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CI
8,3 How a quantity surveyor can ease
cost management at the design
stage using a building
164
product model
Received 11 September 2006
Accepted 14 August 2007
Wilfred M. Matipa
Department of Built and Natural Environment,
Faculty of Science and Technology,
University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK, and
Denis Kelliher and Marcus Keane
Informatics Research Unit in Sustainable Engineering,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
National University of Ireland Cork, Cork, Ireland

Abstract
Purpose – The role of the professional quantity surveyor is to provide information with regard
to the initial and future costs so that sound financial factors – inter alia – are considered by the
design team. However, it has always been very difficult to produce conceptual estimates because
they require the ability not to count the bricks, windows, doors and fixtures but the ability to
visualise these components. This problem stifles quantity surveyors’ capability to meet the
demand for “value for money” (VfM) throughout sustainable building development. The purpose
of this paper is to describe results from a case study of deploying a building product model on a
commercial project in Ireland, with a view to easing the cost management duties of the quantity
surveyor.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper comprises a case study of the Environmental
Research Institute project and a questionnaire survey of quantity surveying business in Ireland.
Findings – Quantity surveying still encounters serious data compatibility problems in integrated
teams because most software available on the market run proprietary file formats. It is concluded that
there is a huge business potential for quantity surveying to facilitate designing to a budget within
integrated teams, and that software interoperability could have a negative impact on professional fee
structures, which could trigger more robust appraisal strategies for building products if quantity
surveying is to maintain a leading role in providing cost management services to the construction
industry.
Research limitations/implications – Some case study data could not be made public.
Practical implications – Quantity surveyors might be encouraged to be innovative when using
computerised systems that could produce better cost models; hence meet the demand for VfM
throughout sustainable building development.
Originality/value – The paper provides valuable information to built environment stakeholders
working in integrated teams so as to optimise whole life resources expendable on a constructed
Construction Innovation facility.
Vol. 8 No. 3, 2008
pp. 164-181 Keywords Budgetary control, Modelling, Open systems, Quantity surveying, Sustainable design,
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited Construction industry
1471-4175
DOI 10.1108/14714170810888949 Paper type Case study
Introduction Ease cost
The traditional way of utilising the services of the quantity surveyor has largely been at management
the stage of costing a design, and the production of procurement and construction
documentation (Ashworth and Hogg, 2002). The main reason has been that, not until
recently, it has always been difficult to produce conceptual estimates because they require
the ability not to count the bricks, windows, doors and toilet fixtures but the ability to
visualise these components (Noble, 1987). However, the proliferation of architectural 165
modelling tools that can be used to model buildings in proprietary and/or non-proprietary
data format could, on one hand, change the design work culture (Cyon Research, 2003a) –
by way of inducing the production of tangible data very early in the process – and on the
other hand change the tradition of costing a design; which is cardinal for quantity
surveyors to meet the demand for “value for money” (VfM) throughout sustainable
building development. Sustainability, in this case, takes the form of:
.
fitness for purpose(s);
.
initial and future cost benefits;
.
environmental friendliness; and
.
cultural significance (Maver and Petric, 2003).

Naturally, developing building products that embody all aspects of sustainability is still a
challenge, because of the continuous demand for product specific information throughout
their life (Hakkinen, 2007). However, product lifecycle cost appraisal and analysis is
carried out intermittently due to the current operational structure of the industry (Kerzner,
2003; Turkaslan-Bulbul and Akin, 2006). Because of research in collaborative work
environments of the construction industry, there is a significant paradigm shift towards
integrated project environments (Faraj et al., 2000; Mao et al., 2007) that strive to share
project data electronically, using software interoperability. It is therefore envisaged that
the core activities of professional quantity surveying could be destined for a major change,
affecting the business processes and configuration of the profession. The royal institution
of chartered surveyors (RICS, 2002) observed that there has been a suppressed demand for
the essentially traditional and technical skills of surveyors, due to increasingly
sophisticated computer applications, which, as in many other jobs, are beginning to
automate some of the roles associated with surveying. Unless the profession adapts to the
rapidly changing demands of its services, it is in danger of losing its leading role in
providing services to its key markets, land, property and construction. This research
describes and summarises the recent results from studies carried in Ireland concerning
how available product modelling technology could optimise the role of quantity surveying
at implementing total cost management, and enhance green building practices.

