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Module 2 - Model Preambles, Preliminaries and the Standard

System
Surveying 1 (Cape Peninsula University of Technology)

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QUANTITY SURVEYING 1
QSU150S / QSU 100S / QSU 110X
2018
MODULE 2

Model Preambles, Preliminaries and the

Standard System

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MODEL PREAMBLE FOR TRADES

BOQ allows each contractor to price the same items for the entire contract and not different
contractors’ price different items for the same contract. In order for this pricing procedure to be
successful, the descriptions in the BOQ need to be concise, but at the same time, be accurate.
The information in the description must be sufficient for numerous contractors to have the same
understanding of that particular item.

To prevent descriptions becoming too long and BOQ becoming too thick, QS’ began using
“preambles”. These were short descriptions common to most buildings; hence, the birth of the
Model Preambles for Trades, which is a collection of such descriptions.

Preamble means “preface” or “introduction”…in a BOQ, i.e. the introduction of each Trade.
When read in a BOQ, it becomes clear that more detail to the description is to be found
somewhere else. The description in the BOQ item is not all there is to that item.

See the attached extract from the Model Preambles for Trades on page 11-13

MODEL PREAMBLES

As an example, instead of putting page 11-13 into the Masonry Trade of every BOQ, the
Model Preambles exists to be referred to. See the attached sample page of the Masonry
Trade of a BOQ referring to the Model Preambles.

It is a very important reference document to ensure quality material and workmanship, i.e.
quality construction. In the Model Preamble, workmanship and materials have been
standardised. For instance, without the Model Preambles, a contractor would not know the
types of bricks, the composition of mortar, how the bricks are to be laid, wire ties, etc. all
contractors will apply the same building code, unless a supplementary preamble has been issued.

Advantages of using the Model Preambles

• The use of standardised documentation such as the “Model Preambles for Trades” is
designed to produce consequent economic advantages for contractors and professionals.
• It also has the advantage of lessening disputes as everyone is aware of the document and
should adhere to it.
• It also simplifies tendering and administration of building contracts.

SUPPLEMENTARY PREMBLES

In the event if a client having different requirements to the allowance of the Model Preambles,
the Supplementary Preambles are included in the introduction to the Trade.

See the sample page of the Plumbing and Drainage Trade of a BOQ.

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Note that Supplementary Preambles take precedence over the Model Preambles and the BOQ
descriptions take precedence over the Supplementary Preambles.

PRELIMINARIES

1. WHAT ARE THE PRELIMINARIES?

The “Preliminaries” bill is usually the first bill in most “Bill of Quantities”. The “Preliminaries:
under previous forms of contract, (before the JBCC – Joint Building Contracts Committee
Principal Building Agreement was introduced as the “new” standard building contract), were
referred to as the “Preliminaries and General” items (and one thus still often hears the term “P &
G’s” mentioned, but strictly speaking, this is now incorrect).

The “Preliminaries” outlines the conditions under which the contract will be administered and
describes all matters which may affect the contractor’s staff or equipment on the site as well as
execution of the works. A separate document titled “Preliminaries” (dated November 2007) has
been prepared by the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQs). The
“Preliminaries” document is for use with the JBCC Series 2000 contract documents and has been
produced in the interests of standardization of documentation and good practice in the building
industry. The document generally covers all the aspects of preliminaries for most types of
projects and thus should hopefully simplify the tendering for and administration of building
contracts.

The use of standard documentation of this type is in the general interests of the building industry
as it means that it will be necessary to draft a new set of “preliminaries” each time a “Bill of
Quantities” is produced. This will result in saving time for quantity surveyors and also give
contractors greater confidence as they become familiar with the standard documents. Hopefully,
this will also lead to a reduction in the number of disputes over preliminaries items as has been
the case in the past.

2. HOW THE DOCUMENT IS INTENDED TO BE USED

The “Preliminaries” is intended to form part of the building contract and subcontract
documentation. The “Preliminaries” document like the actual “Principal Building Agreement”
are both separately bound documents. The contractor must be given the opportunity of allowing
for any costs he may incur by complying with the preliminaries document. The intention is thus
that the “Preliminaries” document will be used by Reference only and will NOT be reproduced
within the “Bill of Quantities”. What does this mean?

What it implies is, each and every contractor should obtain their own copy of the “Preliminaries”
document and have this available and keep a copy in their offices when preparing or pricing a
tender. Contractors need to study and familiarize themselves with the content of this document.
If the quantity surveyor were to reproduce the “Preliminaries” in each and every “Bill of

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Quantities” produced, the contractor would then need to read through all these documentation
carefully to ensure that nothing sinister has been added, omitted or changed. Bear in mind that
once the contractor signs his tender form, he is bound by it and cannot later claim that he was
unaware of certain items that may have been changed and which now have serious cost
implications for him and for which he has made no provision.

