Construction Surveying - Professional Status of Construction Surveyors

Professional Status of Construction Surveyors

Building Surveying emerged in the 1970s as a profession in the United Kingdom by a group of technically minded General Practice Surveyors. Building Surveying is a recognized profession within Britain and Australia. In Australia in particular, due to risk mitigation/limitation factors the employment of surveyors at all levels of the construction industry is widespread. There are still many countries where it is not widely recognized as a profession. The Services that Building Surveyors undertake are broad but include:

• Construction design and building works
• Project Management and monitoring
• CDM Co-ordinator under the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007
• Property Legislation adviser
• Insurance assessment and claims assistance
• Defect investigation and maintenance adviser
• Building Surveys and measured surveys
• Handling Planning applications
• Building Inspection to ensure compliance with building regulations
• Undertaking pre-acquisition surveys
• Negotiating dilapidations claims

Building Surveyors also advise on many aspects of construction including:

• design
• maintenance
• repair
• refurbishment
• restoration

Clients of a building surveyor can be the public sector, Local Authorities, Government Departments as well as private sector organisations and work closely with architects, planners, homeowners and tenants groups. Building Surveyors may also be called to act as an expert witness. It is usual for building surveyors to undertake an accredited degree qualification before undertaking structured training to become a member of a professional organisation. For Chartered Building Surveyors, these courses are accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Other professional organisations that have building surveyor members include CIOB, ABE, HKIS and RICS.

With the enlargement of the European community, the profession of the Chartered Building Surveyor is becoming more widely known in other European states, particularly France. Chartered Building Surveyors, where many English speaking people buy second homes.