Research objectives and procedure

The participation of a quantity surveyor in the research was mainly to quantify the
benefit which the original and subsequent clients/users would get from the use of the
buildings so as to justify initial capital investment (and reinvestment in refurbishment),
together with the substantial range of recurring costs (for maintenance, energy
consumption, etc.) over its life span. The three guiding objectives for the research were:
(1) comparing current industry cost appraisal strategies with those based on
building product models (BPMs);
CI (2) testing the implementation of “economic sustainability of a building product
8,3 component” – at the design stage – of the project life cycle, using building
product modelling; and
(3) inform practicing surveyors on the ideal way forward to the maintenance of a
healthy cost advisory role within the industry, and attempt to address some of
the industrial challenges of building product modelling to the quantity
166 surveying profession.

The procedure adopted for gathering research data were centred on the Environmental
Research Institute (ERI) building project for the University College Cork, in Ireland
shown in Figure 1. As a case study, it was possible to obtain primary data on design,
cost, value as well as energy efficiency (O’Sullivan et al., 2004). It was also important to
collect primary data from the cost consultancy sector of the industry so as to augment
the case study data. To that effect, a questionnaire was administered by e-mail, postal
mail, and a web page hosted for two years (2004 till 2006). The population for the
questionnaire survey was naturally stratified, by the Society for the Chartered
Surveyors of Ireland (2004) according to the county where a firm operated from:
.
Cork;
.
Dublin;
.
Waterford;
.
Limerick; and
.
Galway.

Stratified sampling was used because it ensured that different groups of a population
are adequately represented in the sample so that the level of accuracy in estimating
parameters is increased (Everitt, 1998) and it reduces the cost of research considerably
(Kumar, 1999).
From a total population (N) of 50 respondents, 23 responded, or a 46 per cent
response rate. Even though a higher response rate could have been desired, the data
collected were crucial to beefing up data from the case study.

Background to the “principle of designing to cost”

According to Cyon Research (2003a) design is an iterative process through which a set
of requirements such as – physical, aesthetic, performance, and so on – are creatively
manipulated, resulting into a design. The building design process therefore is a

Figure 1.
3D Model of the
ERI, Cork, Ireland
Source: UCC (2006)
complex interaction of skills, judgement, knowledge, information and time (Mao et al., Ease cost
2007); aimed at satisfying the client’s requirements by manipulating constraints such management
as statutory obligations, technical feasibility, environmental standards, site conditions
and cost (Ferry et al., 2003; Turkaslan-Bulbul and Akin, 2006). Design usually begins
with a sketch until it gets “frozen”, so as to facilitate the production of construction
documentation (Cyon Research, 2003c). Traditionally, when the design is close to being
frozen, the quantity surveyor is asked to prepare a cost modelling tool – a bill of 167
quantities – in most cases, and other documents that can support the procurement
process for the product. Quantity surveyors have, not until recently, been involved
almost exclusively in the latter part of the design-appraisal process, and yet the real
decision making role is far earlier than appraisal stage (Ferry et al., 2003). Some of
the main reasons for confining the quantity surveyor to latter part of the design
process are:
.
the nature of the traditional design process – which produces tangible data after
a long iterative process amongst the design team;
.
the inadequacy of traditional cost planning methods to contribute to the
understanding and the solving of the pre-sketch design dialogue; where all major
decisions of form and quality tend to be taken (Ferry et al., 2003); and
.
the illusion that the use of a design economist would seek to restrict the designer
during the design process (Ashworth, 2004).

