DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

QUANTITY SURVEYING & ESTIMATING 1

Topic 7 - The Standard Method of Measurement

Why the Standard Method of Measurement?

a) The quantity surveying profession and the idea of measuring construction work originated
from Britain.

b) Before 1922, there was no standard method of measurement:

• Each firm or person (s) measured in its own way.
• There were differences even within the same firm or company.

c) The result was that contractors and estimators had difficulty interpreting the meaning and
intent of bills of quantities items, thus making estimating difficult.

d) The need for a standard way of measuring work was therefore conceived to remedy the
situation
• In 1922, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor (RICS) of UK and the
Building Employers’ Confederation in consultation with representatives of the
building trades issued the first edition of the SMM of Building Works.

Development of the SMM

Subsequent editions and revisions were made as time went on to reflect developments and changes
in construction methods and techniques.

Latest edition of the British SMM of Building Works was published in 1988 and is called SMM7.

The quantity surveying profession was introduced to the various commonwealth countries from
Britain and naturally the British SMM also formed the basis of measurement in those countries.

As the professions developed in those countries, each developed their own SMM, using the British
SMM as a basis with modifications to suit local conditions and practice.

Countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Ghana,
etc., have their own SMM.

The Australian Standard Method of Measurement

• The first edition of the ASMM was published in 1959.
• Further editions and revisions have been published since then.
• The fifth edition published in 1990 (Reprinted in September 1991).
• The latest edition is Australian and New Zealand edition published in 2018.

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As with the British SMM7, the major difference between the current edition and the previous ones
is that the measurement rules have been changed from Prose to Classification Tables. This makes
the latest edition easier to use than the previous ones.

The ANZSMM 2018 is divided into Sections as follows:

Section 1 - deals with “introduction, general rules and recommendations” which apply to all
work sections.

Section 2 - deals with “preliminaries” i.e. general particulars of the project and contract,
contractor’s obligation and temporary facilities and services needed to set up the
site, etc.

Section 3 - contain details of the methods and rules for measuring the various types of
construction/building work.

Australian and New Zealand Standard Method of Measurement of Building Work, 2018 Edition
(ANZSMM 2018 edition)

Section 1 – Introduction, General Rules and Recommendations

(A) Method of Measurement

The Method of Measurement contained in ANZSMM applies to:

(i) The measurement of proposed work;
(ii) The measurement of work already carried out and also to variations.

(B) Deductions

No deductions should be made for the following:

(i) Items measure by Area ---- voids less than 1 m2
(ii) Items measured by Volume ---- voids less than 0.10 m3
(iii) Walls and slabs measured by Volume ----- voids less than 1m2

These minimum deduction rules apply to the following:

a) Voids (openings) wholly within the boundaries of measured areas
b) Doors, Windows and blank openings.
c) Voids (openings) at the boundaries of measured areas caused by projections into
the areas of columns, beams, etc.

(C) Measurements

(i) When entering dimensions for calculating the volume of members with specifically
designed dimensions, the designed dimensions shall be exactly stated.

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 (ii) In all other cases, enter dimensions to two decimal places, except Structural
Steelwork dimension which have special rules.
(iii) Work is measured net as fixed in position unless otherwise specifically stated in the
description or elsewhere in the bills of quantities.

(D) Billing

(i) For items billed in m, m2 or m3, quantities are billed to full unit; any part of unit is
taken as a full unit e.g. 2.15 = 3, 7.38 = 8, 1.80 = 2, etc.
(ii) For items billed in tonnes, quantities are billed to two decimal places, the third
decimal if other than zero (0), to be regarded and added to the second decimal place.
E.g. 6.272 = 6.28, 3.054 = 3.06, 7.810 = 7.81, 5.792 = 5.80, 0.856 = 0.86

(E) Circular Work

Circular work which is not required by the ASMM 5 to be specified by diameter shall be
given separately and classified as follows:
(i) To radius not exceeding (n.e.) 0.5 metre
(ii) To radius exceeding (ex) 0.5m and n.e. 1 metre
(iii) To radius ex 1m and n.e. 5 metre
Ex 10m n.e. 20m
(iv) To radius ex 10m in increments of 10 metres Ex 20m n.e. 30m
Ex 30m n.e. 40m, etc.

(F) Work in uncommon situation

Work in uncommon situation such as:

(i) In or underwater
(ii) In compressed air
(iii) In confined space, etc. is to be described in each case and measured separately.

NB: Confined space is defined as where the working space is less than 1.75m high (see
ANZSMM Clause 11.2 of Section 1)

(G) Order of Dimensions

When stating dimensions in descriptions or entering dimensions on the taking-off sheet,

the order is to be in the sequence of length, width and height (or depth).

The Australian Standard Method of Measurement (ANZSMM) is used in PNG when quantifying
and measuring quantities and pricing.

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