In order to adapt to the development of socialist market economy after China's entry into WTO and meet the needs of international practice, cost engineers should actively promote the standardization of the construction market and the innovation of the management system of the construction market, and establish a mechanism for government macro-control and orderly market competition. At present, there is a big gap between the current situation and demand of China's construction market. I discuss the problem of nonstandard cost management in the construction market and how to play the role of cost engineers in standardizing the construction market as follows. Welcome to read!
First, the status of cost management in the construction market
1, the legal status of cost engineers in the construction market is weak.
The task of cost engineer is to improve the management level of construction project cost and safeguard the interests of the country and society, that is, to reasonably determine and effectively control the project cost and continuously improve the management level of construction project cost in the whole industry. In fact, the cost engineer is not fully involved in the project cost management, and in people's minds, he is still a budgeter who prepares the budget book. Because its legal status is not as clear as that of supervision engineer. The State Council Order No.279 "Regulations on Quality Management of Construction Projects" stipulates that construction projects must be supervised, so it is legal for supervision engineers to participate in project management. In the current project cost management, budgeters can be used for project investment estimation, budgetary estimate, budget, pre-tender estimate, enterprise quotation, project settlement and final accounts audit, and there are generally no cost engineers participating in the project cost management in all subjects of the construction market. Therefore, the role of cost engineers in the construction market cost management has not been fully played.
2, the project cost is easy to get out of control.
(1) Unreasonable competition in bidding
The original intention of bidding is to hand over the project to an excellent contractor with practical experience, remarkable performance, qualified project and good project cost management level through fair competition. So as to break the division and monopoly of industries and regions, eliminate inertia, stimulate vitality and creativity, and effectively control the project cost. But it is undeniable that there is unreasonable competition in the current bidding process, such as related projects, human projects, industry protection, local protection and so on. In such a poor environment, contractors naturally put the project cost control behind them, and only their own interests are the most important. This makes the project cost difficult to control.
(2) In the process of bidding, hide the eyes and ears.
With the rapid development of China's socialist market economy and the diversification of investment channels, some public projects are no longer state-owned, and the involvement of private capital can make China's economic construction funds more, which is a good thing. However, some investors violate the rules in the bidding process, and adopt the way of hiding people's eyes and ears, so that the owners and contractors are the subject of the contract in the open and the enemies in the dark. In the process of project implementation, the items and unit prices in the bidding bill of quantities can be changed at will according to their own wishes, interests and needs, and the project cost is difficult to control. There are also some people who have neither technology nor management ability, and use the relationship to link with units with construction qualifications to bid in the name of others. Up to now, the definition of winning the bid at a reasonable low price is still unclear, and winning the bid at a low price. After getting the project, I have neither experience nor ability, let alone project cost management. However, with contacts and means, all parties revolve around his baton. This brings great difficulties to project cost control and management. Such disadvantages also make the fairness and justice of bidding questioned, which is very unfavorable to the normative construction of the construction market.
(3) Modify the original design at will
Some owners take the opportunity to invest more in national investment projects for the benefit of their own departments and regions, and change the documents of design units at will. Some engineering projects modify the original design at will to meet the wishes of the Chief Executive, increase and expand engineering projects, and improve design standards. In order to get the approval of higher authorities easily, some engineering projects have adopted the abnormal construction application mode of small scale and low investment. Once approved, the design will be revised and the investment will be increased.
After winning the bid at a low price, some contractors were unable to complete the project according to the promised unit price, so they had to collude with the owner and design representatives in the process of project construction and seek new benefits by modifying the original design.
The above design changes are all abnormal design changes, which will increase the project investment, control the project cost in name only, and cause great damage to the normal operation of the construction market.
(4) Cost engineers have no real power.
In the process of construction, engineering measurement is that after the quality of the project is approved by the supervisor, the cost engineer will check whether the engineering quantity conforms to the actual construction, and the final decision on measurement and payment is in the hands of the chief supervision engineer. Even for project settlement, the cost engineer is only a bookkeeping tool, and the decision on the settlement amount is made by the owner's representative. The cost engineer can't control the payment of project funds in the construction process, nor can he control the payment of settlement funds. It is difficult to implement project cost control, which is caused by the embarrassing position that cost engineers have no final decision.
3. No one can supervise the owner's pre-tender estimate during the bidding process.
In bidding, there is a bid evaluation method to evaluate the bidder's commercial quotation based on the owner's pre-tender price. At this time, the owner's pre-tender estimate becomes the only "truth" to test whether the bidder's quotation is correct. However, whether the compilation of this "truth" conforms to reality, is it correct, is there any omission, is the selection and application of materials, labor and machinery expenses appropriate, and is it unsupervised and uncontrollable? Supervision in advance is easy to reveal the pre-tender estimate. Post supervision, uncooked rice is cooked into mature rice.
4. The rights, obligations and legal responsibilities of cost engineers cannot be implemented.
In the cost consultation activities, the cost engineer should bear the responsibility, and can completely refuse the improper pricing behavior and administrative intervention in the practice process, which is the right given to the cost engineer by law. In reality, due to the irregular construction market, the legal system needs to be constantly improved. In order to survive and gain a little market share, the cost consulting unit can only act according to the client's face. If the entrusting party abides by the relevant national laws and regulations, the cost engineer can also play a role in the management and control of the project cost. If the client goes his own way, the cost consulting unit can only cater to the client's wishes unilaterally, and the cost engineer will not be able to exercise the rights conferred by law, making the management and control of the project cost by the cost engineer an empty talk.