Why bring the design economist early in the design process

The use of design economics at an early stage would not seek to restrict the designer
during the design process; but to identify the factors that have economic and/or market
value consequences on various design options; hence attempt to select the most suitable
proposal (Ashworth, 2004), and create an opportunity for persistent design evaluation
throughout the building-delivery process (Turkaslan-Bulbul and Akin, 2006).
Traditionally, designing to a budget takes the form of a three stage cost planning.
Stage one: the setting of a budget. Setting a budget is a more client-oriented process
and its importance in the cost-planning process has been gradually increasing (Ferry
et al., 2003). To positively impact the process (Kinney and Soubiran, 2004) cost
estimates must support decision making in the following manner:
.
identifying completeness of the design and clarifying the project scope;
.
providing the basis for value engineering, feasibility studies, and design alterations;
.
developing design and construction schedules; and
.
highlighting process design decisions and associated risks.

Stage two: the cost planning and control of the design process. This comprises:
.
establishment of the brief;
.
investigation of a satisfactory solution; and
.
cost control of the development of the design.

Stage three: cost control of the procurement and construction stages. This covers the
cost control aspects of the procurement and construction stages of a construction
product; therefore it is out of the scope of the research.
CI The traditional approach to design: a case of the ERI building
8,3 The ERI building was, at the time of this research, a typical commercial construction
project between the University College Cork, and the development team. As a result,
crucial data such as cost, schedule, and contractual relations remain private; hence they
cannot be discussed in this research. This constraint was overcome by creating
research data from the AutoCAD drawings and a 3D model of the project, as shown in
168 Figure 1. The questionnaire survey also provided a snapshot of the type of software
used in the Irish Construction Industry as well as how data are shared within the
project team. For instance, Table I shows that Microsoft Excel, Buildsoft, and
Computer Aided Taking-Off (CATO) are the most used software packages. Using this
information it was prudent to simulate the work of the quantity surveying team on the
ERI building project by using similar software packages. From the information created
on 2D and 3D drawings of the ERI building it was observed that the project used
a sequential approach to development, as shown in Figure 2.

AutoCAD
and Project MS Office Customised
Excel Buildsoft CATO Ripac Voloview planner suite program

Appraisal, estimating
and cost planning 9 10 2 1 0 0 0 1
CADD 0 1 0 0 9 0 0 0
Project planning 8 2 0 0 0 13 0 0
Take-off quantities 2 16 3 1 0 0 0 1
Abstracts and bill
of quantities 8 12 1 1 0 0 0 1
Cost monitoring and
Table I. control 8 8 3 0 0 4 0 0
Type of software mapped Final accounts 11 12 0 0 0 0 0 0
against generic project Archiving 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
life cycle phases Others 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0

Architects

Design Procurement & Construction Decommissioning & Operation

Sketch Designs Contract Drawings

and Specification

Detailed Designs

Working Drawings As Built Drawings and

Specifications plus the
Figure 2. Missed opportunity BoQ & Product
Traditional design for the QS to Specs
approach and its effect on assess the cost,
the job of the quantity against the value
surveyor of the design QS Involvement slightly latter than wanted
The current approach to design impacts the quantity surveyor in such a way that Ease cost
his/her work is:
management
. predominantly “costing a design”; and
.
minor “designing to a cost”, usually based on a recently completed project.
The demarcations between stages in Figure 2 are clear because each stage waits on, and
feeds from the preceding stage. Even though stages could be overlapped, the 169
demarcations are quite clear even within the stage. For instance, sketch design, detailed
design and working drawings production could easily be overlapped; however,
production of a bill of quantities can only begin when certainty is established in the
design by producing working drawings. Therefore, there is a window of opportunity
missed by the quantity surveyor at the early stages of the design; mainly because of:
.
the sequential development approach; and
.
lack of cost planning technology to aid the economic, value and financial
analyses of the design.

