British construction industry
I. Overview
According to the standard industrial classification -SIC revised by UK 1992, the UK construction industry can be divided into the following types:
1, general building demolition works. (refer to the Chinese website of architecture)
2. Construction and repair of buildings.
Civil engineering, including the construction of roads, parking lots, railways, airstrips, bridges and tunnels; Water conservancy projects, such as dams, reservoirs, ports, rivers, irrigation and land drainage systems; Laying pipelines, sanitary systems, gas and water pipes and cables; Construction of overhead lines and line supports; Installation of oil refineries, steel mills and other large facilities; Wait a minute.
4. Installation works, including piping works, heating and ventilating equipment, sound insulation and electrical accessories.
5, architectural decoration engineering, such as painting and layout, glazing, plastering, tiles, etc.
1998, the gross output value of British construction industry was 62 billion pounds. The private sector accounts for a large proportion of the growth of the construction industry. The main business types of British construction industry are construction and civil engineering; Special projects, that is, providing steel structure, precast concrete components and electromechanical installation services for companies and individuals; Supply building materials and components; Provide consulting services.
According to the data of British Architectural Statistical Yearbook, in 2000, the total number of employees in the construction industry reached 6.5438+0.9 million. About 8% of the male employed population is engaged in the construction industry, but the number of women engaged in the construction industry is very small. Over 600,000 construction workers are self-employed.
In the past, the department in charge of construction in Britain was mainly the Department of Environment Transport and Regions-Detr, which was not the specific manager of all public projects and did not implement specific supervision and management of the construction process. Construction project management focuses on formulating relevant policies and regulations, and regulates the construction industry comprehensively and meticulously, so that construction activities can be carried out in an orderly manner. After the British general election in June, 20001,the new government departments made some adjustments in their functions and settings, and ——DTI, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, was responsible for initiating the construction industry. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is also responsible for investigating the construction market and publishing relevant information together with the National Bureau of Statistics, so as to provide various construction statistics and related indexes to the whole society. The building regulations and fire protection services originally under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior were handed over to local governments and regional transportation bureaus. In addition, DTLR, as the owner of aviation, railway and maritime construction projects, is responsible for the management and construction of public projects in this field.
Second, the characteristics of the British construction industry
Influenced by many factors such as industry scale, geographical environment, construction operation, complex construction organization, special pricing procedures, numerous professional companies, various materials, equipment and components, the British construction industry has its own characteristics. These characteristics can be summarized as follows:
(1) In terms of the number of organizations representing the interests of construction professionals, the number of chambers of commerce representing the interests of business and the development trend of specialized division of labor within the construction industry, it can be said that the construction industry in Britain is not centralized, but decentralized.
(2) Traditionally, design and construction have their own functions and are separated from each other, that is, any construction project can not start formal construction until the design is completely completed.
(3) In terms of employment methods, except for its management personnel, the general contractor generally only employs odd jobs and subcontracted projects, and does not employ fixed full-time construction personnel.
(4) The contractor has less investment in fixed assets, mainly relying on subcontracting and equipment leasing.
(5) It is often difficult to predict how many projects the construction industry and construction companies can get in a certain period of time, so it is impossible to include personnel training, investment level and the specific output or output value level of each company in the plan, so as to know fairly well.
(6) There are many kinds of builders, professional subcontractors and professional companies in China, and the architecture is very complicated. Construction contractors in Britain are mainly private contractors, and most of the contractors' companies have less than 100 employees.
Third, the type of the owner.
The owners of the construction industry include central government departments, local authorities, nationalized industries and industrialists, development companies and private individuals, with a wide range. It can be roughly divided into two categories, namely public sector owners and private sector owners (private owners). Among them, the total amount of projects undertaken by government departments (public departments) accounts for about half of the workload undertaken by the construction industry, which will bring serious consequences to the industry during the economic crisis.
(1) Owners of public departments
Owners of the public sector are generally responsible for public utilities, and they all act according to parliamentary acts. As a government department or agency of the central government, the infrastructure expenditure of these public institutions is controlled by the parliament and the government, so the number of construction projects they can directly handle depends on the amount of infrastructure investment planned by the central government. If the central government cuts spending, it is likely that some important projects such as roads, schools and housing will be postponed. Even if the public utilities authorities can raise the necessary funds for some projects, they must obtain the consent of the central government in advance and the authorization of the parliament before they can formally start construction.
(ii) Private sector owners
Private sector owners are usually private companies. They build houses for rent or sale and also for their own use. The central government controls their business activities within a certain range by issuing construction project planning permits and building quality and safety standards.
Four. Participants in the construction process
Participants in the construction industry mainly include:
1. Owners include individuals or institutions, and usually entrust various construction professionals to organize project construction on their behalf according to specific requirements.
2. Construction professionals, including project managers, architects, quantity surveyors, structural engineers and electromechanical (service or auxiliary facilities) engineers.
3. Contractors, professional subcontractors and material suppliers.
4. Material manufacturers or suppliers, and equipment leasing companies.
5. All institutions responsible for ensuring the implementation of various building codes and public health and safety codes, including local government officials, safety officials and water supply and drainage, fire protection, gas and electricity institutions.
6. Legal experts responsible for reviewing matters related to construction contracts.
7. Credit providers such as banks, financial institutions and insurance companies.
8. Final consumers, including users, owners or lessees.
British government building authority
British construction authorities pay attention to the formulation of relevant policies and regulations in construction project management, and realize the orderly progress of construction activities by comprehensively standardizing construction behavior.
British construction projects are divided into two categories: private projects and government projects. There is not much difference between the two in management, especially in the past decade, many government projects have been privatized or public-private partnerships.
There are different ways of owner project management in Britain. Project management can be entrusted to social consulting organizations, and many design units in Britain can also provide such services, but few companies specialize in providing owner project management. As mentioned earlier, the original competent department of construction in Britain was the Department of Environment and Transport (DETR), but with the end of the British general election in June 2006, various government departments made some adjustments. The start-up of the construction industry was handed over to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the building regulations and fire protection services that were previously under the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were handed over to the local government (DETR) regional transportation department.
I. Organization and functions of the Ministry of Environment, Transport and Regions (DETR)
(1) British Ministry of Environment, Transport and Regions1June, 1997 was formed by the merger of former British Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Transport. The Department of Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs of the United Kingdom is engaged in a wide range, involving more than 20 aspects such as field and rural areas, aviation, construction, housing, transportation, planning, publishing and trains.
(2) The main objectives of the Ministry of Environment, Transport and Regions
1. Protect and improve the environment and combine environmental policies with other policies;
2. Provide every citizen with the opportunity to get good housing to promote social cohesion and stability;
3. Establish an effective and perfect traffic service system through different channels to reduce traffic flow and meet social needs;
4. Tap rural potential, improve rural living standards, and protect and manage wild resources;
5. Establish a fair and effective land use planning system to reflect regional characteristics and promote development;
6. Ensure an effective construction market, promote the innovation and progress of construction enterprises, and enhance the competitiveness of domestic and foreign markets;
7. Reduce work risks and ensure public health and safety.
(3) Construction Bureau, the department in charge of housing construction and renovation of the Ministry of Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs.
The Construction Bureau consists of six departments and 1 secretariat, mainly including the construction department, the building regulations department, the building innovation and research management department, the building export and materials promotion department, the building market information department and the implementation and pre-qualification system department. The important functions of the Construction Bureau are: promoting the quality and economic benefits of construction activities and improving the modernization level of construction production methods and activities; Make a training plan to improve the quality of employees in the construction industry; Actively encourage and fund the reform of construction production activities. The construction bureau has an expert group and a regulation group. The supervision team maintains close contact with the British Health and Safety Executive Committee to promote the construction and life safety of buildings.
