All Mandatory Flashcards
What is a balance sheet?
- A balance sheet is a statement showing a business’s financial position at a point in time.
- It shows a business’s assets and liabilities at a given date, usually at the end of a financial year.
What is a profit and loss account?
- A summary of a business’s income and expenditure transactions usually prepared on an annual basis.
- P&L Accounts demonstrate how the revenue is transformed into the net income - how the actual income the business receives transfers into profit for the year.
Can you name a finance regulation?
• Finance Act 2020 – looks at business taxes
• Companies Act 2006- Simplify company law – keep up to date records, inform changes to directors
Schedule 15
How is TfL Funded?
- Fares income
- Commercial activity, congestion charge
- Grants
- Borrowing and cash reserves
What are Generally Accepted Accounting Principles? - (GAAP)
Refer to a common set of accepted accounting principles, standards, and procedures that companies and their accountants must follow
What is an accrual?
Using the accrual method, an accountant makes adjustments for revenue that has been earned but is not yet recorded
What is a prepayment?
Something paid for in advance, record money leaving as prepayment then charge to when the item is received.
What is the CDM regulations 2015?
Construction design management regulations 2015 are intended to ensure health and safety issues are properly considered during a project’s development so that the risk of harm to those who have to build, use and maintain structures is reduced.
Who are the other duty holders under the CDM regulations?
- Clients
- Principle Designer
- Designers
- Principal contractors
- Contractors
- Workers.
What is covered in RICS Guidance surveying safely?
- Personal and Corporate responsibilities.
- Legal duties.
- Occupational Health
- Procurement
- Hazards and risks.
- Site visits
What are the requirements for a project to be notified to the HSE?
- Over 500 person days or
* Last longer than 30 working days and over 20 operatives on site at any one time.
What is a designers duties under the CDM Regulations?
- Ensuring they have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience.
- Not commencing work unless they are satisfied that the client is aware of their duties under the regulations.
- Cooperating with others involved with the project or any project on an adjoining site.
What is the Health and safety at work act 1974?
- The Primary piece of legislations covering occupational health and safety in the UK.
- Lays down wide-ranging duties on employers. Employers must protect the ‘health, safety and welfare’ at work of all their employees
- Failure to comply with the act is a criminal offence
- All health and safety regulations fall under this act.
On your project described within your case study, what measures did you or your company take to ensure good standards of Health and Safety where adhered to when undertaking work?
- All meetings start with a ‘safety moment’
- Reporting system for incidents
- Reporting on near misses
- Always discuss current H&S of site in each meeting
- Zero harm initiative
What is the Health and Safety Executive?
The HSE carry out inspections and investigations into breaches of H and S. They take enforcement action to prevent harm and hold those who break the law to account
What is COSHH?
Control of substances hazardous to health is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health.
What is RIDDOR?
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
Deaths, fracture, burns, when 7 days or more off
report diseases, gas incidents
What should you do if attending a derelict site by yourself?
- Carry out a pre-assessment of the likely hazards on the site.
- Consider how you are going to travel to and from the site.
- Take the appropriate PPE
- Tell others you are going to site and the likely time you will return.
- Assess the condition of the site, if unsafe do not enter.
- Assess if the site is occupied, if so you may have to inform them of your visit.
- Is there the likeliness of any Dangerous substances, COSHH etc.
- Only enter if there is no risk to your safety and wellbeing.
What did you do when discovered asbestos?
- Stop work in area
- Does the work really need to completing?
- Cordon area off
- Record in asbestos register
- Use specialist asbestos contractors to remove
What regulation covers asbestos?
• Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
What are the stages of a negotiation process?
- Preparation
- Opening/exchange
- Bargaining
- Closure/commitment
Talk me through a negotiation you had and the outcome?
On Highbury corner gyratory
Disagreement in the quantity of an items on an estimate
- Prepare – what would I be happy with get authority
- Information - evidence to support your case
- Exchange – compare information
- Bargain – find agreeable outcomes
- Conclude
- Execute – sign agreement
Do you know of any theory on negotiation? Explain it
The Thomas and Kilman approach:
To take a more people approach to disputes, with 5 types of responses:
- Compete - whereby you pursue your own interests.
- Accommodate - whereby you satisfy the other parties interests.
- Avoid - whereby you try to avoid the conflict all together.
- Collaborate - whereby you reach and agreement to satisfy both parties.
- Compromise - whereby you reach a mutually agreeable solution for both parties.
What is a business planning?
A document that defines the business objectives and suggests strategies to be undertaken to realise how this will be achieved within a defined time frame.
How do you contribute to TfL’s business plan?
Set my own objectives that feed into the commercial objectives that fit into the wider business plan
What areas would be included in a public sector business plan?
