Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
BCIS is a trading name of RICS
Home / Construction Costs / Data

How to Submit Data to BCIS

BCIS
Submission of data to BCIS

Cost analyses and Bills of Quantities can be sent to BCIS in printed or electronic format.  Electronic formats that BCIS can already easily accept include CITE format, Spreadsheet, Text and Microsoft Word.  BCIS cannot yet take Bills of Quantities in native format but if they can be exported, eg as csv they can accepted. 

BCIS have developed a tool called BCIS Analysis XML Writer for creation and submission of analyses.  If analyses are created using BCIS XML Writer or exported from RIPAC or Cato they can be sent to BCIS as XML documents.

Use of XML

The most cost-effective provision of cost data to BCIS as part of a data hosting solution will be in XML.  To download and upload BCIS data the XML format can be used.  Essentially XML is a way of getting structured data around industry so it can be opened and used in many different software systems, whether they are off the shelf estimating packages or proprietary databases.

To help the industry use cost analysis information BCIS has developed the XML Schema for building cost analyses.  Software houses and developers will apply the XML Schema to make sure that their systems accept XML data.  Using XML is analogous to using Acrobat Reader to open up a document exactly as it should look.  Unlike Acrobat Reader, using XML does not prescribe the presentation but allows the use and manipulation the data.

BCIS Analysis XML Writer

All current BCIS subscribers have been sent a CD containing a new program, which can store cost analyses in a standard format. The program has been developed by BCIS, partly in response to requests from subscribers for a means of submitting analyses electronically and partly as a part of a wider project to improve the collection of data.

The program will store analyses as BCIS Analyses XML files - which is a standard published by BCIS and adopted by a growing number of specialist software developers. Analyses can be downloaded from BCIS Online in the same format and third party applications such as Elstree Computing's QuickEst and CSSP's RIPAC also support analyses in this form.

A ‘New analysis wizard' prompts for basic details from the new analysis, which can be stored in a new file, or additional analyses added to an existing analysis XML file. Editing an analysis is easy with prompts and lists where appropriate and help available on every field - simply by clicking on the adjacent link. Definitions and notes on the BCIS elements are accessible while entering the element costs and units and the application incorporates an extensive validation routine to help the user ensure that the information recorded is free from errors.
Other features include loading analyses into an Excel spreadsheet (to allow quick and simple manipulation of the data), electronic transfer of analyses to BCIS (under user control), extracting and deleting analyses from an XML file and updating standard codes and descriptions using web services.

Sending analyses to BCIS is also simply achieved using a wizard which prompts for details such as contact information, permission to publish and any special comments before sending the analysis either by email or using the BCIS web service. The analysis is saved on the BCIS servers but is only added to the system after review by a BCIS technical consultant.

As well as entering analyses from scratch, it is very easy to add details to existing analyses. For instance, BCIS will attempt to produce an analysis from a Bill of Quantities, which has been sampled for the Tender Price Index.  Drafts are sent to subscribers for checking and additional details.  It is easy to make amendments using this new application and send them back electronically to BCIS.
BQ applications such as CSSP's RIPAC and, soon, Elstree Computing's CATO can export analyses in this standard XML format and extra descriptions and quantities, which may not be available in the application, can be added.

The flexibility of this tool means that it is ideal for small and medium sized organisations to store their own analyses in this standard format, which is compatible with data from BCIS and can be used with third party applications.

The BCIS Analysis XML Writer is also available to download free of charge.

 

 

External Websites

BCIS cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites