LecA5 Process Improvement

UEBQ4724
Professional Practice II
LECTURE A5
Process Improvement
1
(A)BENCHMARKING
What is Benchmarking ?
 The Egan Report stated that:
‘Benchmarking is a management tool which can help
construction firms to understand how their performance
measures up to their competitors’ and drive improvement up to
“world class” standards…’
 Benchmarking is a technique that, like other management
practice, developed in USA and is now successfully applied in
many industry sectors around the world.
 Benchmarking can be applied across the business sector and
throughout the entire hierarchy of a company from strategic level
to operational.
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(A)BENCHMARKING
Aim Of Benchmarking
The aim of benchmarking is to improve the performance of an
organization by:
 Identifying best known practices relevant to the fulfilment of
a company’s mission.
 Utilising the information obtained from an analysis of best
practice to design and expedite a programme of changes to
improve company performance. (It is important to stress that
benchmarking is not about blindly copying the processes of
another company, since in many situations this would fail. It
requires an analysis of why performance is better elsewhere,
and the translation of the resultant information into an action
suited to the company under consideration.
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(A)BENCHMARKING
The Need for Benchmarking
The purpose of benchmarking is to improve a company’s
performance with the aim of maintaining or achieving a
competitive edge. The advantages of benchmarking include:-
 An opportunity to avoid complacency which may be nurtured by
monopolistic situations resulting in the loss of market leadership.
 An improvement in the efficiency of a company leading to an
increase in profits.
 An improvement in client satisfaction levels resulting in an
improved reputation, leading to more work, better work and an
increase in profits.
 An improvement in employee satisfaction in working in a more
efficient, profitable and rewarding environment.
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(A)BENCHMARKING
The Need for Benchmarking
 Benchmarking is seen as an essential drive to enhance value and
reduce risks.
 In construction, the need to improve is clear. Clients need better
value from their projects, and construction companies need
reasonable profits to assure their long term future.
 Many organizations that have successfully used benchmarking in
order to achieve a specific objective continue to use it thereafter as
part of a total quality management.
 In this way, it can contribute to the long-term objectives of the
company which primarily may be to achieve a high level of
customer satisfaction, recognised excellence in their sector and,
thereby, a high return.
5
(A)BENCHMARKING
Benchmarking and The QS
 Within the construction industry benchmarking is increasingly
considered from the perspective of the construction company
and members of its supply chain.
 It would be a mistake, however, to ignore the opportunity that
benchmarking could offer to construction consultants who also
operate within the same increasingly competitive and changing
domain.
 In addition to improving the profitability of a QS practice,
benchmarking can also be used by clients to compare consultant
performance in a similar fashion to that discussed above for
contracting organisations.
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(B)OFFICE AND STAFFING ORGANISATION
General Procedure in a QS Office
It is essential that an office is well organized so that work is dealt
with in a satisfactory and logical manner.
(a) Office Organisation
 At the start of a new project, all architect’s drawings should be
stamped with the office stamp and date of receipt, listed and
carefully examined by all staff concerned with the measurement
and cost planning work.
 Figure and dimensions on the drawings should be checked with
the scale prior measurements.
 Walls and partitions to be colored in different colours according
to type and thickness for ease of identification during
measurement, rechecking, and variation order purpose.
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(a) Office Organisation (Cont’d)
 Any queries on the drawings or supporting documentation
should be entered on query sheets for subsequent clarification by
the architect.
 Where reference is made to materials, components or proprietary
systems with which the QS is unfamiliar, he should obtain full
particulars from the manufacturer.
 After the draft bill is prepared, the important task of examining
and editing it by a partner or senior QS follows.
 Great care should be taken to ensure that each contractor
receives a complete and correct set of documents.
8
(a) Office Organisation (Cont’d)
 The proof bill from the printers also requires thorough checking,
particularly with regard to quantities and descriptions, preferably
involving two members of staff.
 The final documents will be dispatched to tenderers with a
covering letter stating
 the number and nature of the documents;
 the date, time and place where the tenders are to be delivered, often in an
envelope enclosed for the purpose;
 where and when the contract drawings can be inspected;
 how the contractor can visit the site;
 and usually a request for acknowledgement of receipt of the documents.
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(b) Staff organization
 It is sometimes the practice on large projects to subdivide the
taking-off work between different QSs or even separate groups.
 The subdivision could, for instance, take the form of (1)
structure of the building(s); (2) joinery and finishes; and (3)
services and external works.
 Another and probably better alternative is for the whole of the
taking off work to be undertaken by a single group of staff
under a supervision of a senior QS or team leader, the group
consisting of possibly three to six staff according to the size of a
project.
