FUW TRENDS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(A Peer Review Journal)
e–ISSN: 2408–5162; p–ISSN: 2048–5170
keywords: Bill of quantities, building projects, construction industry, project preliminaries
The paper appraised contractors’ perception of pricing preliminaries of housing projects in Kaduna, Nigeria and achieved the following objectives: identified and evaluated common preliminary items in bill of quantities priced by building contractors; identified and evaluated the level of significance of factors that contractors consider in pricing project preliminaries; assessed the methods contractors adopt in pricing project preliminaries; and estimated the cost ratio of preliminaries to final contract sum of projects carried out by contractors. Data were obtained through exploratory survey of 50 firms involved in mass housing projects and mean rating (MR) was used to evaluate factors that influenced pricing of preliminaries by contractors. Results obtained shows that water, lighting and power with significant mean rating of 4.72 is the commonly most priced item of preliminaries. Nature of construction site is ranked topmost factor which influence pricing of preliminaries by contractors with 4.68 MR. Responses on the perception of contractors regarding methods of pricing project’s preliminaries revealed that 48% of the contractors used percentage ratio. 30 and 22% of the contractors employed fixed charge (lump sum) and estimation methods, respectively. 10% of the contractors allowed more than 10% of the contract sum as amount of preliminary cost of a project. It is recommended that contractors should view project preliminaries pricing as a risk in contract sum estimation and approach it on the basis of their experiences in the field as well as on well thoughtout discretion to avoid losses.
Allen G & Edward C 1998. Fundamentals of Building Construction, Materials and Methods. 3rd edn. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 52p Ashworth, A. and Willis, A. 2008. Practice and Procedure for the Quantity Surveyor. 12th edn. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 44p. Buchan R, Grant F & Fleming E 2003. Estimating for Builders and Quantity Surveyors. 2nd edn. Butterworth-Heinemann, London, UK, 113p Bu-Qammaz AS, Dikmen I & Birgonul MT 2009. Risk assessment of international construction projects using the analytic network process. Canadian J. Civ. Engr., 36(7): 117-118. Charles E 2007. The evolving role of quantity surveyor. Bldg. Econ. J. of Quan. Surv., 7(3): 35-36. Chartered Institute of Building 2009. Code of Estimating Practice. 7th edn. Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 121p Davis PR & Love PED 2009. Bills of quantities: nemesis or nirvana. J. Struc. Surv., 27 (2): 99-108. Fenn P & Gameson R 2003. Construction Conflict Management and Resolution: Proceedings of the First International Construction Management Conference. University of Manchester, UK, 262p. Fryer B & Egbu C 2004. The Practice of Construction Management. 5th edn. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 27p. Griffith A 2003. Bringing Back the Dead: Operationalising the Bills of Quantities. International Conference for Project Management. University of Malaysia, Malaysia, 30p. Hore AV, O’Kelly M & Scully R 2009. Seeley and Winfield’s Building Quantities Explained. Irish edn. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, UK, 22p Martin J 2004. Concurrent delay. Constr. Law J., 18(6): 436-448. Marsden P 1996. The changing role of Australian quantity surveyor. Bldg. Econ. J. of Quant. Surv., 2(4): 5-9. Morledge R & Kings S 2006. Bills of Quantities – A Time for Change. International Conference in the Built Environment in the 21st Century (ICIBE). Mara University of Technology, Shah Alam., pp. 56-60. Murdoch JR & Hughes W 2008. Construction Contracts: Law and Management, 4th edn. Taylor and Francis, Oxford, UK, 112p. Normah A 2004. Outsourcing and quality performance. J. of Struc. Surv., 22(1): 53 – 60. Olamide AA 2013. Appraisal of the role played by professionals in the building industry and the incidence of building collapse in Nigeria. Int. J. Tech. & Mgt. in Constr., 4(2): 461- 473. Parkyn N 2002. Information on technical and artistic in building construction. J. Extra. Fea. Engr. & Constr., 8(5): 13 – 17. Seeley IH 2001. Quantity Surveying Practice. 2nd edn. Macmillan, London, UK, 34p. Potts KF 1995. Major Construction Works Contractual and Financial Management. 2nd edn. Longman, London, UK, 68p. Singh K 2002. Exploring the bill of quantities. Bldg. Econ. J. Quant. Surv., 4(7): 23-25. Tervo M & Stewart RA 2005. An empirical investigation of users perceptions of web-based communication on a construction project. Int. J. Constr. Mgt., 12(1): 43-53. Udegbe MI & Amadi CO 2009. Structural Failures in Buildings. 2nd edn. Bab International Publishers, Benin City, Nigeria, 14p. United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (2008). Tendering and Estimating. UNESCO Technical and Vocational Education Revitalisation Program. Abuja Nigeria. Wallace ID 1995. Hudson’s Building and Engineering Contract, 11th edn. Sweet and Maxwell, London, UK, 15p. Wallace ID & Duncan N (2005). Hudson’s Building and Engineering Contracts, 11th edn. Sweet and Maxwell, London, 25p. Willis, A 2005. Elements of Quantity Surveying. 10th edn. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 44p Wilmot-Smith, R 2006. Construction Contracts Law and Practice. 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, p22. Zune N 2010. Framework for Undertaking Work near Underground Assets, Electrical Installations on Construction Sites. WorkSafe Victoria Publication, pp. 12-15.
