Chartered Surveyors & the Construction IndustryIn the united kingdom, 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, based in London SW1, and are entitled utilize the suffix MRICS or FRICS [Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors]. To the public in general, the chartered surveyor is someone who works in the construction industry, and indeed the majority is specialists in building, property management and similar fields. However, a great many other areas require the services of a chartered surveyor, including artwork 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, and land surveys, management of estates and different other areas associated with land and property. Chartered surveyors have a tendency to specialise within these fields, and sometimes form professional partnerships with those employed in different areas within exactly the same industry.RICS & Construction ContractsConstruction contracts are in the heart of every building project undertaken in the UK, and are made to be legally binding agreements between the building owner [developer] and the contractor(s) who will be performing the work. 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 will be the specifications, design plans, and agreements regarding any potential changes through the build.The RICS is closely associated with construction contracts, and issues both statements that outline best practice guidelines for surveyors, and mandatory practice statements that cover all aspects of the varied roles of chartered surveyors during construction projects. These roles include not only building and quantity surveyors, but also valuers and project managers. Most of the mandatory and advisory statements produced by RICS relate to the role of chartered surveyors pertaining to construction contracts, and RICS members are required to follow them.Contract AdministrationBuilding contracts in the united kingdom fall into a range 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 on to deal not merely with contract administration, but also with regions of project management that may 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.Contract administration is critical to the successful completion of a construction project, and chartered surveyors have a significant role to play. In addition to 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 the 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 range from dealing with and managing the application of non-standard contracts, in addition to 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 role which can vary greatly depending on the specific needs of the client or the project itself. The role may also be affected by how much time that is available, but basically the Employer's Agent acts for the client on any matters associated with the construction contract. Typical projects where an Employer's Agent may be engaged include large commercial or public property building contracts. RICS provides guidelines explaining the entire selection of services and activities which might be undertaken by the Employer's Agent.These will often include, but aren't limited by, picking or recommending contractors following creation and agreement of the client's brief; making certain 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 look and management of costs and risks. Analysing tenders from contractors can be an important part of the role, and running meetings and ensuring smooth progress on the website itself are generally 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 original planning stage to completion. A good PM can spot and resolve issues and problems before they arise, partly insurance firms the breadth of specialised knowledge necessary for asking the right questions. Conflict and dispute resolution will require good diplomatic skills.At the heart of the Project Manager's role is good communication. To ensure that a project to be completed within the allotted time scale and budget, while satisfying the original brief, a PM needs to think several moves ahead. It's essential, for instance, for the PM to ensure the design has been fully understood by everyone working on the project, that your client understands the cost implications of the work they 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 honored is equally important.Targets must be set that enable 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 maintain the good working relationship between them when unforeseen circumstances - for example, a rise in the cost of materials or labour, or revised legal duties - arise through the lifetime of the project.Finally,  Great site  of the PM will be vital in producing progress reports as the project runs. These reports includes monitoring the completion of varied elements of the build, and ensuring that costs come in line with the budget.TWC Consulting provides a diverse range of Construction Consultants on all sorts of major & minor works projects including Chartered Surveyors, Construction Project Managers, Employers Agents, Contract Administrators, Cost Consultants, Planning Advisors (and more) all from under one roof.