The Construction Bureau consists of the following departments: Construction Department, Building Innovation and Research Management Department, Building Export and Materials Promotion Department, Building Market Information Department and Building Regulations Department.
(4) The competent construction department of British local government is located in local authorities. There are two levels: first, the county level, with a small number, is only established in some areas to carry out macro-coordination and control over the construction of cities, towns and districts; Second, there are many cities, towns, districts and levels, and there are 32 district-level local construction authorities in London alone.
Two. British transport local government regional department
The DTLR has cabinet ministers who are members of the British Cabinet. At present, there are 3,400 employees in the central department of DTLR, and another13,300 employees work in DTLR 10 administrative agencies. DTLR was responsible for the financial expenditure of 6 billion pounds in 20001-2002, including transportation, housing and development projects.
Three, several important institutions in the British construction industry
In Britain, in addition to the relevant government departments in charge of construction (such as DTLR), the management of the construction industry also involves the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Labor. In addition, there are many government-owned institutions and social organizations in the society in order to make the development of the construction industry and construction activities proceed in an orderly manner.
(1)CIB Construction Industry Committee
The responsibility of the British Construction Industry Council is to provide implementation strategies and guidelines for the development of the British construction industry and formulate building codes. Its organizational form is to combine the British construction industry owners and government representatives to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of construction production activities. The working principle of the Construction Industry Council is based on cooperation, giving full play to the strength of organizations and constantly improving the implementation methods and methods of construction activities.
(2) Construction Industry Committee
The Construction Industry Committee was established in 1988. At first, there were only five member units, and now it has developed into the largest group in Britain involving the whole construction field. The construction industry association plays a great role in the field of British architecture. At present, its members have more than 350,000 professionals related to the construction industry and more than 65,438+09,000 construction companies. The Construction Industry Committee is the representative organization of professional organizations, research institutions and other professional societies in the construction industry.
The activities of the Construction Industry Committee are extensive, involving policies, practices, research, education, professional development and environment in the construction field. Its duty is to support the concrete implementation of the plan formulated by the Committee.
Fourth, the British building code system.
There are three different legal systems in Britain: England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legal systems. 1667, the British Parliament passed the first building engineering law. In the following 300 years, after constant revision, supplement and improvement, a relatively complete system of building laws and regulations was gradually formed. Here is the most extensive system in England and Wales, which is divided into four levels.
The first level is action. Including. Building Law, Housing Law, New Town Planning Law, Health and Work Safety, etc. Act, Fire Prevention Act and Environmental Prevention Act. Laws can only be promulgated after the upper and lower houses of Congress have deliberated and passed separately. Laws are mandatory and must be enforced.
The second level of regulation. Including: building regulations, building products regulations, workplace health, safety and welfare regulations, building design and management regulations, building health, safety and welfare regulations, etc. Building regulations are drafted by the Ministry of Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs (DETR) or DTLR (National Building Authority) according to the authorization and requirements of the law. After being filed in the National Assembly, it will be approved and promulgated by the Minister of the Ministry. Laws and regulations are as mandatory as laws and must be implemented.
The third level is the technical guide. The current building technical standards include 15 volume: structure, fire protection, environmental protection, energy saving, disability assistance, sanitation, sound insulation, ventilation, heating, drainage, falling prevention, glass installation, opening, cleaning, indoor synthetic wood flooring, basement, etc. The "Technical Guidelines for Building" was drafted by relevant experts organized by the Ministry of Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs, the former national construction authority, and released to the public for public comments. After revision and improvement, it will be approved and promulgated by the minister. Technical standards are generally mandatory, but not unique. As long as there is a more advanced method and it is recognized by the local government, it can really ensure that the construction project can meet the functional requirements stipulated by the building regulations.