3. HOW THE DOCUMENT IS STRUCTURED

The “Preliminaries” for any project is divided into three separate sections:

Section A this section recites the headings of the individual clauses of the JBCC Principal
Building Agreement in the order as they are found in the agreement.

Some of these clauses may require pricing, whilst others will not have any
financial implications for the contractor. An example of a clause that will require
pricing is:

Clause 6 – “Contractors representative”

The contractor needs to calculate what it will cost to have such a person on site
for full duration of the contract period. Once he has calculated this cost, he can
insert the price next to this item.

Section B this section recites the headings of the individual clauses of the ASAQS
“Preliminaries” document in the order as they are found in the document.

Section C any special items that may not have been covered in either section A or B above,
but which pertains to this particular contract only or are requirements of the
employer, principal agent or quantity surveyor. This gives the contractor the
opportunity of being able to price for complying with these special items that are
required.

STANDARD SYSTEM OF MEASURING BUILDING WORK

INTRODUCTION

The Standard System of Measuring Building Work 2015 (7th edition), is a document compiled
by the “Standard System Joint Committee”, a committee comprising representatives of all the
various role players in the building industry and which is published by the Association of South
African Quantity Surveyors.

The first standard system of measuring building works in South Africa was published in 1906
(approximately 111yeras ago), and arose out of the need of both contractors and quantity
surveyors to reach consensus on a standard or uniform basis (or method) of measurement for the

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preparation of “Bill of Quantities”. All “Bill of Quantities” are thus prepared in accordance with
the rules laid down in the “Standard System”.

COMPOSITION AND CONTENTS

The ‘Standard System” is divided into different trades. The order of the trades within a “Bill of
Quantities” follows the same order of the various trades as they occur in the “Standard System”.

In the first year of study in this subject, we will not deal with all the trades but rather concentrate
on only those trades that are relevant to simple single storey residential and commercial building
projects.

The “Trades” we will focus our attention on this year are as follows:

• General instructions
• Preliminaries
• Earthworks
• Concrete, Formwork and Reinforcement
• Masonry (but excluding rubble walling and stonework)
• Waterproofing
• Roof coverings
• Carpentry and joinery
• Ceilings, Partitions and Access flooring
• Floor coverings, Wall linings, etc.
• Ironmongery
• Plastering
• Tiling
• Glazing
• Paintwork

The “Bill of Quantities” set out the work to be done as shown on the drawings and / or described
in the specification (s). This measured work is however arranged according to a specific order, as
given by the “General Instruction No. 4 page 3 of the “Standard System” which states the
following three rules:

1. Work is firstly divided into “Trades”

2. Secondly, ancillary work applicable to a specific trade shall be given in that trade in
accordance with the principles laid down in the relevant trades.
3. Thirdly, within a specific “Trade”, the work is arranged such that those items measured
by mass (kg’s or Tons) come first, then items measured by volume (m3), followed by
items measured by area (m2), followed by length (m), followed by items measured as No.

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and finally, works that cannot be conveniently grouped into one of the units above is then
given as an “item”.
4. Fourthly, and subject to the above rules above, the items are then placed in their
approximate order of value arranged from cheapest to the most expensive.

It should however be noted that one will always find exceptions to any rule. When paging
through a bill of quantities, one may wonder why an item measured in m2 sometimes come
before certain items that are measured in m3 (as per the rule). Unfortunately, this is often difficult
to explain and understand and will only begin to make sense as one gains more experience.

NET MEASUREMENTS

All quantities contained in the “Bill of Quantities” are “whole” numbers. In other words, if the
final measured quantity of work is say 33.67m2, the quantity in the Bill of Quantities will be
reflected as 34m2. We do not generally find quantities given to decimal places (however, refer to
fractional quantities below).

The rule is that everything less than 0.5 is rounded down, whilst 0.5 and above is rounded up to
the next “whole” number as shown in the two examples below:

27.45m3 becomes 28 m3 in the “Bill of Quantities”

47.52 m3 becomes 48 m3 in the “Bill of Quantities”

FRACTIONAL QUANTITIES

As mentioned above, quantities are rounded off to the nearest “whole” number. Occasionally,
quantities can however be given to one decimal place. This occurs where the final measured
quantity is very small. Rounding off as described above would cause the quantity to disappear
from the “bill of quantities”. This would obviously not be correct, as anyone can clearly see that
such an item is shown on the drawings and would then be questioned why it had not been
included in the bill of quantities? To overcome this difficulty, very small quantities can thus be
given to one decimal place. These quantities when given to one decimal place are referred to as
“fractional quantities”.