The tools and techniques available on the market, however, are slowly changing the
“traditional” approach of costing a design.
Even though such technologies are fragmented in nature, they are becoming more
powerful, hence providing the quantity surveyor with the opportunity to fully
participate in the design process. For instance, a 2D AutoCAD model can be used to
extract quantities using Computer Aided Design Measurement (CADMeasuree)
software. Using existing powerful quantity surveying software such as CATO
Enterprisee – cost planning – the quantity surveyor can use cost planning techniques
to aid the design team. Ordinarily, there seem to be no problem with current systems in
use because the software deployed supports current industrial business modus
operandi. Software vendors have adapted their products to work with the existing
means of production. This strategy flattens the learning curve for surveyors intending to
deploy computing power in their business. If, however, the designer uses a different
architectural drawing tool, such as ArchiCAD, the surveyor cannot extract quantities
automatically, hence severely hampering the speed of appraising the design.
This is because such a model would encourage a reactive approach to design
economics as opposed to a “proactive” approach where the surveyor is fully integrated at
every stage of the process. Therefore, quantity surveying still encounters serious data
compatibility problems in integrated teams because most software available on the
market run proprietary file formats (Swayer, 2004). Information flow and process
management is severely affected even though research shows that computer
applications offer the best initial opportunities in such areas (Swayer, 2004).
Managing the process – the resources used, the time lines to be met, and the risks
exposed – become increasingly difficult as the speed of change of designs and
specifications accelerates and clients demand to be better “engaged” (Swayer, 2004). This
problem emanates from continued industrial demand for integrating different project
dimensions by the help of project databases that could allow multi-criteria decision
making and nD modelling (Tanyer and Aouad, 2005). There are several suggestions for
data integration and software interoperability: some are web-based, such as WISPER
(Faraj et al., 2000), and SABLE (Hietanen, 2004; Plume and Mitchell, 2007). Others
are standalone solutions such as project data repositories. What ever the strategy,
CI research shows that the International Standards Organisation – Standard for the
8,3 Exchange of Product (ISO-STEP) model data has been a leading international effort of
developing the construction industry standards in software interoperability
(Turkaslan-Bulbul and Akin, 2006; Tolman, 1999; Plume and Mitchell, 2007). Using the
model schema developed in EXPRESS modelling language, in accordance with the
ISO-STEP, by the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) a software developer
170 could use industry foundation classes (IFCs) as building blocks for software development;
hence enabling software interoperability (Plume and Mitchell, 2007; Fu et al., 2006).
Therefore, BPMs, driven by IFCs were used as a possible solution to software
interoperability encountered on the ERI project.

Testing a BPM at the design stage

The IAI-North America (2004) has identified many factors hindering collaborative
work-style in construction, and has come up with the concept of software
interoperability based on IFC schema. BPM – enabled by a non-proprietary data
exchanging format called the IFC – can facilitate the creation, manipulation, and
sharing of data by computer applications of different kinds; hence making possible
software interoperability at design stage (Sacks et al., 2004). The driving principle
behind building modelling, Sacks et al. (2004) argue, is the opportunity to represent all
design and fabrication information in a single integrated source. Irrespective of the view
in which a user edits the model, changes are propagated to the single source and are
accurately reflected in all other views (Sacks et al., 2004; Eastman, 1999). Product data
interoperability tools allow CAD data to be reused, whether in downstream process, or in
other CAD systems (Plume and Mitchell, 2007; Fu et al., 2006). Yet, growth in the
complexity of CAD files, as well as market dynamics, has made interoperability more
difficult (Cyon Research, 2003b). There are significant challenges associated with
interoperability, including continuing difficulties in translating basic geometry and
topographical information, complexities in translating semantic information, lack of
information on common file formats, limited information content in some file formats,
and uncertainty about the needs of the ultimate user. Interoperability can be carried out
using – among other things – STEP translation, or third party direct translators. This
has given rise to the product data interoperability industry (Cyon Research, 2003b).
Instead of reinventing the wheel (Barwise and Meehan, 2004), it is prudent to tap the
power of technologies that provide the essential basics of automating the
cost-consultancy process. The research team decided to use an application
programming interface (API) supported by a lower level data repository engine called
the Express Data Manager (EDMe); whose generic system architecture is shown in
Figure 3. The EDM is an EXPRESS driven software integration system that improves
functionality, performance and quality of the implementation of data models defined in
EXPRESS modelling language, and supports data exchange using ISO 10303-21 (STEP
Physical File) (EPM, 2002; Tanyer and Aouad, 2005). EDM is a software integration
platform – a set of middleware tools designed for an effective implementation of
information models defined by the EXPRESS language and the ISO 10303 standard
(STEP) (EPM, 2002; Wang et al., 2007). It provides the necessary middleware to establish
a shared database environment and interfaces to most programming languages and
data exchange formats (EPM, 2002; Wang et al., 2007); which reduces on computer
programming resources. The main feature of EDM is to manage information
 Business
Ease cost
Application management

Application Programming 171

Interface (API) e.g.