10
(b) Staff organization (Cont’d)
 Furthermore, there are distinct advantages in arranging for this
group to undertake all the work from inception to completion of
the project, encompassing cost planning, contract document
preparation, tender assessment and post contract work.
 This procedure enables the staff to obtain a wider and more
interesting experience and is likely to result in improved
efficiency through greater familiarity with all the details of the
scheme.
 With very large schemes it may be necessary for separate groups
to work together to rationalize resources and use them more
effectively.
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 With office procedures, it is advisable to be forward looking,
retain an open mind and not to think that customary approach is
always the best.
 On the other hand new methods may not be foolproof and
require careful examination and possibly a trial period of
implementation on a small scale in the first instance.
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(B) OFFICE AND STAFFING ORGANISATION
 Nevertheless, we are passing through challenging times and there
is a need to periodically reappraise many existing procedures
relating to a wide variety of activities, including such matters as:-
 cost advice and research,
 feasibility studies,
 the pooling of cost and other data for common good,
 rationalizing of technical information,
 measurement and cost control of M&E services,
 new methods of construction procurement,
 new methods of bill preparation,
 new office equipment,
 increased use of computers,
 and automation of measurement.
13
 Many of these activities could be operated more efficiently and
economically given the time and motivation for their analysis and
improvement.
 Construction cost management now forms a much more
important part of the QS’s work, and this includes the keeping
of extensive cost records of all projects passing through the
office, to assist with cost forecasting of future projects, and
often the establishment of a comprehensive cost database with
computerized data manipulation.
 The preparation of accurate cost estimates will always form a
vital part of the work of a QS office.
14
Management in Practice
 Management is concerned with the effective use of
resources so that work is done efficiently and objectives are met
within the prescribed time scale.
 Of prime importance among these resources is the management
of people.
 It is not just a question of using a person’s skills and aptitudes
for the benefit of the firm or other employing organization, but
also of providing encouragement and motivation for people
concerned.
 One very effective method of achieving this aim is by delegation
of duties and responsibilities, but having full regard to the
abilities, strengths and weaknesses of the staff concerned.
15
 The manager can then concentrate on management activities
while leaving the subordinate free to undertake his new
assignments within the limits of his authority and subject to a
monitoring system.
 The style a manager adopts often reflects his attitude to others.
 Negative attitudes will lead to a more autocratic style – the
manager believing that people are basically lazy and need firm
control.
 The democratic manager has a more positive attitude to the
team.
 He sees them as responsible, keen and capable of initiative and self
control.
 He listens to their ideas and encourages them to become involved
in the decision making process.
16
 In practice many organizations tend to adopt a middle course,
combining encouragement of initiative and a corporate spirit
with some measure of overall control.
 Garnett (1979) believed that the success of professional
organizations depended on the ability and enthusiasm of the
professional staff.
17
 Partners and their counterparts should take positive steps to
ensure the commitment and enthusiasm of their staff, and these
include:
 a clear structure of accountability where no one person is
responsible for the motivation of more than 15 people;
 clear target for staff who can then see what is expected of
them and accordingly obtain a sense of satisfaction;
 some simple instructions to section or team leaders to enable
them to draw out the aptitudes, talents and ability of the staff
for whom they are responsible; and
 to have a systematic and regular communication mechanism
through partners and team leaders so that all staff know what
is happening and why.
18
General Office Management
 Secretarial and clerical staff should be given clearly defined
duties and responsibilities yet, at the same time, be encouraged to
work as an effective team with a sense of loyalty and pride in
their work.
 For instance, it will be one member of staff ’s responsibility to
ensure that adequate stocks of all types of paper, stationary and
other required articles are held at all times.
 Telephone messages should be properly recorded and the
messages relayed to the persons concerned as quickly as possible.
19
 Letters should always be drafted with care and the following
guidelines observed:
 there should be no possible doubt as to the true intent and meaning of the
letter;
 the wording should be as simple and concise as possible;
 where extensive information is entailed, it is probably advisable to send a
brief letter accompanied by a detailed report or schedule, and most of the
comments on letters also apply to reports, which are normally subdivided
into three separate sections – introduction, body of the report, and
conclusions and recommendations;
 technical terms should be avoided as far as practicable when writing to lay
persons;
 letters must be free from grammatical and spelling mistakes and have the
correct punctuation; and
 impersonal language should be avoided as it lacks emphasis – hence ‘I/We
consider’ is preferable to ‘It is considered’.
20
 When dispatching correspondence, a check should be made to
ensure that all relevant enclosures are sent with the letter, and a
suitable note on the letter or a small enclosure tab will help to
avoid their omission, which can be frustrating to the recipient.
