Quantity surveyors are invaluable members of every construction project. Just as important as the tradesmen and labourers on a job and more important in many cases. Quantity surveyors are tasked with something vital to the success of a project, calculating how much material and what the costs will be to achieve project completion within budget.
There is an endless number of tools to assist quantity surveyor in completing their objectives. One of the most invaluable tools available is estimating software. This allows for a digitized and modern approach to estimating and construction take-offs.
8 Reasons Why Quantity Surveyors Need Estimating Software
1. Improved Estimation Accuracy
As a quantity surveyor your key job is to provide clients with accurate cost estimates that they can rely on. In the past, each task would have been done by hand and through the reading of dozens of plans and construction blueprints. A great way to undertake your role, but one prone to errors.
Small errors such as numerical problems or messy writing can have serious effects on your final estimation. Changes in plans would mean a complete overhaul of your estimates. Estimating software factors in changes automatically and can give you approximate rapidly.
Even if you, somehow, never make minor mistakes, using estimating software will help ensure that clients reading your work don’t misunderstand something that you’ve written down.
2. Saves Time
Construction companies and clients prefer to hire a surveyor who can get initial estimates both rapidly and accurately. The only way to do this is using estimating software.
This has the added benefit of allowing you to complete projects quickly and move on to new jobs while also increasing client satisfaction.
Using software such as Cubit Estimating you can also involve other team members and outside consultants who are familiar with the software. This improves accuracy by having second or third opinion on project costs, materials and the length of time required to complete a project.
3. Organisation
In the past, quantity surveyors had to rely on their physical organisational skills to keep track of their documents. You would need to have a system in place for filing various drawings, printouts, and other information that was necessary for estimating.
With estimating software, all these documents are created and stored digitally, freeing up your briefcase and filing cabinet. In addition, the digital organization also helps to reduce the cost of supplies.
Quantity surveyors no longer worry about missing out on important messages or misplacing files as they can be stored online.
Also, if other parties within a project are using the same estimating software, real-time changes can be made to plans to inform everyone immediately.
4. Boosts Surveyor Value
One thing you’ll notice after you start using estimating software is that your desirability as a contractor will likely go up.
Knowing your way around digital software does wonders for your reputation, making you more flexible, knowledgeable, and a better team asset.
This reputation boost can help you land jobs and further your career as a quantity surveyor.
Utilizing software already used by contractors or builders or introducing them to new software such as Buildsoft BIM module will improve your professionalism and value in their eyes.
Making your job easier and helping others make theirs easier is a win-win.
5. Consistent Results
When you use estimating software, you’re ensuring that every project you work on is completed using the same set of standards and procedures. This helps recurring clients know what to expect from you, as well as provides new clients with peace of mind.
Follow the same procedures means consistency in your work and that any changes are noticeable for all parties involved.
6. Prevents Loss
Using this kind of software helps ensure that no expense goes unaccounted for in the final project estimate. This means all parties are paid and materials have been covered.
When this does happen, it can be a huge problem. Companies are left to absorb the cost of the materials or items that weren’t budgeted for, which can result in financial strain and stress for the entire team. It can even cause the project to be suspended or abandoned – and no one wants to be responsible for that.
Cost changes or overruns can be immediately updated into projected estimates in a way that traditional pen and paper simply cannot.
7. Project Management Technology Integration
Most estimating software that is available for quantity surveyors can be used in tandem with other software. Nearly all of today’s modern estimating software has been designed with the ability to pair seamlessly with other project management technology.
What is even better are the wide number of additional modules and add-ons that quantity surveyors can benefit from using. Mudshark Earthworks and the various Cubit Estimating packages are just a few examples of the various estimating software choices that can be picked.
8. Real-Time Cost Monitoring
Once you’ve used your estimating software to get an initial estimate for a project, you can then use it to monitor any changes that occur along the way. The best part of this is that, when using high-quality software, cost changes should be done automatically by the technology with just the push of a button and the stroke of a key.
When you trust estimating software to monitor cost changes in real-time, the changing projections are provided with impressive accuracy.
Conclusion for quantity surveyors :
As a quantity surveyor or almost any department involved in the financial estimates and planning of construction project the use of estimating software is invaluable. You can improve profits, reduce time on-site develop better relations when projects are completed successfully.
If you are still unsure of the use of estimating software examine a few of the software’s mentioned here and look at how they can improve how you work.
