Larry Feinberg is set to end his decade-long term as Executive Director of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS) in February 2022. Prior to leading the ASAQS, Feinberg served as Regional Manager for Africa at the Charted Institute of Building (CIOB).
 
Under Feinberg’s leadership the ASAQS implemented holistic governance processes, internal administrative policies, procedures and workflows based on recommended best practice. These changes were made to combine the rich 114-year history of the ASAQS with robust systems that are imperative to today’s business environment.
 
During his term as Executive Director, Feinberg was also instrumental in successfully facilitating the inclusion of South Africa as an Associate Member of the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS), as well as the signing of Memoranda of Understanding with Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Malaysia, and the Philippines.
 
Other collaborative partnerships established during Feinberg’s term include the Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC), Africa Association of Quantity Surveyors (AAQS), Construction Sector Charter Council (CSCC), and all Voluntary Associations and Statutory Councils within the built environment.
 
The local Quantity Surveyor profession has also benefited from the establishment of the EduTech Division of the ASAQS. The division is responsible for the delivery of all training programmes, the drafting of QS-specific technical documents, and answering any technical related queries.
 
“Serving the many presidents, the board of the association as well as all the thousands of members within our vibrant profession, has without doubt been one of the highlights of my career, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the trust and the faith that our members have all placed in me. I reflected on this almost daily while in office and it proved to be an endless source of motivation and encouragement to me. It was the light that always lit the road ahead”, says Feinberg.
 
The ASAQS Board has started the process of recruiting a new Executive Director.
 
ENDS
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, [email protected], 082 573 9219, www.atthatpoint.co.za 
For more information on ASAQS please visit:
Website: www.asaqs.co.za
Facebook: facebook.com/asaqsza
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/asaqs

Quantity Surveyors are aiming to play a crucial role in getting “frozen” infrastructure development projects back on track. “Municipal managers and classically trained accountants are currently expected to deliver complex projects,” says Larry Feinberg, Executive Director of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS). “Not only is this expectation unfair on them without them having received the proper training; it’s also part of the reason why some large infrastructure development projects have been suspended or have ground to a halt.”

According to Feinberg the ASAQS has been in talks with senior government officials and other industry bodies to create solutions that can assist with training and professional support to those charged with delivering these projects.

“Training on the use of standards documentation is but one of the areas where Professional Quantity Surveyors can be of assistance,” explains Feinberg. “Deploying Professional Quantity Surveyors to upper echelons in government is one of the mechanisms that can be used to good effect to educate officials on good governance in procurement, bidding and tendering processes, and the complex process of managing the construction process from a cost control point of view.”

The “Send Me” call made by President Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation address earlier this year has resonated with many and sparked collaborative action across many economic sectors. Feinberg hopes that this call can be used as a basis for professionals in the built environment to bridge focus areas that traditionally operate in and create solutions that serve the best interest of the public and the fiscus.

“Our interactions on several discussion platforms are focused on how to bridge the gap between what Thuma Mina means for the public sector and how our members can assist,” says Feinberg. The ASAQS has consistently promoted the role of a Quantity Surveyors as one that plays a significant part in curbing instances of fraud and wasteful expenditure.

“The time for behaviours that – intentionally or unintentionally – resist collaboration is over,” says Feinberg. “It is now time for all of us to share knowledge and expertise, so we can collectively respond to the President’s call.”

The report of irregular expenditure on the on Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Brandfort is concerning, but commonplace. The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS) says this will only change if the right mix of professionals are appointed at the tender phase of infrastructure projects.

The report by News24 states that “the quantity surveyor's report found fruitless expenditure of R593 622 "with regard to the Winnie Mandela House Project".”

“The appointment of a Quantity Surveyor to calculate and oversee projects should not be an afterthought when budget allows,” warns Larry Feinberg, Executive Director of the ASAQS. “We strongly recommend that the appointment of a Professional Quantity Surveyor becomes part of the legislated tender process.”

A Quantity Surveyor (QS) is best placed to identify deviations from original tenders in terms of both scope and pricing. As such, they act as the client’s watchdog. In the case of public projects, the client is ultimately the taxpayer.

One of the key issues in any public project is to ensure that the tender is awarded to the right contractor at the right price. The training undertaken by Quantity Surveyors allows them to manage the financial and legal processes of a project.