The fourth level is the standard. Britain is one of the earliest countries in the world to carry out standardization work. The British Standardization Association has formulated a large number of British standards -BS-Bs. At present, about 3,500-4,500 items are related to engineering construction. Among them, item 1500 belongs to building engineering standards, such as Code for Application of Building Steel Structure (BS449), Code for Application of Wood Structure (BS5268) and Fire Prevention Measures for Building Design, Construction and Use (BS5588). These standards are recommended standards, which are voluntarily adopted by users or agreed in the contract. Once these standards are quoted by building technical standards, the quoted parts or clauses have the same legal status as the technical standards.
V supervision and management of the project by the British government.
The British government's management of large-scale civil engineering projects is mainly reflected in the project establishment stage. The examination and approval is very strict, and projects with a certain scale and great influence can only be approved by the National Assembly. The quality control in the construction process mainly depends on the market mechanism. Those who can undertake the design and construction of large-scale civil engineering are authoritative consulting companies and contractors, and their technology, management, qualification and reputation are reliable. They are also required to provide performance guarantee and engineering insurance, and if necessary, they can entrust a third-party consulting agency to carry out engineering supervision and take charge of technical control. In the process of building design and implementation, builders and developers must obtain building control approval, which is an independent inspection required by building regulations. There are two forms of building control providers, namely "local authorities" and "approved inspectors".
British laws and regulations stipulate strict, clear and specific management and supervision procedures for construction projects, which are mainly realized through four links: planning approval, design (technical) review, construction (quality) inspection and health and safety management.
Management procedures of British construction industry
First, the main steps to carry out construction activities
At each stage of the construction process, as shown in the above figure, different participants perform their respective duties as planned. Details of each step in the figure are as follows:
(1) Scheme conception and project evaluation
Owners, quantity surveyors, architects, engineers, bankers and lawyers all need to participate in this stage. There may be many meetings to discuss some issues. In a word, many specific problems must be solved before the project construction. It is necessary to evaluate the preliminary budget and compare the design schemes. At this stage, it is also necessary to report to the government's planning Committee to understand the requirements of various laws and regulations and the opinions of the planning department on the proposed project.
(2) Design (preliminary design, technical design)
The architect designated by the owner shall conduct the feasibility study of the project, and design according to the scheme put forward by the owner and the requirements of the proposed project such as function, cost, quality and time limit for a project.
After the project evaluation stage is over, the preliminary design stage is started. According to the technical specifications of the preliminary design drawings, the quantity surveyor prepares the bill of quantities (BOQ). The architect reviews the preliminary design documents and budget, and all preliminary design documents are submitted to the owner for approval.
Usually, owners and architects will make some modifications to these documents. Once the preliminary design is determined, the final technical design stage begins, and the technical design documents are more detailed and time-consuming. The bill of quantities will be more detailed and accurate because the architectural and engineering structure drawings determine the scope of the project. The estimator (or planning engineer) will prepare the construction progress plan, which should reflect the reasonable time required for project implementation.
(3) Preparation of bidding contract documents
The owner's consulting engineers (architects, engineers and quantity surveyors) are responsible for selecting the contract type suitable for this project according to the construction cost, construction period and general market conditions. Then the corresponding contract documents are compiled, and the appropriate contractor is selected to implement the contracted project through bidding.
(4) Bidding and Budgeting Distribute the prepared bidding documents or contract documents to the selected contractors through various bidding methods such as open bidding or invitation bidding; The contractor's estimator prepares the quotation according to the bill of quantities so that the contractor can bid.
In Britain, most contractors will subcontract most of the contents of the project to various professional subcontractors during the project implementation. These subcontractors are generally involved from the time of bidding, and some are subcontractors designated by the owner. After obtaining the tender documents, if the contractor intends to subcontract the project, he will submit the relevant tender drawings and bill of quantities to the relevant subcontractors (generally at least three subcontractors he thinks are qualified), and the subcontractors will make quotations; According to the subcontractor's quotation, the contractor determines which subcontractor's quotation is the lowest as the basis of the contractor's quotation. The contractor's appraiser will summarize the works carried out by himself and the quotations of subcontractors for each part, and add the corresponding profits, management fees and related miscellaneous fees as the basis for his bidding quotation to the owner.
