Case study: Empowering the next generation of quantity surveyors

As described by Dr Nii A. Ankrah, a senior lecturer in quantity surveying at Aston University, higher educational institutions are at the forefront of training the next generation of quantity surveyors.

Their purpose is to ensure students are industry-ready – equipping them with the necessary competencies to deliver accurate and reliable cost assessments for clients’ projects.

Aston University is among the top institutions for quantity surveying courses in the UK.

Its educators possess a wealth of industry and research experience across quantity surveying, construction management, sustainable housing refurbishment and smart construction, to name a few disciplines.

BCIS is a vital vehicle for teaching, giving students access to realistic cost and carbon data to augment their studies – data that isn’t easy to get hold of otherwise.

‘As an educational institute, we’ve had challenges gaining access to up-to-date rates and prices for use in estimating projects due to commercial confidentiality.

‘Our final year cohorts needed access to product life data and maintenance costs to estimate whole-life costs for projects and, more recently, data for carbon measuring and reporting. Data to support all these aspects was very patchy and lacked standardisation.’

~ Dr Nii A. Ankrah PhD, senior lecturer in quantity surveying, Aston University

Why BCIS?

BCIS is integral to honing student skills as a tool that is already widely embedded in industry ways of working.

According to Dr Ankrah, it’s a one-stop shop for all of their approximate estimating requirements.

BCIS gives tutors and students access to a vast library of standardised project data, curated in a way that offers flexibility in how it’s applied to student projects and coursework.

‘The modules built into the BCIS database enable students to extract reliable average rates and detailed elemental costs for approximate estimating and cost planning. The user interface is simple, which allows easy interaction with, and interrogation of, the data extracted from the system, and students just get it.’

~ Dr Ankrah

Dr Ankrah’s colleague Dr Kenneth Park, a reader in construction management and engineering at the university, echoed this sentiment. He commented on the ease and speed at which students start using BCIS.

He said the service ensures students are more accurate in their assumptions too.

‘We know costs are always up and down. We can’t get estimates 100% spot on but at least we have a really good base for reliability – that’s the key thing.’

~ Dr Kenneth Park PhD, reader in construction management and engineering, Aston University

Keeping pace with industry momentum

High on the list of priorities for the tutors is ensuring student learning aligns with change in the external industry.

The curriculum is regularly adapted as a result – the aim is to integrate the tech that industry professionals are using with students’ education.

‘Every year, we consider how we can accommodate new tools and new knowledge in our curriculum so that our students will be equipped with skills they can apply after graduation.’

~ Dr Park

Modelling is among the most important skills students develop. As part of a year-long project, students must complete a 3D model of a building, together with a 2D drawing set, and use these materials to produce a bill of quantities.

Dr Park explained how the quantity surveying course is designed to build understanding in the early years and during industry placement, which later informs how students problem-solve real-world scenarios in their final year projects.

Other efforts to stay in tune with the industry include inviting guest speakers from key organisations to discuss first-hand experience with the students.

The Chartered Institute of Building and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors are recent examples.

This connection with the industry is furthered by the university’s use of BCIS.

‘It’s helped us demonstrate to our accrediting bodies that we are using industry-standard resources, which has contributed to our ongoing accreditation status. The use of this resource adds to the standing and credibility of our programmes.’

~ Dr Ankrah

A lasting impact

Possibly the most important part of the University’s implementation of BCIS is imbuing graduates with confidence.

It means students are familiar with industry standards for quantification and costing, and tools for estimating, and has led to many Aston graduates securing significant posts and delivering landmark infrastructure projects.

Asked how BCIS has transformed learning, Dr Ankrah said the service has replaced the reliance on theoretical data with the real-world data students will encounter post-graduation.

‘We are now able to empower students by getting them to independently source costing data, which allows them to make informed decisions with confidence – unlike in the past, where we provided them with theoretical data for estimating and cost planning purposes.’

~ Dr Ankrah

Both Dr Ankrah and Dr Park said they would recommend BCIS to other institutions.

‘I would suggest using BCIS to anyone involved in built environment education because they wouldn’t find this kind of reliable data anywhere else. For research or educational purposes. That’s really important.’

~ Dr Park

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