“Professional QSs are also bound by a code of conduct,” explains Feinberg. “If they are found to have contravened the code, they will lose their licence to practice as a QS.”

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  

For more information on ASAQS please visit:
Website: www.asaqs.co.za
Facebook: The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors

The Association for South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS) says that Quantity Surveyors are best placed to stem corruption in government infrastructure projects. The first step, says Larry Feinberg, Executive Director of ASAQS, is for both government officials as well as the ordinary taxpayer to understand what the role of a professional Quantity Surveyor (QS) is. 

“Globally, construction projects are highly susceptible to cost-overruns, owing to a number of factors. Here in South Africa, as in many other countries, we have the additional problem of corruption, where due process is flouted in order to benefit connected individuals or companies, often during the construction process itself,” says Feinberg. “The person best placed to identify deviations from the original tender in terms of both scope and pricing is the QS and, as such, they act as the client’s watchdog. In the case of public projects, we should remember, the client is ultimately the taxpayer, whose money is being spent—or wasted, in some cases.” 

Feinberg goes on to say, “In order to have the greatest impact, QSs should be involved right from the initiation stage of the project and also be involved in the planning and feasibility reports in addition to the approval of the actual procurement strategies”.
 
One of the key issues in any project is to ensure that the tender is awarded to the right contractor at the right price. QSs play a critical role here because they are trained to manage the financial and legal processes of a project. During the design stage the QS’s estimate is the tool to ensure the design remains within the budget. During the procurement stage the QS produces the Bills of Quantities (BoQ) on which fair and equitable tenders are based. The BoQ is the ultimate document that provides the client with the knowledge of how much the project is going to cost before construction begins, which is invaluable in judging the tenders before they are awarded. 

The QS’s professional experience and training makes them the best persons to evaluate tenders. “The BoQ acts as the baseline for the entire project. Any subsequent additions or omissions to the project would also be assessed and costed using the BoQ as the guideline,” Feinberg adds. “The QS then acts as watchdog throughout the course of the project: monitoring progress against the BoQ, authorising payments as work is completed, noting deviations from the tender and, ultimately, producing the final account and be able to defend it to any stakeholder.”

National, Provincial and Local Authorities (NPLA’s) are woefully short of experienced and professional QSs thus finding themselves not having enough bandwidth and experienced professional QS’s to manage the many projects at any given time. 

“Professional QSs are bound by a code of conduct and if they are found to have contravened it, they will lose their licence to practice as a QS,” Feinberg concludes. “This combination of professional discipline, skill and experience makes them the best persons to ensure that a tender is awarded to the right contractor—and that the project is delivered on time and on within budget. In this way, they serve both the NPLA’s and its ultimate boss, provider the taxpayer.”

​ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on ASAQS please visit:
Website: http://www.asaqs.co.za/
Facebook: The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors

By
Larry Feinberg, Executive Director, Association for South African Quantity Surveyors
​

Software has disrupted many industry sectors, from travel to insurance, and from retail to real estate. In each case, we were informed excitedly that the new technology would side-line humans. And yet estate agents, insurance brokers and even brick-and-mortar retail stores all still continue to grow.
 
More accurately, those that have embraced the new technology have gone on to flourish.
 
When it comes to quantity surveying we are seeing something like the same dynamic unfolding. An added element is that the profession is poorly understood by other players in the public and private sectors. Too often, quantity surveyors are seen simply as providers of Bills of Quantities and drafters of tender documents. In reality, a quantity surveyor has a much broader and more valuable role to play, especially in these days of mega-projects, strict regulation and, of course, unremitting cost pressure.
 
It is true that intelligent software can help automate and improve some of the more routine elements of the quantity surveyor’s job, such as measurement and the collation of documents. But to see the role of the software in this light only, or even to see it to some extent replacing a quantity surveyor, is to miss the point entirely. Rather, the software should be seen as providing quantity surveyors with the space to provide the services that have, over time, come to define their real contribution to any project.
 
This contribution includes the ability to determine the viability of a project from the outset, or to see the project holistically, in order to assist the owner to balance the architect’s vision with the realities of meeting cost targets that will ensure that planned returns are realized. This contribution continues, not only during the actual construction phase but throughout the entire life cycle of the building. I always think of the quantity surveyor’s role as one of creating a value proposition that extends from the design phase, through the construction phase and then ultimately throughout the life of the building management phase. Software alone, would be hard pressed to provide all these vital service solutions to clients.
 