(5) architecture
The successful contractor shall carry out the construction according to the design drawings and technical specifications provided by the owner. In the process of construction, the contractor's project manager and project team members should work closely with the owner and his architects, engineers and quantity surveyors; In the process of construction, we should also coordinate the relationship with subcontractors and suppliers.
(6) Delivery for use
After the project is completed, it will be immediately handed over to the owner for acceptance, and the owner's architect agent will verify whether the performance of the building and its service facilities has reached the owner's expected goal. At the same time, the architect is responsible for providing necessary guidance on how to maintain the architect in the future, and delivering all building, electrical, water supply and drainage service facilities and all completed drawings to the owner.
Second, the main participants in each stage of the construction process
History and present situation of engineering cost management in Britain
I. Historical evolution
It is difficult to see the concept of project cost management in the field of architecture in Britain and even Commonwealth countries. The technical term in Britain is quantity measurement. The measurement of engineering quantity is basically consistent with the content of project cost management in China. The measurement of quantity in Britain has a long history, which can be traced back to16th century and has a history of 400 years. Modern engineering quantity measurement began in18th century (after 1700). The reasons for the change of measurement after construction can make the construction cost determined before installation, which is a great progress in the construction industry and an important step towards the modern bidding system.
Second, the current situation of project cost management in Britain
Britain, like other western countries, has different engineering cost management methods for government-invested projects and private-invested projects according to different sources of investment in construction projects. But there are still some common practices between the two.
Public projects invested by the government must implement unified design standards and investment indicators, and quantity surveyors should assist architects in accounting and supervision. For private investment projects, the government will not interfere in the construction of private investment projects without violating national laws and regulations. Since the British government has no uniform pricing standard, the price is determined by the market. Investors generally entrust intermediaries to make necessary adjustments by using the data of similar projects and recent prices and related indicators, and determine the investment estimate as the cost limit for controlling design, bidding and construction.
The project cost management in Britain runs through the whole process of project construction, including project establishment, design, bidding and signing, and settlement of construction process.
1, project stage
Whether the proposed project is necessary depends on technical and economic investigation, analysis and demonstration, overall planning and feasibility study report. Quantity surveyors participate in investigation, analysis and demonstration, collect information at the same time, prepare investment estimates, and provide decisions for the government or owners. Once the investment amount is approved or confirmed, it is the maximum investment amount of the project, and the quantity engineer takes this as the cost control goal.
2. Design stage
Designers, engineers and quantity surveyors jointly conduct technical and economic analysis and demonstration on the design scheme (including preliminary design and technical design), optimize and coordinate related disciplines, and avoid design changes during construction. With the deepening of the work, the cost of the project is becoming more and more accurate, but it cannot exceed the cost limit.
3. Contract stage
After the design and budget review, it is confirmed that the design and budget do not exceed the established construction scale and cost limit before bidding can be carried out. Quantity surveyor shall prepare tender documents, pre-tender estimate and contract documents.
4. Construction stage
After winning the bid, the construction enterprise should prepare the construction design according to the actual situation of the project and its own conditions, so as to give full play to its professional and technical expertise and facilitate the construction. The quantity engineer hired by the owner confirms the project settlement amount and control appropriation according to the project progress during the construction process, and adjusts the project budget according to the project change. The contractor's quantity engineer not only participates in the project adjustment, site investigation, preparation of quotation and bidding documents according to the bidding documents, but also directly participates in the project management during the construction process, provides the supply plan of labor materials and construction machinery according to the construction progress, counts the completed quantities every month or week, puts forward the project settlement funds, and puts forward the final accounts after the completion acceptance. It is necessary to strictly control the expenditure of all aspects of the project cost to ensure that the expected profit is realized within the cost of winning the bid.
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