EDMinterfaceTM

Repository Manager (e.g)

EDMserverTM

With
(Late DAI);
(Early DAI)
Express Parser;
Compiler;
Writer (e.g)
EDMdatabaseTM
Figure 3.
Standard architecture
Sources: Houbaux (2005) and for STEP toolkits
EPM (2002)
independently of any proprietary application (EPM, 2002). The implementation is
schema driven (late bound); meaning that the end-user system will be configured and
documented through definition of EXPRESS and EXPRESS-X schemas – which is the
state-of-art how to document information requirements (EPM, 2002; Eastman, 1999).
The version 2.0 of the IFC was used for research because it was the newest version at that
time, and was supported by all software used on the project. Solibri Model Checkere
was also used to facilitate data management not only through visualisation but also the
provision of elemental quantity break-down, as shown in Figure 4.
Using archiCAD to populate the EDM database as well as Solibri Model Checker
created a unique problem for the research. There was no means of instantiating the
IFCCOST Entity for the model. It became apparent that there was a need to devise a
means of instantiating entities that were of importance to the quantity surveyor, while
maintaining the same data repository, hence allow other project team members to view
the cost data. As a result, there was a need to develop a graphical user interface (GUI)
that could be used to access and manipulate the data; hence allowing the surveyor only
 CI
8,3

172

Figure 4.

GUI to EDM
Abstraction of the QS-IFC
ISO-10303-21;
HEADER;
FILE_DESCRIPTION (('ArchiCAD generated IFC file.'), '2;1');
FILE_NAME ('02_05_28_SimpleHouse_Monjur.IFC', '2002-05-28T12:12:14', ('Architect'),
('Building Designer Office'), 'PreProc - IFC Toolbox Version 2.0 (99/07/01)', 'Windows
System', 'The authorising person.');
FILE_SCHEMA (('IFC20_LONGFORM'));
ENDSEC;
DATA;
#6 = IFCPERSON ('FamilyName', $, $, $, $, (), ());
#7 = IFCORGANIZATION ('OrganizationName', (), (), $);
#8 = IFCORGANIZATION ('Graphisoft', (), (), $);
#9 = IFCAPPLICATION ('ArchiCAD', 'ArchiCAD 7.0 (Graphisoft)', '7.0', #8);
#10 = IFCPERSONANDORGANIZATION (#6, #7, ());
#11 = IFCTRANSACTION (1022584334, #10, #9);
#12 = IFCAUDITTRAIL (1022584334, $, #10, $, #9, $, (#11));
#14 = IFCSIUNIT (*, .LENGTHUNIT., .MILLI., .METRE.)

Cost Data Input

EDM Database
BPM

Access to BPM

Visualisation by Solibri Model Checker

Quantity Surveyor’s Graphical User Interface to Access Data

in EDM Database
to view selected entities. Because the IFC schema is so vast, Architecture, Engineering, Ease cost
Construction and Facilities Management (AEC/FM) software developers will typically management
instantiate the so-called “views” of the schema; that is to say they will develop their
software in accordance with the area of the IFCs that is most relevant to their particular
industry (O’Sullivan et al., 2004). The most important “views” for the surveyor, at that
time were IFCMeasurement and IFCCost. It was more difficult to implement the
IFCMeasurement because there was no clear standard of measurement used in version 173
2.0. The research was then focused on instantiating the IFCCost, whose schema is
shown in Figure 5, as a starting point.