In addition, the quantity surveyor is able to take the basic data and calculations produced by the software as the basis for exercising his or her judgement—not, as many would have one believe, to bypass it. Software cannot take into consideration many of the long-term questions that are of increasing importance to those who fund large projects, and those who will use them. For example, what are the benefits of spending more during the construction phase in order to reduce costs over the life of the project? How can certain needs such as air conditioning be met in a way that it is environmentally responsible without compromising operational efficiency—or commercial viability?
 
These, and similar questions, need the expert judgement of an experienced professional to resolve, not the wired-in certainties of a piece of software. By fulfilling this role, the quantity surveyor protects the interests of the client, including those who will use the finished product, and the broader community at large.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on ASAQS please visit:
Website: http://www.asaqs.co.za/
Facebook: The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors

The construction industry has always been cyclic, enjoying a boom for several consecutive years only to face a slump afterwards. Eventually, things pick up again. South Africa's last upward cycle ended around 2010 in step with the global economic crisis. Since then, quantity surveyors have been feeling the pinch. Unfortunately, this trend looks set to continue into 2017.
 
However, quantity surveyors have always been value enablers in the construction industry. In 2017 they should strive to promote the results they produce, not just their technical capabilities. In a down economy, investors hope to do more with less and the quantity surveyors are in a prime position to help them reach that goal. The price of their services are easily offset by the cost savings achieved from their advice on sensible construction choices, such as cost-effective substitutes or avenues for realising lower building life cycle costs. So quantity surveyors can thrive, but they will need to work harder to build awareness of the value they add.
 
Another notable trend for 2017 is the Construction Sector Charter Council’s revised construction sector codes. The new codes are designed to bring the industry in line with the black economic empowerment and transformation targets set by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). While the codes are still open for comment, quantity surveying firms should familiarise themselves to ensure they are prepared in the coming year.
 
Technologies available to the quantity surveyor appear set to continue developing in line with other industries. Various software packages exist for quantity surveying and they should make the most of suitable technologies. Automation of repetitive tasks brings greater efficiency, resulting in faster service and higher profits. However, technology is only a tool and cannot replace sound business advice, solve problems or suggest alternatives.
 
The #FeesMustFall movement has called into question whether or not 2017 will suffer a skills gap due to a lack of graduates. We’ve yet to see how this will affect quantity surveying. However, the construction industry is a cornerstone of the South African economy. The government is well aware of the talent required to keep it strong and there’s a huge drive to develop skills in all fields. So the expectation is that there will be sufficient expertise next year.
 
In the past, green buildings were assumed to cost nearly 60% more than traditional ones. But a recent study by ASAQS, The Green Building Council of South Africa and the University of Pretoria, using data from 54 green star certified office buildings around the country, shows that costs actually average around 5% and may drop as low as 1.1%. That's a small price to pay for protecting our future. In 2017, quantity surveyors should take the initiative and recommend sustainable building practices and materials.
 
While the forecast for 2017 isn’t ideal, there is a greater need for quantity surveying than ever. By leveraging every opportunity and promoting their cost-cutting guile, quantity surveyors will thrive.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on ASAQS please visit:
Website: http://www.asaqs.co.za/
Facebook: The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors

​For those in the construction industry the term “quantity surveyor” is commonly known. But, a quantity surveyor’s function is not always understood. To illustrate the value of this key function we take a look at Green buildings.
 
The role of a quantity surveyor (QS) is to quantify and manage the various cost items of material, labour, plant and equipment, which make up the total cost of a construction project. A QS is a professionally registered advisor who provides a value add service, from the feasibility stage of a project right through to completion. And, in the two key areas where construction projects typically go wrong, e.g. budget and project completion date overruns, a proactive QS will save the contractor and their client both time and money.
 
Familiar with public and private sector procurement strategies, they can be rather useful in getting past the hiccups that usually occur when procurement procedures are unfamiliar. With setting up budgets their forte, this can be a distinct advantages when preparing large, complex tenders, and even small ones too.
 
