Introduction
The building is a step by step process that entails consideration of various factors to ensure that the ultimate product desired is achieved. There must be a plan that’s adhered to and governed by the project manager and relevant stakeholders to ensure that the client gets the intended final product (Akinradewo, Awodele and Akinradewo, 58). Estimation of the costs in preparation to present bids for the tenders of construction is some of the steps that must be adhered to ensure that the best bidder is awarded the project and gives the best that meets the expectations of the client. These are usually known as the prelims; they entail all the details expected to be done in a project, for the final product to be satisfactory these steps must be followed, as they establish the range of construction and the expected installation costs hence providing an idea of the budget for the entire project to be completed successful (Liao, Lee, and Chong, 2019, 13). In this regard, we shall be analyzing the prelims for the Proposed Granny Flat project. As one of the construction companies that has been invited to bid for this contract, we shall be presenting the roles that preliminary bills play in such a situation, their significance, preliminary bills, a checklist of the vital items of this project, and the estimates of the costs to be expected.
Section A: Importance of Pricing Preliminary Bills
The preliminary bill is one of the important sections when preparing for the tender process. This stage provides a description of the project, information detailing the project, costs of the critical items of the project, conditions of the contract, facilities, and services that are required for the project to run smoothly to completion (Abas, Arshad, and Ismail, 2017, 2971). This section describes an overall picture of the project giving the contractor a clear picture of the expectations of the project. The section also provides an opportunity for the company to understand items that can be priced and those that can’t be priced in the project thus making it easier to evaluate the project by the use of the costs overhead method.
The preliminaries provide information on all the overhead costs that the contract should be aware of before accepting the contract. This makes the document an essential asset for the project as it makes it easier for the organization to plan through analysis of the critical issues of the project. In some cases, there is usually no pricing of the cost of construction items but they are classified into percentages concerning the previous projects (Leśniak and Zima, 2018, 1608). However, all critical items have to be identified and appropriate percentages noted in the preliminary bills as failure to identify some of these items might lead to the loss of a huge amount of money by the contractor. Therefore, its essential these items are identified, restrictions are known, and any additional requirements are also made to make work easier for the panel committee and the contractor that wins the bid to execute the project with little strains.
Additionally, it’s important to note that it’s the preliminaries that help in the development of the realistic price of the items of construction. The preliminaries provide an effective consideration of the critical issues that the contractor has considered which also helps to ensure if one has considered the basic needs that the client wants (Akrofi and Antwi, 2020, 101681). It’s at this initial stage that failure to identify the critical items that the project manager and the client requires that can easily eliminate a bidder from winning the advertised tender.
Researchers have also pointed out that preliminary bills for any construction project are essential assets in managing the conflicts that might arise in the expenditure of the project. (Rauzana, 2016, 46) stated that the disputes and the conflicts that have often risen in the bidding and tendering process due to the differences in the prices highlighted. These challenges are only solved when there is an already preliminary bill in place that aids in guiding and provision of an outline for the budgeting purposes. This also means that there are little chances of overcharging or undervaluing the project as the expected cost of the project is easily determined through analysis of these vital items of the project.
Besides, the final bill of quantities is only achieved by the use of the total preliminaries carried over. This makes it easier for the project to achieve its intended goals. (Martínez-Rojas, Marín and Miranda, 2016, 289) in their studies identified the aid of that preliminary bill in the management of the challenges that would have been faced later on in the bill of qualities. This is because the majority of the items that are identified in the preliminary bills are usually vital issues that remain arbitrary until confirmed thus making it challenging to budget for such issues. Therefore, whenever an organization omits such items in their tendering documents they are always likely to face tough situations in the implementation of the project whenever there are no extra resources to cover such critical issues missing from their bill of quantities.
Besides that, the study done by (Wanjari and Dobariya, 2016, 682) showed that there overrun costs that are often easily identified by the use of the preliminary bills. The document usually provides an effective opportunity in which there is an analysis of the vital items of the project whose costs can only be budgeted for through overrunning the costs. This is a vital concept for any project manager to ensure that the resources allocated for the project are enough and the organization winning the tender has the chance of successfully running the project to completion through covering such issues effectively.