Example:

A single concrete pier base size of 450mm x 450mm x 300mm deep gives a quantity of the
concrete of 0.60 m3. If this was rounded off to the nearest whole number, it would be 0 m3 and so
would disappear. Therefore, in this instance, it is given to one decimal place and would be shown
as 0.1 m3.

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PROVISIONAL QUANTITIES

Where the quantity of any work cannot be accurately determined during the preparation of the
“Bill of Quantities”, such work shall be described as being “provisional” and will be measured in
accordance with the given or available information at the time of preparing the initial “take-off”
measurements. The final quantities can only be determined by Remeasurement, once the actual
work has been executed on site. A typical example of “Provisional Quantities” or “Provisionally
measured work” would be the measurement of all work associated with the “FOUNDATIONS”.

What you need to understand in this particular subject is what is meant by the term
“foundations”. When we refer to the term “foundations”, we are not referring to the actual
concrete footings or column bases, but rather what is meant is all works from the level of the top
of the “surface bed” and below. In other words, it also includes the measurement of excavations,
risk of collapse, backfilling, keeping excavations free of water, concrete in footings and
foundation brickwork, etc. all measurements up to and including the concrete in the surface bed.

When preparing the “Bill of Quantities”, the work will be measured from the architect’s or
engineer’s drawings and sections. However, once the contractor commences with the site
clearance and excavations for the foundations, he may encounter different ground conditions to
what was anticipated or assumed to be the case. The soil may prove not to be suitable for
founding upon, he may encounter rock in excavations, or clay, or the water table may be very
high, etc. These ground conditions (particularly what is happening below the surface) cannot
always be determined with any real degree of accuracy until such time as the actual excavations
are commenced. Even if the engineer or a specialist such as “Geo-engineering” company has
carried out soil investigations such as digging of trial holes or bored core sample prior to the
design of the structural components of the building. These trail hole or soil profiles can only give
an indication of the ground conditions at the specific position that the soil is tested. Conditions
can vary quite considerably, particularly across a large site.

Obviously, if the contractor is required to dig his excavations deeper, then this will have an
implication on the volume of excavated material. It implies that there will thus be additional
brickwork in foundations and will require additional backfilling. The area of “Risk of Collapse”
is increased, etc. The only fair way to compensate the contractor for this extra work is to take
actual measurements on site once the excavations have been dug. The new quantities can then be
calculated and a value of the actual work executed can be determined by multiplying the new
quantities by the original “Rates” provided by the contractor in his priced “Bill of Quantities”.

PROVISIONAL SUMS

“Provisional Sums” are the amounts of money that are inserted or included into the Bill of
Quantities by the Quantity Surveyor, and are intended to cover for “Specialist” sub-contract
work that will be required to be executed on a particular project. Examples of work that might be
included in the Bills of Quantities as provisional sums is all the plumbing work, electrical

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installation, air conditioning and other mechanical services, etc. In other words, all work which is
not in considered to be general builders work, but rather work of a specialist nature and will be
carried out by specialist sub-contractors. At the time of preparing the Bill of Quantities, there
may not be sufficient information available to enable the quantity surveyor to measure out in
detail this work. In fact, very often at the time of the initial “Take-off”, this specialist work may
not even have been designed yet (Table 1).

The Quantity Surveyor cannot simply omit such work from the Bill of Quantities since the tender
amount received will be less than what it is actually going to cost the employer to build the
building. It is therefore important that some allowance must be taken into account and be
included in the amounts that all tenderers submit. To ensure that all tenderers include the same
amount for some specialist installation, such as for example, the electrical work, the Quantity
Surveyor will determine a reasonable amount (based on their experience of similar past
contracts, or an advice that may have been sought from a specialist consultant, etc.) and will
insert this monetary amount into the Bill of Quantities.

Following each and every “Provisional Sum” included in the “Bill of Quantities”, there are
always two additional items. The first is an “Allow for Profit” item. This item allows the
contractor to add for any profit he may wish to include based upon the amount allowed for the
specialist sub-contract work. Contractors generally add a percentage (%) of the provisional sum
included as their markup and profit (contractors are entitled to a profit on the total value of a
contract including specialist work that may be executed by others). The choice as to whether to
include a profit on the provisional sum or not, is not entirely that of the contractors (Obviously,
the more profit he includes on each and every provisional sum included in the Bill of Quantities,
the less competitive his tender will be and the chance of winning the tender will be reduced).

The second item is “Allow for attendance on the sub-contractor”. This item gives the main
contractor an opportunity to allow for any costs he feels he may incur as a result of the specialist
sub-contractor carrying out their work. The costs that the main contractor may incur are normally
costs associated with additional supervision, usage of water and electricity (costs which the
contractor may be responsible for), usage of site latrines, usage of the contractor’s scaffolding,
etc. thus, this item allows the contractor to make provision for any of these additional costs
which he may incur. Again, it is the prerogative of the contractor to decide whether he wants to
price this item or not, and if so, he must determine the amount or a percentage he wishes to
receive.