But why go Green?
Climate change is no longer a speculation but a reality in our lives. As populations grow bigger and urbanization grows cities at an unprecedented rate, with local authorities building upwards and not outwards, this concentration of people and the conveniences of life impact our natural environment – aggravating climate change even further. The construction and operation of modern buildings, those in which we will live and work, are responsible for the consumption of many of our natural resources, and the generation of carbon and other gases that cause global warming. In the Unites States, to which South Africa’s major cities can draw a parallel, buildings account for 39% of total energy use, 68% of total electricity consumption, 30% of landfill waste, 38% of carbon dioxide emissions and 12% of total water consumption.
 
Environmental benefits
Going “Green” has a number of environmental benefits. But what does going Green mean? In a nutshell, it means that we, as humanity, pursue the knowledge and practices that will lead to more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles, which will help protect the environment and sustain our natural resources for current and future generations. Among the benefits are enhancing and protecting biodiversity and ecosystems; improving air and water quality; reducing waste streams; conserving and restoring natural resources.    
 
Economic benefits
But, it’s not just environmental benefits that are created by going Green. There are a number of economic benefits to add to the equation. With a little savvy one can achieve a reduction in building operating costs, e.g. wastewater reuse in air conditioning systems and solar power, or energy from waste, an improvement in occupational productivity, the enhancement of asset values, and in profits due to lower operating costs, and the optimisation of economic life-cycle performance.
 
Social benefits
And, it doesn’t stop there. The social benefits of going Green include the improvement of domestic, occupational and leisure health and comfort through greatly improved indoor and outdoor air quality, lighting and temperature control, improved landscape aesthetics in minimising local utility infrastructure and a general improvement in our overall quality of life - because our natural environment will be less impacted.
 
How Quantity Surveyors can assist the Green revolution
Against this background the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) conducted a study on how best to address South Africa’s environmental challenge. In terms of its study findings, SA’s Green Star ratings increased, with an average premium for a four star Green Star SA rated building 5.5% and 6.6% for a five star Green Star SA rated building.
 
Interestingly, there was a slight difference in the average cost in three major economic hubs, and a correlation between the cost premium and penetration. Penetration was found to be slightly higher in the Western Cape (46%) versus Gauteng (41.8%), and KZN (40.4%), while the average cost premium in the Western Cape was at 6.9%, 6.0% in Gauteng and 4.5% in KZN.        
      
According to Manfred Braune, Chief Technical Officer of the GBCSA the study was undertaken to analyse the actual cost premium of building Green in South Africa and to challenge the belief that Green buildings cost much more than conventional buildings.
 
“South Africa has seen exponential growth in certified Green buildings, from the first Green Star SA building in 2009 to 165th in June 2016. Despite this there are many more buildings that could go Green but are not doing so,” Braune said.
 
By using a professionally qualified and experienced QS, preferably a member of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors, a building owner will be given an accurate projection of the costs involved in a Green building construction project, or the conversion of a traditional building to a Green building, as well as having a highly effective cost strategist in the team to help lower costs through ideas, substitutions and experienced advice.  This will certainly lead to increased certainty that the building phase will be finished on time and within budget; ensuring that value for money is attained by the client and a value added to the project through a unique blend of construction knowledge, advice on strategic and cost planning and the procurement of construction products and services.
 
If, as a building owner or construction company, you are looking at the viability of a future project, a QS can look at the demographics of the project and advise on its feasibility – before any substantial costs are incurred. In drawing up plans, a QS will give an accurate determination of the materials needed and the costs involved , including labour, for each aspect of the construction project. And, if required, and in order to reduce costs wherever possible, and permissible, an analysis of the specifications can be carried out. This circumspect analysis can be equally applied in the evaluation of tenders and tender submissions.
 
It’s here, within the context of a construction project, that the value of a quantity surveyor has been highlighted. And, in addition, the importance of Green buildings has also been highlighted.  We know that Green buildings, or what we alternatively refer to as sustainable design, is a best practice in increasing the efficiency of a building and its use of energy, water and materials, as well as to reduce building impact on human health and the environment over the entire life cycle of the building.  This is known as ‘value engineering’, and quantity surveyors are the people to help in making this become a reality – saving you time and money in the process.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on ASAQS please visit:
Website: http://www.asaqs.co.za/
Facebook: The Association of South African Quantity Surveyors