Preliminaries are essential for planning for any project, despite being arbitrary items of the project they provide a clear guideline that should be adhered to ensure that the project runs smoothly. In this regard, the Proposed Granny Flat project is one of the projects that we must consider some of the critical items to be included in the preliminaries and not be avoided as they are vital items for the success of the project. Like any construction project, vital items should be identified in the preliminary bills, and unit charges determined to ensure that the ultimate budgeting of the project is easily achieved (Rauzana, 2016, 48). As the company participating in this tendering project, we must identify these issues to help in ensuring that we have higher chances of winning the tender.
Section B: Preliminary Bills
This is a section that describes the running of the project; they are the bills of the quantities that are vital in the running of the project. The determination of the cost of these items might be challenging due to the nature of the services or products rendered in the project. The time and the rates of pay are also bound to change with time and the demand in the market (Safari and Asadi, 2020, 9). Therefore, determining the exact cost of the project might remain with arbitrary figures until the project starts running with the prevailing charges. Therefore, the proposed Granny Flat Project might have to consider the following vital items to ensure that the project runs smoothly to completion.
Preliminary Bills
| Item | Description | UNIT | QTY | RATE | TOTAL |
| 1 | Employee RequirementsAccommodation-toilets, stores, labs, and even parking spaces.Furniture-provide furniture for useEquipment-technical equipment for the projectTransport-fuel and maintenance of the employeesAttendance-the presence of the drivers, cleaners, and chainmen | WKS WKSWKS WKS WKS | 3 54 5 8 | $200 $150$2000 $1000 $300 | $600 $750$8000 $5000 $2400 |
| 2 | Management and StaffSite Manager-Present on-site throughout to manage the site.Foreman-monitors the entire process and the construction teamPlanning Engineer-analysis of the project, its progress, and changes to be madeQuantity surveyor-Involvement in the job; both at the end and beginning of the projectSecurity-provides required security for materials and premises | WKS WKS WKS WKS WKS | 1 1 1 1 1 | $5000 $1500 $12000 $13000 $1000 | $5000 $1500 $12000 $13000 $1000 |
| 3 | Facilities and ServicesWater-distribution system, supply to site, pipes, and chargesPower-connection charges, alternative sources of powerTelephone-senior staffs who might require the use telephonesOffice Equipment-typewriter, fax machine, and photocopierSecurity and safety measures-CCTV to man the area over the night | WKS WKS WKS WKS WKS | 1 1 5 3 2 | $3000 $2500 $600 $350 $100 | $3000 $2500 $3000 $1050 $200 |
| 4 | Mechanical PlantForklift-A rough tool used in the loading and unloading of the materialsDumper-Movement of the excavated materials tools and has to be hired and fuel charges incurred.The Crane and driver-determines maximum lifts of the load hired and fuel chargesPumps-Water, transport, fuel, and attendance pumps might be hired and charges incurred | WKS WKS WKS WKS | 1 1 1 4 | $1200 $1300 $1800 $700 | $1200 $1300 $1800 $2800 |
| 5 | Site AccommodationOffices-mobile offices can be constructedStores-to provide protection of the material, construct or hire a buildingFurniture-desks, chairs available for the staff useToilets-mobile toilet units can be installed for staffRates and charges-Charges and fees for local authorities must be considered | WKSWKS WKS WKS WKS | 11 8 3 3 | $1000$1000 $300 $200 $100 | $1000$1000 $2400 $600 $300 |
| 6 | Contract ConditionsFluctuations-determination of the fluctuation in the costs and charges of the products and services Bonds-value of the contract and duration determine the cost of the bondInsurances-A quotation helps in the determination of the risks to be insured and the amount requiredProfessional fees-Charges on issues such as QS charges, legal fees, and tests on materials. | 1 1 1 3 | $5000 $3000 $3400 $1500 | $5000 $3000 $3400 $4500 | |
| 7 | Temporary WorksAccess routesFencing-either temporary or permanent fencing for security purposesProtection –high value ends need to be considered, finishes might require more paintsTemporary structure-temporary bridges, ramps, platforms, and roofs might require additional input | 11 1 1 | $250$300 $300 $350 | $250$300 $300 $350 | |
| 8 | Non-mechanical plantExternal scaffolding-quotation for erection and installation of the scaffolding.Internal scaffolding-Provision of the birdcage for places that have wide gapsHoist towers-Provision of platforms that allows unloading of materials at different levelsSurveying equipment-Might be hired or purchasing | M M M WKS | 1 1 1 1 | $5000 $3400 $3500 $2500 | $5000 $3400 $3500 $2500 |