Implementation of designing to a cost using EDM’s API

The approach to implementing software interoperability using EDM has been
documented using universal modelling language (UML). Figure 7 shows an abstraction
of the quantity surveying-industry foundation classes graphical user interface (QS-IFC
GUI) to the API provided by the EDM. Houbaux (2005) argued that interfaces do not define
a data model, but they define how the data are accessed and manipulated, because the data
structures behind the interface are not visible to the client using the interface; as a result
interfaces are “view definitions by default”. This is because they form a focused view of the
underlying data model, i.e. they expose only selected parts and hide the rest; hence
flattening the learning curve for users of product model data. Therefore, the UML diagram
of the GUI is detached from the Express schema/P21 file, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Factors influencing the design of the GUI

At design stage, generic client requirements could be categorised into value,
performance, cost and time. These requirements are constrained by physical factors,
planning permission and other regulations, and the general business set-up of the
construction industry. The BPM, if used properly, could facilitate the process of
evaluating investment options by the design team. This is mainly because:
.
the designer (architect) is forced to select materials, dimensions and quality
standards using object libraries of the CAD modelling tool;
.
the designer can view 3D versions of the design at the press of a button;
. the designer can save a CAD file in the neutral IFC file format that could be used
in the EDM database, hence facilitate data sharing by the design team;
.
most CAD modelling tools can create quantities; and
.
others.

Availing of such important data to the quantity surveyor could significantly increase
the speed with which he responds to the requirements of the design team; hence reduce
the product production time. However, the surveyor would still rely on Relational
Database Management Systems (RDBMS) that could store relational-based data such
as cost indices, historical cost data, location factors, inflation trends, bank rates, and
interest rates to mention but a few. For example, using the data model, the economist
could extract such things such as:
.
dimensions – essential for the overall appreciation of the project;
.
quality data, such as name of materials – so as to price the quality systems for
the project;
 CI
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174

Figure 5.

in Express-G
IFCCostResource schema
1.1, , IfcCost FinalCostValue

IfcMeasureResource.IfcMonetary
CostComponents L[0:?] (INV) ComponentsOf S[0:?]
Measure.

BaseCostValue

IfcDateTimeResource. IfcDateTimeSelect. CostDate Currency IfcMeasureResource.IfcCurrencyEnum.

IfcCost

ModifierBasis

IfcModifierBasis
Enum

IfcMeasureResource.IfcMeasureWithUnit. UnitCostBasis
CostType
IfcCostEnum

ModifierValues L[0:?]

Purpose STRING
IfcCostOperatorEnum CostOperator IfcCostModifier

CostValue REAL

Source: IAI-North America (2007a,b)

 CGUIProtoApp Ease cost
management
+Initlnstance()

175

CGUIProtoDialog
CEdmLoader
+OnBnClickedImportStepFile()
+OnBnClickedOpenDb() +LoadSTEPFile()
+OnBnClickedAddlfcCostNode() +AddCostNode()
+OnBnClickedImportStepFile() +FindCostNode()
+OnBnClickedSearch() +GetMatchCount()
+OnBnClickedUpdateSum() +Open()
+OnBnClickedClearList() +Release()
+OnBnClickedDbClose() +DeleteDatabase()()
+OnBnClickedDumpModel()

CEdit CListEdit
CEdit
CEdit Figure 6.
Object use case diagram
for the GUI

.
gross internal floor area – so as to know the overall area of the project;
.
net letable floor area – crucial say for the determination of the rental rates;
.
floor to floor height – cardinal for build-ability, material selection and the overall
cost of building framework;
.
overall, height – important for abiding by the law as well as build-ability; and
.
others.

The data that can be extracted from the data model can then be used together with the
historical cost data so that the design team could be furnished with data such as
elemental cost or cost per unit of use – say – cost per pupil for a school, cost per bed
for a hotel, and cost per park slot for a parking building.
ArchiCADe was used to draw a “wall”, which was used to create a model based on
the IFC schema (IFC 2.0 Schema) which was used as an electronic means of storing
data pertinent to a designed product of the AEC/FM industry. Once the model is
uploaded to the EDM, it can then be probed by the QS-IFC GUI. Then the quantity
CI
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176

Figure 7.
Abstraction of the QS-IFC
GUI

surveyor is expected to populate the model with cost-related data for use in the design
process. At the centre of the implementation of this system is the EDM’s API because it
does not only reduce the complexity of programming but also facilitates data
conversion to EXPRESS language, the de facto language for STEP or part 21 File
format for the ISO 100303; which is crucial to data sharing among compliant software.