5. Cost engineers are still used to using "quota", which can't meet the needs of market competition.
The basis for the preparation and approval of investment estimate, budgetary estimate, budget, pre-tender estimate and bidder's quotation in this period is the project quota and corresponding expenses issued by various departments and regions. Even though the bidding of some engineering projects is in the form of bill of quantities, the project cost personnel can't get rid of the "quota" pricing because of their previous habits. As "quota" is the project cost pricing system under the planned economy system, "quota" can only reflect the average social pricing level, but not the advanced single cost. This "quota" pricing method can not give full play to the role of market competition mechanism, and of course it is far from the international common practice, and can not meet the needs of market competition and participation in international economic exchanges and cooperation.
Second, the role that cost engineers should play in standardizing the construction market.
The above is a superficial view on the current situation of cost management in the construction market. If we want to standardize the construction market, we must change these irregular practices. Cost engineers should do a good job in the following aspects:
1, government macro management.
In order to ensure the order of the construction market and prevent risks, the government only formulates "game" rules. Trade associations shall formulate access systems and conduct self-discipline management. Those who do not meet the access system will be banned, and those who do not abide by the rules of the "game" will be resolutely cleared out. Depending on the market itself, those who are not competitive will be eliminated. The government mainly relies on policy guidance for macro-management.
2. Improve the legal system.
The implementation of the legal responsibility of the cost engineer depends not only on the cost engineer, but also on the conditions of all parties concerned, especially the continuous improvement of the legal system of the construction market, which makes the cost engineer not only have laws to follow, but also have a prominent legal position. It is legally determined that the cost management and control should be centered on the cost engineer, so that the cost management in the construction market is not only the contribution of the cost engineer, but the joint efforts of all parties concerned. Establish a strict supervision mechanism to severely deal with enterprises and employees who violate laws and regulations. To improve the legal system.
3. Standardize market behavior.
The qualification system of cost engineers has been established, and each cost engineer should do his best, start from himself, do nothing illegal and violate discipline, and promote the standardization and normal development of the construction market with his own law-abiding behavior. Trade associations regulate the market by formulating systematic rules and norms to restrain the behavior of cost engineers. Strengthen strict law enforcement, supervise relevant enterprises and employees, and correct their illegal behaviors. Only by standardizing the behaviors of cost consulting enterprises and cost engineers, and standardizing the behaviors of all relevant parties, can we further standardize the construction market.
4. Cost engineers should strengthen their study and improve their level.
With the gradual realization of the form of "macro-control by the government, independent quotation by enterprises and price formation by the market" in China, the requirements for cost engineers are higher. The cost engineer must be a comprehensive and compound talent who knows both technology and economy, as well as construction technology and management. If you want to become a compound talent, you must learn new knowledge and master new skills. Through continuous study and brave practice, I will gradually cultivate myself into a qualified talent with comprehensive knowledge and adapting to the new situation. After China's accession to the WTO, we need to strengthen the study of international market rules and international practices. It is very important for us to understand and master the rules and practices of the international market and study the relevant pricing methods of the international market for us to enter the international market or open the domestic market to the outside world. In a word, cost engineers can adapt to the rapid development of the construction market and keep pace with the times with the norms of the construction market only by constantly strengthening their study, improving their professional level and enriching their knowledge.
5. Establish a cost information system network.
Foreign engineering cost information is developed. Not only the government, associations and research institutions publish relevant cost information, but also some consulting companies and news media publish relevant cost information, project cost data, cost index and references, forming a relatively comprehensive system in terms of information content, release time and release channels. However, China's project cost valuation has just stepped out of the "quota", and the cost information is relatively simple in content, release time and release channel, and the project cost information is underdeveloped, which has caused the cost personnel to rely on the "quota". Cost associations should collect, sort out and publish cost information widely, and it is necessary for cost engineers to establish cost information database. Only by mastering a lot of useful cost information can we do a good job in project cost management and control and promote the standardization of cost management in the construction market.
6, participate in the whole process of construction cost management.
Cost engineers should not only calculate the construction cost, but also consider the upfront cost and operating cost, and even study the cost of all potential strategic resources that constitute a project. Therefore, cost engineers should actively participate in the whole process management of construction projects. Only by participating in the whole process management of construction projects can we control the cost of design, bidding and construction, and also control the increase of engineering construction cost caused by random design changes, thus promoting the market to develop in a rational and standardized direction.
7. Earnestly implement the construction project bill of quantities valuation specification.
The promulgation and implementation of "Code for Valuation with Bill of Quantities of Construction Projects" has established the rules that should be followed in the implementation of bill of quantities valuation in bidding in China. As cost engineers, we should take it as our responsibility to implement the Code for Valuation of Construction Engineering Bill of Quantities, and take the Code for Valuation of Construction Engineering Bill of Quantities as the criterion in our daily work, so as to ensure that the project cost management and control we should carry out will not violate the rules and ensure the smooth implementation of the bill of quantities valuation method.
8. Cost consulting enterprises and cost engineers should establish a good image.
The cost engineer must be a model of abiding by the law, honesty and trustworthiness. Although the current construction market is still very irregular, cost engineers must insist on providing services according to law, not cater to clients for their own self-interest, but should unswervingly safeguard the interests of the country and society and establish a fair image. Winning the market with a good image is the need of market norms and the foundation of cost engineers.
Promoting the transformation of government functions in project cost management, establishing a project cost management team led by cost engineers and giving full play to the positive role of cost engineers are conducive to standardizing market pricing behavior, standardizing the order of the construction market and promoting orderly competition in the construction market.
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