When is the Right Time to Bring a Quantity Surveyor into a Project?

If cost management and cost control should form part of the earliest stages of project development, why in some cases are quantity surveying services brought on too late. And if Quantity Surveying (QS) is late to the construction party, does it really matter?

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Here, Gareth Robertson, Walker Sime’s Director of UK Quantity Surveying, Chris Tildsley, Director, leading the Liverpool QS team and Gavin Prothero, Associate Director, share their thoughts on why they believe bringing a Quantity Surveyor in at the right time can add significant value to a project.

Walker Sime is an important part of the professional team that develops construction projects that are changing the shape of cities, neighbourhoods and the infrastructure that connects them. We believe in making every project matter – not just to the clients and developers we work with but to the communities that will live, work, and thrive in these new spaces. From reshaping urban neighbourhoods to revitalising key infrastructure, our projects are more than projects; they’re investments in the future of cities, towns and neighbourhoods. It’s something we take great pride in as part of the legacies we leave.

The Client’s Perspective: Why Bringing a QS in Early Matters

Seeing a project through the eyes of a client is key. When partnering with a Quantity Surveyor like Walker Sime, clients partner with someone who not only understands the intricacies of cost management but who also gets them, speaks their language, and knows how to drive their vision forward.

Quantity Surveying has changed so much in the 25 years that Walker Sime has been in business. A modern Quantity Surveyor advises clients on more than just costs, budgets and estimating. They take a holistic view, not just of the commercial aspects of a scheme but also covering funding applications, building and managing budgets, designing procurement and tendering strategies as well as providing contractual advice.

Appointing a QS early means that the client gets a whole level view and the experience that goes with it. Clients working with Walker Sime recognise that they don’t have to have every part of the design pinned down to make decisions on the procurement, funding routes and contracts.

We can advise at a very early stage and are thinking about the whole project scope much sooner. We become the client’s partner, trusted advisor and critical friend. We are the people who help take a project from concept to reality, protecting the budget right through all RIBA stages.

A QS that enters the process early not only sets the right budgetary boundaries but also acts as an advisor, anticipating needs, managing expectations, and helping prevent costly missteps along the way. We believe that when the QS is part of the conversation from the start it provides confidence and stability that’s tangible.

Early Involvement: From Concept to Completion

When brought in early, a Quantity Surveyor has the advantage of shaping a project from concept to completion, working through all RIBA stages. Our team at Walker Sime consistently sees the benefits of early involvement, as it allows us to create realistic budgets, set clear expectations, and map out risk and opportunity strategies through robust contingency calculations readying the project before issues arise. This proactive approach can save projects from spiralling costs, fractious relationships, and last-minute “firefighting” caused by late adjustments to budgets and scope.

By contrast, when called in later in the programme, we often see challenges around reworking established designs, resetting procurement, and managing contractors’ escalating costs because they haven’t gone through a robust procurement strategy. This is akin to trying to steer a ship that’s already left port on the wrong course, requiring far more time and resources to correct and leading to “false economies” where costs actually rise due to late adjustments.

Understanding How Things Are Built

Today’s Quantity Surveyor needs a thorough understanding of whole project costs – the sort of understanding that can help drive efficiencies. We can’t do that without fully understanding how things are built and the preliminaries associated with this. That requires understanding of structural design, mechanical and electrical (M&E) design and architectural design. Often, we need to represent the services that aren’t around the table. If there isn’t a M&E appointed for example, we can make high level design assumptions based on extensive experience.

We work alongside architects, engineers, landscapers, and safety teams knowing which technical challenges to foresee and resources to allocate. An early appointment co-ordinates the entire cast of players, ensuring that everyone is aligned and the project stays on track. This all-encompassing guidance is invaluable when aligning budgets with the creative and technical ambitions of a project. That combination of depth and breadth of understanding means the Walker Sime QS team can drive value and efficiency at every part of the project.

Partnering for Success: Benefits of Early QS Integration

Involving a QS early brings peace of mind. You’re not just hiring a cost manager; you’re gaining a partner with the foresight to identify “the unknowns” and handle them when they become known. We understand that these unknowns are a given in every project, and our experience allows us to anticipate risks and lay down solid foundations that support every aspect of the project lifecycle.

Planning for the unknown

One of the biggest challenges is estimating and planning for the unknown – issues clients could never know were there, or when dealing with entirely new elements. We were responsible for QS services on the Eureka! Science + Discovery centre on the Wirral. One of the things we had to address in fit-out was the installation of a 30-foot cat in the main museum. How do you plan for that? How do you price it? Certainly this is an extreme example – but the key being QS’s have the ability to look ahead and forecast the unknown.

So, there’s a huge amount of experience at play in assessing the level of contingency and risk and understanding how to mitigate it. While giant cats in a children’s museum are a rarity, every project will face the unexpected in any sector, whether it’s healthcare, defence, industrial or commercial offices. You need to have the experience and confidence to apply your toolkit of skills in a creative way that enables you to solve the problems at hand.

So, when is the right time to bring QS in on your project?

Our experience tells us that without a QS (or by bringing in a QS late), clients may spend more on a project. They’ll probably have found themselves having to undo things they’ve already done to make it viable. And they’ll likely have to manage conflict to achieve it.

Without a quantity surveyor early in a project, for example, there may not be clauses in the contract that make managing it easier, which help mitigate risk and save money. A design team might design without a cost plan in place, and without those parameters there’s an inevitably to have to start finding efficiencies later in the project. So, when a QS does eventually come in, the role feels like more of a firefighter. It takes a lot of time and effort to bring things back on track. That’s far more costly than getting it right from the outset.

The Thread that Holds It All Together

Without a QS a project can start to unravel. Budgets, deadlines, and relationships are all at risk if there isn’t a cost expert to keep things in check. In many ways, they are the unseen thread binding all these elements together; without it, there’s a patchwork of ideas that may not fit together smoothly, potentially leading to overruns and missed goals.

Quantity Surveying is certainly not the only valuable perspective during the early stages of a project. But it is the only role whose specific function is to ensure a project delivers against its commercial objectives, delivering the best value for every pound invested. We care deeply about protecting the public purse and protecting the client’s money. Because no matter how exciting the creative or design ambition, there needs to be someone ensuring that the finished project is easy to market, sell or lease, someone who helps lock in profit.

So, when is the right time to bring a QS into a project? We believe the answer is as early as possible even when it’s just a thought or idea. We can advise on how the project moves in the right direction from the outset. Walker Sime clients understand this and consistently reap the rewards of early integration: realistic budgets, smoother processes, and successful outcomes. Don’t wait to bring a QS in—start strong, avoid the pitfalls, and let your project reach its full potential.

Talk to Gareth, Chris and Gavin about how they can help deliver your project on time and budget, talk to QS at Walker Sime.