Object use-case diagrams for the user of the system

The user of this system is expected to interface the EDM – an object-oriented database
– remotely. It is important for the user to explain the context within which the cost
model is developed so that the designers understand the cost implications of their
design decisions.
From the programming point of view, visual Cþ þ was used to create the GUI.
The classes behind the GUI were developed in accordance with the EDM API, because
its built-in functions, procedures and the standard data access interface supports
STEP files (Part 21). Figure 6 shows an instance of the GUI, and the use-case
scenario (Bahrami, 1999) for the objects used in the development of the GUI, which are
based on the standard classes of the Microsoft Foundation Classes shipped with visual
Cþ þ . The key aspect of the program is the ability to identify the IFCGlobalId
and the IFCCostNode which are crucial to facilitate the work of the economist.
Other IFC classes are useful to enhance the functionality as well as the readability of Ease cost
the data, and general aesthetics of the system; as shown in Figure 7. The interaction management
between the CEdmLoader class (Figure 6) and the EDM API is about “analysis”, in the
“disassembly into parts”-sense. STEP files follow a certain (strict) format and what
CEdmLoader does is that it takes any STEP file fed into it and disassembles it like an
onion, skin by skin until its very kernel. For each “skin”/part of the onion/the STEP file
a method is used to analyse its EDM type (IFC_COST, IFC_SHAPE, IFC_ . . . , etc.) and 177
take an appropriate action in according to what it finds. The “action” it takes in this
case is to output it to the GUI (Figure 7) in the form of human readable strings of text.
The content of each part has different data types though, and hence CEdmLoader
needs proceed differently to format it into strings. For example, a text description like
the name of an IFCCost node is already in string format, while its coordinates are in
numeric format and requires conversion. Once the data are extracted from the STEP
file, it can be used to analyse the BPM, and populate the EDM model so that designers
can see the cost implications of their design decisions.
Therefore, the GUI helps the surveyor to traverse the IFCCostRessource which has
a normal relationship with the IFCCost. The source code is too long to be presented in
the paper.

Discussion
Current industry practice and software interoperability issues
The research data from the case study showed that current industrial approach to the
implementation of designing to a cost mimics – to a large extent – the traditional
approach of contract documentation. There are significant advantages in such an
approach; mainly because the approach uses the power of RDBMS that permeate
financial business the world over (Matipa, 2004). Another reason is that industry uses
an existing algorithm in the description and measurement of the constructed facility
such as the standard method of measurements version 7 for building works or the civil
engineering standard measurement of work. The codes in these documents can easily
articulate the source of cost for a product. Some software vendors are mimicking the
traditional approach to construction with a view to tapping the existing body of
knowledge. Take for instance the alliance between a quantity surveying software
vendor and architectural software vendor who have created an integrated environment
that enables cost planning earlier on in the project phase. ECL’s CADMeasure is
essentially an AutoCAD package that integrates with CATO Enterpriseq Suite; hence
aiding the work of the quantity surveyor (ECL, 2006). It can be argued that AutoDesk
and ECL solved their software interoperability problem by integrating their systems,
with a view to enhancing current industrial practices, and presumably increase their
market share bearing in mind that there is a potential of exchanging customers from
both professions – designers and cost managers. It also means that there are still
conflicts of interest inherent in software development business and that of the market
share for software vendors (von Krogh and von Hippel, 2003). Intellectual property,
market share and profitability are the key factors that determine the extent to which a
software developer could interoperate with other software (Bentley and Workman,
2003). Software vendors can facilitate software interoperability throughout the product
development lifecycle, if, by so doing, they can profitably run their firms.
CI Historical cost data
8,3 Traditional systems have abundant rules of thumb that emanate from the experience
gained over the years. These are crucial for practicing surveyors because they
synergise historical cost data with current financial data: this is an industrial norm
(Ashworth and Hogg, 2002). Incorporating such data within the IFCModel proved
technically challenging because of the low level of data within the data repository
178 (EDM). At the time of the research, the IFC 2.0 Schema, could not easily be instantiated
with such data using a computer aided modelling tool such as archiCAD. Therefore,
there was only a one way traffic flow of data from the data repository into, say,
a comma separated value type file. There was no way the quantity surveyor could
instantiate the model with historical data about previous project apart from using the
traditional stand alone system such as a structured cost plan. The same reason applies
for cost indices, location indices and market value adjustments. This is because data
such as interest rates, the market value (determined by demand and supply),
construction time, and future changes in use tend to be dynamic.

