Page 201 - Civil Engineering Project Management, Fourth Edition

Measurement and bills of quantities
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‘Painting items N1–N13 after erection … Lump Sum’. Alternatively a provi-
sional sum for painting can be entered. By such procedures the number of items
in a bill can be reduced.
Description of items. The standard method states that item descriptions are
to avoid unnecessary length, their intention being to – ‘identify the component
of the works and not the tasks to be carried out by the contractor’. Nevertheless
descriptions according to the CESMM method tend to be lengthy in some
cases. Each item has a letter and three-figure code number which identifies
the work required according to the CESMM classification; but the code des-
criptions are not taken as definitive and, to avoid ambiguity, the actual
descriptions have to be written out in words.
The bill items have also to be read in conjunction with the specification and
the drawings – and it is an essential matter for the drafter of the bills to ensure
all these relate. The location of items may need to be specifically stated also,
and any additional description rules specified by the CESMM must be fol-
lowed, in order to ensure that all detail necessary to identify the work is given,
as required by the method. This ensures that items can be priced properly and
their application to the work on site identified easily.

15.4 Problems with classes of work and
number of items

For most works of any size there should be separate bills for obviously sepa-
rate parts of the project. This clarifies the location of work under bill items,
makes it possible to cost structures separately, and may be needed if comple-
tion of certain parts of the work is required by some stated earlier time. Within
each bill the items will be classified into different types of work, always taken
in the same order in all bills.
The standard method lists 26 classes of work labelled A–Z; Class A being for
general items (more commonly known as ‘Preliminaries’); Class B is for site
investigation including sampling and laboratory testing; Class C for geo-
technical processes, such as grouting and construction of diaphragm walls; Class
D for demolition and site clearance. Thereafter there follow classes for the com-
mon constructional operations – earthworks, concrete, pipework, etc. – through
to Class Y which is for sewer and water main renovations. The final Class Z is for
‘Simple building works incidental to civil engineering works’ and covers car-
pentry and joinery, doors and windows, surface finishes and services, etc.
Not all the 24 classes of construction work, B–Y, will normally be used on
most projects, and a problem is that if the project includes a large building, the
items under Class Z may be numerous and so need sub-classification. There
may also be some difficulty in deciding where to bill certain types of work to
achieve a logical order, since some work which would normally be considered
part of the finishing building trades, such as painting, is in the civil engineering
classes of work.