| Total Carried to Collection for preliminaries |
Assumptions and Decisions Made
Employee Requirement- for the employees, accommodation is one of the vital items that must always be considered to ensure that especially the expert employees have access to basic needs that they will need to make their lives easier. In this regard, there is a need to hire have a place of rest, toilets, parking areas, laboratories where they can conduct their experiments and stores. These are vital employees that the rates of pay might vary due to their level of expertise, demand and time spend at the facility but due to their services they render they must be budgeted (Zuo et al. 2017, 361).
Management and staff-this is an item that comprises vital employees of the project. Quantity surveyors for instance are vital for the services that they render at the initial and completion of the project. They assess the quality of the project and recommend necessary actions (Haruna, Mohammed, and Buba, 2017, 1012). They provide professional advice and they must be hired and allowed to run the project. Their rates of pay might vary from one place to another but despite their charges, they must be hired.
Facilities and services-the project requires various services too perfectly. However, water remains one of the vital assets that must be provided by the service provider. The chargers made depend on the level of the project. Therefore, they must get water providers are paid in time for the project to run (Kheradmand et al. 2020, 48).
Mechanical plant-at this item the crane and driver are essential service providers that must be hired and paid by the rates of the owner. The rates vary from place to place but for the project to run smoothly, the crane and driver must be hired to remove the excavated soils. The rates vary in terms of hours, weeks, and months (Jalam et al. 2018, 28).
Site accommodation-the site of construction requires some basic facilities that must be availed. Office site is one such item that must be put in place to help in the governing of the project. The cost of the project varies as permanent structures are more expensive compared to the temporary structures. Therefore, when budgeting for the project this is one of the vital items that must be identified and resources allocated to make it available.
Contract conditions– terms of the contract might vary and they must be understood before coming into agreement with both parties. In this regard, professional charges are some of the vital issues that must be identified. The contractor must identify all potential professional charges that might be required to satisfy the project and allow it to run. Therefore, despite the costs incurred in the management of the professional charges, it’s vital that they are managed and necessary resources put in place to manage the situation and ensure that the project runs smoothly uninterrupted because of professional charges (Ekhator, 2016, 3519).
Temporary works-there is temporary works that remain vital in running the project. Fence for instance in this item provides security measures that limits the chances of the materials being stolen. Therefore, fencing must be budgeted for as early as possible to at least improve the security of the site of construction.
Non-mechanical plants-scaffolding is the most essential item in this regard, the project entails going into heights and this requires that scaffolding of the building to prevent the debris from causing harm to those under the building or passing nearby (Ritchie and Stephan, 2018, 12). This might also be a legal regulation that must be adhered to to ensure that there is no going against the legal framework at the site.
Conclusion
The project is completed due to adhering to the steps put in place to ensure that the projects run smoothly. Preliminary bills are some of the initial stages of the project that provides a platform of guidance on how they run in the management of the projects. There are challenges and vital items that might have been ignored but a thorough analysis of this document becomes easier to identify the loopholes and seal them for the success of the project (Van, Le-Hoai, and Dang, 2019, 2). Therefore, the preliminaries provide an opportunity to effectively describe the project thus making it easier for the project to be perfectly executed. The project manager should be satisfied with the final product based on the preliminaries availed at the initial stage.
References
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