Reference to existing body of knowledge

The prospect of using a building model in resolving interoperability problems on the
project is beset by a minimal reference to existing body of knowledge, and current
experience, especially things that work well for quantity surveyors. Project team
members were able to work profitably with stand-alone systems, and were able to
share key knowledge using ordinary means such as e-mails, pictures and the usual
contract documents. Meaning, the technology used was more complex than the
existing applications, yet it could not achieve better results that could embody quantity
surveying knowledge.

Impact to the quantity surveying profession

It could be envisaged that clients will continue demanding VfM; and they may
eventually stop paying huge sums for documents, and data that can automatically be
generated within the development process. For instance, building measurements is no
longer the main stay of the quantity surveying profession mainly because CAD
modelling tools are automatically generating such data. This trend would impact the
fee structure for the profession. However, there are opportunities at the front end of the
product development process, as demonstrated in this research, because total cost
management requires the deployment of a quantity surveyor as early as possible so as
to appraise various facets of the building product; hence facilitate sustainable
construction. It could be argued that the future of the surveying profession lies in the
ability to tap this market. It is for this reason that whole life cycle data management
tools that enable software interoperability, such as BPMs, are equally important to
surveyors.

Technical challenges
Speedy access to data and speedy response to requests at the design stage is important
to total cost management and that is what IFCs are able to facilitate. Building product
quantities are well instantiated using CAD modelling tools such as ArchiCAD. The key
technical challenge is about knowing how to navigate into the model to find where the
quantities could be and also knowing a bit about how CAD software (for instance)
are instantiating the model (Houbaux, 2005). Navigating the EDM proved extremely Ease cost
difficult because of the lower level nature of the data. Even though data sharing management
through software interoperability is not pervasive in construction, most software
vendors have realised the importance of it; hence the emergence of vendor alliances
that strive to safe guard business interests while upholding data sharing through
alliances. This short-term strategy is reaping benefits to vendors participating in
alliances, as earlier alluded to. Alliances show that the problem of software 179
interoperability is no longer a technical hurdle, but rather a business dilemma, because
software developers are still taking a proprietary approach (Koivu, 2002). Newer
versions of IFC schema such as the IFC2x3 have started addressing some of these data
problems (IAI-North America, 2007a, b), meaning that building product modelling still
remains a concrete approach to resolving software interoperability.

Conclusion
Technological developments in the AEC/FM industry and the world-wide demand for
sustainable building products have led to a requirement for construction professional
to inter-operate in many ways. The need for quantity surveying in the building team
has long been established though his utilisation has not been to the full. However,
technology can help overcome a few specific hindrances to integrated working systems
( Johnson, 2004) that could ensure the optimal use of the building economics.
Over-reliance on the production of bills of quantities as the main business duty of
the quantity surveyor – though crucially important to this day – is waning at a fast
rate due to the proliferation of technologies that can automate the task. Therefore, the
changing role of the quantity surveyor – inter alia – lies on the ability to use such
quantities in the economic, financial and contractual decision making processes that
ensure sustainable development at every stage of the building life cycle; hence
upholding the principles of designing to a cost, as opposed to costing a design.

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Corresponding author
Wilfred M. Matipa can be contacted at: [email protected]

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