Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Top Construction Companies in World

These are the Top Construction Companies of the World as of April 2010 based on no1construction.com



VINCI  is No.1 Construction Company of FRANCE and the WORLD

BECHTEL  is No.1 Construction Company of the U.S.

HOCHTIEF   is No.1 Construction Company of GERMANY

CCCC Ltd  is No.1 Construction Company of PRC

ACS  is No.1 Construction Group of SPAIN

SKANSKA  is No.1 Construction Company of SWEDEN

TAISEI  is No.1 Construction Company of JAPAN

SAIPEM is No.1 Construction Company of ITALY

STRABAG is No.1 Construction Group of AUSTRIA

BALFOUR BEATTY  is No.1 Construction Company in the U.K.

ROYAL BAM GROUP  is No.1 Construction Group of NETHERLANDS

LEIGHTON is No.1 Construction Group in AUSTRALIA

AKER SOLUTIONS is No.1 Construction Company in NORWAY

ENKA  is No.1 Construction Company of TURKEY

SNC-LAVALIN  is No.1 Construction Company of CANADA

HYUNDAI E&C is No.1 Construction Group in S.KOREA

LARSEN&TOUBRO is No.1 Construction Group of INDIA

YIT is No.1 Construction Company of FINLAND

ODEBRECHT  is No.1 Construction Company of BRAZIL

CCC  is No.1 Construction Company of the MIDDLE-EAST

ORASCOM is No.1 Construction Group in EGYPT

MURRAY&ROBERTS is No.1 of S.AFRICA

ELLAKTOR is No.1 Construction Group of GREECE

MTHOJGAARD is No.1 Construction Company of DENMARK

SHIKUN & BINUI ARISON Group is No.1 in ISRAEL

BUDIMEX is No.1 Construction Group in POLAND

JULIUS BERGER is No.1 Construction Company in NIGERIA

GRANIT is No.1 Construction Company of MACEDONIA

Monday, July 26, 2010

What is a Quantity Surveyor

According to Wikipedia, "a quantity surveyor (QS) is a professional working within the construction industry concerned with building costs".

Just what the Quantity Surveyor's do? below are the basic job description of a Quantity Surveyor.

1. The preparation of Bills and/or Schedules of Quantities of materials, labour and services required in the construction and equipment of building, or engineering works, and;

2. The preparation and valuation of progress and final payments in connection with any contract or sub-contract, and;

3. The appraisal of the value of proposed constructions or other structures already erected, and;

4. The preparation of specifications when required so to do, and;

5. Acting as arbitrator in cases of dispute in connection with building, or engineering work, when required so to do, and;

6. To advise from time to time on cost management, or value management.

7. To carry out such other duties as may properly be those of a Quantity Surveyor.

So just what does a Quantity Surveyor do and how do you become one? Basically, the Quantity Surveyor is the person responsible for figuring out just what a building is going to cost and in some cases for making sure that construction costs and production are managed as efficiently as possible. In some of today's projects there may be many millions of dollars involved.

A Quantity Surveyor can identify and collate the costs involved in order to develop an overall budget for any project. They can then undertake cost planning which aims to help all members of the design team arrive at practical solutions and stay within the project budget. It is the final detailed estimate prepared by the Quantity Surveyors, in consultation with a project architect, which forms a basis on which subsequent tenders can be evaluated. Schedules of quantities translate the drawing, plans and specifications produced by the design team to enable each contractor to calculate tender prices fairly, on exactly the same basis as the competitors.

Once tenders have been accepted, the Quantity Surveyor can provide cash flow data to enable a client to programme his resources adequately to meet contract commitments. In other words, the Quantity Surveyor decides how much of a job should be paid for at any one time. With interest rates the way they are, no one wants to hand over money before it is due.

In most construction contracts, the contractor is paid monthly and the Quantity Surveyor can value the work carried out each month submitting a recommendation for certified payment.

The Quantity Surveyor can also be called on to assess cost effects when changes occur and agree on variation with contractors.

Following completion of a contract, the Quantity Surveyor prepares a statement of final account, summarizing the cost charges that have occurred and arriving at a final contract sum.