The fee tendering and service quality issue revisited

Purpose - It is a little over twenty years since mandatory fee scales were abolished by UK professional bodies. During this period fee levels have fluctuated with economic demand, and new procurement strategies such as partnering have been developed, but there is still a widespread view in industry, that fee levels are too low. This view is shared by many professionals, and perhaps more surprisingly by clients, even in the current construction and property boom. The research reported in this paper investigates the link between competitive fee tendering and clients’ perceptions of service quality in the UK Property Industry. The main hypothesis is that there is a causal relationship between service quality and the method of appointment of the professional. Design/methodology/approach - The research involved unstructured interviews with clients and professionals and a postal questionnaire study of one hundred and thirty three UK based clients. The questionnaire study was a repeat of a similar survey conducted eight years previously in very different economic conditions. The public and private sector clients each assessed the service quality received from a professional using a measurement scale developed from the generic service industry instrument SERVQUAL. The scale is used to test the main hypothesis and four sub-hypotheses. There were twice as many private sector clients completing the questionnaires as there were public sector clients and the largest group of professionals assessed were General Practice Chartered Surveyors. Findings - The results of the recent study are similar to the earlier one (in that evidence of the predicted relationship is not provided by the data) but there are some interesting differences in the results of both studies – fee tendering has declined in popularity, direct appointment has increased, but less than 5% of the commissions were let on a partnered basis. Practical implications – Property managers and other professionals

Condition inspections of residential property: a procedural framework

Presents a procedural framework for the inspection of domestic property. A mechanistic task, such as sketching the site plan and roof plan, is advocated in order to achieve focus, familiarity and freedom to undertake the inspection alone. An inspection of the exterior followed by the interior is recommended and a “top-down” procedure is suggested. The type of information to record and how to record it are both discussed and reference is made to the existing and forthcoming benchmark standards of SAVA

Using video in the construction technology classroom: encouraging active learning

During the last fifteen years the use of video in the classroom at all levels of education has increased while at the same time most research into educational technology has concentrated on personal computers and the internet. Consequently there is a lack of research into how video is used in teaching at a time when it is one of the most used technologies. What research has been carried out (mainly in the medical education domain) has generally found video to be effective in promoting student learning and that students are receptive to its use. However it is necessary to ensure that students engage in active (rather than passive) viewing. This paper reports the authors’ experience of using the materials produced by the Video Project at the University of West of England (UWE) in teaching Level 1 domestic scale construction technology at Anglia Ruskin University. The research is concerned with how the videos may best be used in the lecture theatre. Data, collected by questionnaire from over 200 students largely support the authors’ approach of using a short but carefully focused quiz as an ‘orienting activity’ to encourage ‘active learning’. Feedback of the quiz results can then be used as the means by which further detail and reinforcement of key points is provided

RICS education reform and building surveying : the employers\u27 view

This paper presents the second part of research funded by the RICS Education Trust to investigate the impact of the 2001 education reforms on building surveying. The research involved the collection of data from large national, mainly London-based, employers of building surveyors. Issues of concern to these employers include the extent of construction technology knowledge of graduates, the delivery of contract administration, the placement year, post-graduate conversion courses and the high referral rate for the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). Recommendations include advice to universities on the design of building surveying undergraduate and conversion courses, a call for further research on the high APC referral rate and greater liaison between industry and universities.<br /

The portable test equipment being used for commercial building surveys

Presents an early publication of the results of an RICS Research Foundation Education Trust funded project to investigate the use of modern non-destructive test equipment during surveys. Discusses the data collection and analysis phases in detail followed by the presentation of the preliminary findings of a national postal questionnaire survey of 143 building surveying practices. Stays confined to a discussion on the largest data set – equipment used for commercial and industrial surveys. New technology has made some impact in that more surveyors are using digital cameras and electronic measurement aids but little use is being made of portable materials testing equipment. The results have indicated that there are increasing trends in the use of endoscopes, some environmental measuring aids, metal detectors and electrical installation testing by surveyors

Learning building pathology using computers - evaluation of a prototype application

Building Surveying employers are requiring graduates with a high level of cognitive and experiential skills to enable them to survey buildings directly after graduation with little or no supervision. These skills have traditionally been built up over many years through on the job training. This has led to a change in thinking for educators as providing this type of graduate requires learning and training material that is time consuming and costly to provide, as it requires learners to be actively involved in real surveying tasks. One method that appears to solve some of these problems is computer-aided-learning (CAL). CAL can be defined as, “…a way of presenting educational material to a learner by means of computer program which gives the opportunity for individual interaction.” The full potential of CAL tools in the building-surveying domain has yet to be fully explored. This paper presents the results of a prototype application developed to enable inexperienced surveyors to learn building pathology without leaving their desktops

The role of the surveying profession in reducing carbon emissions of existing office stock in the Melbourne CBD

As professionals, surveyors and property professionals are in the front line and have a moral and ethical duty to take a lead when advising clients appropriately on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their buildings. As such, surveying professionals and the profession must increase their knowledge base and enhance their skills in respect of built environment sustainability. This research conducted a detailed analysis of energy efficiency in the Melbourne CBD office stock and examined all office buildings to identify what was likely to happen between 2005 and 2020 in respect of carbon emissions. The research profiled a business-as-usual or no change approach, a minor change approach, an intermediate approach, and a major change approach. The study examined variables such as building size, number of employees, occupancy levels, visual appearance and age. After modelling all CBD office buildings, it was recommended that an intermediate change scenario should be adopted. This course of action incorporates a transition period and includes increasing &lsquo;green power&rsquo;, increasing the number of employees per buildings, as well as reducing electricity and gas consumption. It was concluded that the surveying profession should adopt a proactive stance towards office buildings and climate change, which is currently being stifled by barriers such as a lack of education and perception concerning the long-term benefits of energy efficient office buildings. To date there has been much debate and promotion of policies to encourage the uptake of sustainability practices within the property sector; however, this research concludes that action is needed if targets are to be met.<br /

The impact of competitive fee tendering on construction professional service quality

It is less than fifteen years since the associations representing constructionprofessionals in the UK surrendered to Government pressure, and abolishedmandatory fee scales, predicting as they did so that abolition would inevitablylead to a decline in the standard of service provided to clients. Competitivefee tendering is now the principal route for the appointment of constructionprofessionals in the UK and during the recent recession, fee levels fell tounprecedented low levels. The main aim of this research project is toascertain whether fee tendering has led to a decline in service quality.The research commences with a literature review of professional services ina construction industry context. The framework for the review is the threestage consumer behaviour model and the variables identified by the literaturesearch are then developed into a process model. The model is underpinnedby the important variables to be investigated - the method of appointment andclients' perceptions of service quality. A literature review of these subjectsleads to the development of one main hypothesis (that clients' perceptions ofservice quality are lower for fee tendered appointments) and four subhypotheses.The hypotheses are tested by the analysis of data arising from theassessment of 244 professional consultants by their clients. The mainresearch instrument is a measurement scale developed by comparing fourprevious studies, with the much used SERVQUAL scale (Parasuraman,Zeithami and Berry, 1991), providing the main foundation of the scale.The data do not support the main hypothesis - either for the entire clientsample or for public sector clients only. However the hypotheses that servicequality is higher when care is taken with the pre-selection of tenderers andwhen adequate weighting has been given to ability, are supported. The thesisconcludes with implications for the professions and for clients, and withrecommendations for further research