting provides a diverse range of Construction Consultants on all types of major & minor works projects including Chartered Surveyors, Construction Project Managers, Employers Agents, Contract Administrators, Cost Consultants, Planning Advisors (and much more) all from under one roof.