Sustainable BIM-based cost estimating for quantity surveyors

Construction cost estimates provided by the Quantity Surveyors are constantly producing errors and inaccuracies due to unmanageable circumstances. Unreliable cost estimates are developed throughout the project stages in which can create more complications towards finishing the projects. The Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology has increasingly become prominent nowadays to facilitate the construction industry stakeholders to overcome those issues. Its exemplary benefits experienced by the users demonstrate that BIM could efficiently assist the cost estimators to establish more reliable measurement of the building quantities that would significantly determine part of the total project costs. BIM automation in the quantities take-off would reduce changes and reworks that effectively improves the development of the costs. This mechanism obliquely governs the Quantity Surveyors as estimators to practise more sustainable practice in establishing more reliable cost estimates. This paper reviews the potentials of the BIM innovation to aid the Quantity Surveyors towards establishing more sustainable practice when incorporates the technology in their cost estimating procedures. It combines the three aspects of people, process and technology in compelling the BIM-based cost estimating to function at its optimum performance. In integrating these three aspects, not only the Quantity Surveyors need to be competent in adapting BIM tools, but also to traditionally master the fundamental of building measurement. By establishing those holistic criteria to incorporate BIM in their cost estimating practice, dealing with other disciplines in the project team will be much easier and BIM application for the intended project will be at its optimum usage.