PROVISONAL SUMS (Table 1)

89 SELECTED SUB-CONTRACTS
89 Piling
89 PRIME
1 Provide
COST the sum of (P.C.
AMOUNTS R400,Amounts)
000.00 (Four hundred thousand Rand)
For piling supplied and installed complete. Item 1 400,000.00

89 2 Add for profit upon above, if required8 Item 1 20,000.00

89 3 Attend upon the firm installing the piling and make good Item 1 20,000.00
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PRIME COST AMOUNTS (P.C. Amounts)

“Prime Cost Amounts” are amounts included in the Bill of Quantities inserted to establish an
allowance for the supply only of a range of quality materials, where the final price is uncertain
because the final choice rests with the employer. Example of items that are often included as
prime cost amounts are the supply of light fittings, supply of sanitary ware, supply of
ironmongery, etc (Table 2).

The quantity surveyor cannot simply omit these items because the employer has not yet chosen
what they want. So instead, an amount which is allowed hopefully should be sufficient to cover
the cost of supply of these goods once they are ultimately chosen. As mentioned above, this
means that all tenderers are including in their tenders the same amount for the supply of the
goods.

The prime cost amounts item is also followed by two further items. These are “Add for Profit”.
Here, the contractor is entitled to add a percentage (%) for his profit and markup based upon the
amount he has been told to allow for the supply of goods. (The choice to price this item or not is
that of the contractor’s).

The next item is a “Fix only” item. Here, the tenderer prices for the actual labour and other cost
associated with actually fixing the goods in position. The fixing costs should not be he dictated
to by the actual cost of the goods supplied. In other words, the cost to fix a light fitting or a lock
is not dependent on which actual light fitting or lock is eventually chosen. One type of light
fitting or lock costs the same to fix as another type. Both the “Provisional Sums” and the “Prime
Cost Amounts” allowed in the Bill of Quantities will be adjusted in the “Final Account” to
reflect the real or true costs. The amounts originally allowed will be deducted out and the actual
costs as expended will be added back. If the final cost are less than the “Provisional Sum” or
“Prime Cot Amount” originally allowed, then there will be a saving on the contract.

Similarly, if the final costs exceed the amounts that were originally allowed, then there will be an
additional or net extra cost. The “Add for Profit” items will then also be adjusted pro-rata to the
final costs as determined. (In other words, in the same percentage as originally stated but
adjusted in accordance with the real amount actually incurred).

Table 2

PRIME COST AMOUNTS

85 TILING

85 WALL TILING

85 195 x 195 x 12mmCeramic glazed tiles fixed with

Waterproof adhesive to plaster including approved
Waterproof grouting (PC of R140.00/m2)
9
85 1 On walls m2 150 200.00

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CONTINGENCY SUM

It is usual practice to also include a “Contingency Sum” on the main summary of the Bill of
Quantities which the contractor must also include as part of his tender amount. The Contingency
Sum can either be stated as an actual monetary amount or can be stated as a percentage of the
tenderer’s tender amount (Table 3). The purpose of the Contingency Sum is to make provision
for any unforeseen costs or costs that may be incurred that were not anticipated. The intent is to
make some provision so that the employer’s approved budget is not exceeded, or stretched
beyond what they can afford when an unexpected cost arises (such as striking rock in the
excavations, where no rock was expected). It provides a “reserve fund” to finance the cost of
“unforeseen problems” or any extra work that may arise during the carrying out of the contract.
The use of contingency sum is solely at the discretion of the architect/principal agent and is not
intended for use by the contractor for items that may not have been priced or incorrectly priced,
etc.

Table 3
CONTINGENCY

5 MONETARY ALLOWANCES

The following monetary provisions are to be omitted from the

contract sum and used as directed below.

5 Contingencies

Provide the sum of R250, 000.00 (Two hundred and fifty

thousand Rand) for contingencies, to be used as instructed
by the Architect in terms of clause 17 of the Principal Building
5 Agreement. Item 1 250,000.00

List of reference

ASAQS (The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors). 2015. Standard System of Measuring
Building Work, 7th ed. (ISBN 978-0-86886-837-0)

ASAQS (The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors). 1999. Standard System of Measuring
Building Work, 6th ed. (Revised) (ISBN 1-919921-03-6)

ASAQS (The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors). 2008. Model Preambles of Trades
(ISBN 978-0-620-1663-4)

ASAQS (The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors). 2013. Preliminaries (September 2013
edition)

Ramsay D (nd) Study notes for Quantity Surveying

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