 Careful checks are also required to ensure that the correct letter is
inserted in the correct envelope and that it bears the correct
postage.
 All incoming correspondence and copies of outgoing letters must
be carefully filed in a system that permits easy retrieval.
 The main file heads in a QS organization relate to projects, but
on very large projects some degree of subdivision is normally
required, and this may encompass the employer, architect,
subcontractors, suppliers and others involved in the project.
21
 All correspondences should be filed in date order with the most
recent at the front of the file.
 Letter references often include the project reference and the
initials of the writer and typist.
 Other essential office documents include staff diaries recording
appointments and notes of meetings, and records of staff time
spent on each project.
 Minutes of meetings, site records, project details, cost
information and other supporting data must be carefully
preserved.
 Another important section of any QS organization is the
information centre or office library containing trade literature,
reference books, appropriate Acts of Parliament and statutory
insruments, British Standard and the like, all suitably classified
and indexed. 22
(C) QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Quality and Sustainability
 Clients are increasingly demanding a commitment to sound
environmental principles as part of their appointment process.
 Quantity surveying companies need to consider their
environmental management systems in relation to the office
operations such as staff travel, energy conservation, waste and
office management.
 Formal accreditation to BS EN ISO 14001 will demonstrate the
practice’s commitment to this issue.
23
Quality Management System
 Considerable attention is given nowadays to the aspects of quality
of the service provided by consultants and contractors to their
clients.
 Increasingly, clients in all sectors of the construction industry are
demanding that consultants and contractors operate a quality
management system and obtain third-party certification to
demonstrate compliance with BS EN ISO 9001.
 Practices and companies wishing to obtain certification following
assessment by one of the certification bodies need to
demonstrate that their procedures comply with the Standard.
 The scope of services for which registration is sought has to be
clearly identified on the application for assessment, and evidence
demonstrating this scope has to be presented at the time of
assessment.
24
Quality of Documentation
 While quality management systems set procedures to be followed
to ensure quality of service provided, another aspect that is worth
considering is the quality of documentation leaving the office, as
this is the chief means of communication with other
organisations.
 There will be correspondence in the form of letters or reports
issued on every project, from the first letter of instruction to a
final letter sending in an account for fees.
 The science and art of letter and report writing constitute a
subject well worth studying, but only a few points can be
mentioned here.
 The object of writing is to convey the ideas of one person to the
mind of another, who is not present to be addressed verbally, and
at the same time to make a permanent record of the
communications. 25
 The writer must convey by words alone both the emphasis
required and the tone in which the letter or report is written.
 Words and phrases must therefore be very carefully chosen.
 Without going into the subject too deeply, a few suggestions may
be made:
 Be sure that the points made are clear.
 Be as brief and straightforward as possible and do not use two
words where one will do.
 Start each new point with a new paragraph.
 If a long letter develops, consider whether it would be better
to put the matter in the form of a schedule or report, with
only a short covering letter.
26
 Be sure to write with the reader in mind; do not use technical
terms when writing to a non-technical client.
 Avoid commercial clichés, journalese, Americanisms and slang.
 Avoid spelling mistakes and bad grammar; they give a poor
impression to an educated reader.
 Avoid the impersonal.
 Surveyors, particularly recent graduate surveyors, will find may
letters appropriate to a variety of situations that have been
prepared for past and present projects and are held on file.
 Use of these previous communications, either directly or as a
basis for a letter in a new situation, will save much time and
should normally reflect a mature and professional style.
27
E-mail
 The benefits of e-mail are clear in that it provides the
opportunity to communicate quickly and effectively with an
individual or group of individuals almost anywhere in the world.
 Furthermore, it is possible to ‘attach’ information which can
speed up the interchange of relevant documentation and thus
improve the quality of service.
 It is difficult to imagine life without it.
 However, despite the opportunities provided, there are some
downsides that need to be considered, for example:
 It is too easy to communicate to anyone and everyone, thus
there can be an unnecessary amount of communication to deal
with
28
E-mail
 E-mail messages can be forwarded to third parties without the
control or approval of the sender, this should be borne in
mind when sending any e-mail
 E-mail messages can be a challenge to good time management;
it is easy to let the contents of the inbox interfere with and
gain priority over more urgent work plans
 The language and tone of an e-mail message can easily be
misinterpreted; like any written communication, the rules
outlined above need to be considered
 E-mail messages accommodate spontaneous replies which can
be as binding as any other communication. Therefore they
should be given the same amount of caution with regard to,
for example, discussions that might have an impact on a
contractual claim.
----- THE END ----- 29

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