Mayors business strategy
Financial Case - Affordability
Economic Case - Value for money
Management Case - Deliverability
Strategic Case - The case for change
Commercial Case - Commercial viability
Once you are chartered surveyor and decide to set up a business, what insurances should you have in place?
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Public liability Insurance – protect employees and customers
- Employers liability insurance
- Property Insurance
What are the methods for financial benchmarking?
Benchmarking is a process of assessing your current performance against a peer group of organisations of comparable scale and complexity
Name some financial ratios
- Profitability / Return on investment
- Liquidity ratios - ability to pay its current obligations.
- Leverage ratios - dependency upon borrowing to finance its operations
What forecasting techniques are there?
- The Delphi Technique - group of field experts responds to a series of questionnaires.
- The Subjective Forecasting Approach - Subjective forecasting
What is the adjudication? What is the process?
Statutory dispute resolution
Binding unless appealed to litigation or arbitration
- Notification of Adjudication from one party to another.
- Appoint the adjudicator (7 days)
- Decision within 28 days. (This can be extended to 42 days)
- Award costs, only if parties agree to grant him this power.
Name the non-formal types of ADR?
- Facilitation – neutral party helps negotiation
- Mediation – helps to point out differences to agree issues
- Negotiation – Parties try to come to an agreement
Give me an example of how you would avoid a conflict?
- Quality Check to Contract Information and Works Information
- Supplier management
- Good project management
How can we avoid conflict post contract?
- Proper administration of the Contract
- Highlight issues early
- Keep up to date, logically correct programmes
What are the three pillars of sustainability?
- Environmental – Carbon footprint, waste, water usage
- Social Pillar- Employees, stakeholders, community
- Economic – proper governance and risk management
What is the RICS doing about Covid19?
- Section on the RICS website
- Assessments by skype
- Free training and CPD
- Advice for professions to return to work
- Providing research on Covid-19 (for eg. rethinking city centre living and reopening for businesses)
How has Covid 19 affected the construction industry?
- Before government action, delays due to sickness or self-isolation
- Only essential utilities connections
- Slowing projects down,causing delay and disruption
- Supply chains disrupted - many suppliers stopped manufacturing completely
- Many overseas supplies have stopped
- Many projects have
even stopped, usually with the intention to resume work at a later date. - Redundancies are being made
- Clients pulling out of work
- Many staff been furloughed.
What is Client Care?
The process of identifying client behaviours appropriate to establishing good relationships and managing this relationship
What guidance does RICS publish on Client Care?
- Complaints Handling
* Client Money Handling
What do you think the principles of client care are?
- Understand the client’s objectives;
- Understand the client’s scope
- Establishing communication
- Being professional
How does a Complaints Handling Procedure work at TfL?
- Complaints are directed to the Quality Assurance Officer, who will log the complaint in the Complaint Log.
- Timescale for redress is put in place.
- Resolution offered to complainant.
- Third party for escalation
- Learn from mistakes
What else does RICS publish relating to PI Insurance?
- List of approved brokers.
- Minimum wording policy.
- Black Book, Construction Insurance.
What are KPIs?
KPIs are a means to help with the rapid comprehension of the current financial position. KPIs summarise the comparison of figures against the budgeted values and also industry benchmarks that are published from the result of inter-firm comparison reports
When should you inform the RICS of a complaint?
When the internal redress has not worked. PI insurer should be notified when complaint is received or PI insurance could be invalid.
What is data?
Data is defined as facts or figures, or information that’s stored in or used by a computer
What is GDPR?
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018
The GDPR is the new EU regulation covering people’s personal data. Companies covered by the GDPR are accountable for their handling of people’s personal information.
How does GDPR effect your business?
TfL must abide to the new GDPR rules Knowledge of what data you hold Where it is stored? What it is used for? Managed appropriately Not kept where not needed
What are the aims and benefits of GDPR?
GDPR was designed to give the public more say over which organisations have access to their data and what they do with it. GDPR will apply to personal data.
Covering: Its purpose accuracy Storage limitation integrity of data accountability
What is meant by penalties regarding GDPR?
Organisations in breach of GDPR can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 million (whichever is greater). This is the maximum fine that can be imposed for the most serious infringements
What should you do if you receive a freedom of information act?
You normally have 20 working days to respond to a request.
n organisation could refuse your request if the information is sensitive or the costs are too high
What is Business Management System
Business Management System (BMS) is a set of tools for strategic planning and tactical implementation of policies, practices, guidelines, processes and procedures
What legislation dictates the storage and sharing of information?
Data Protection act 2018
What is the Data Protection Act?
The Data Protection Act 2018 is the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Everyone responsible for using personal data has to follow strict rules called ‘data protection principles’. They must make sure the information is: used fairly, lawfully and transparently.
How is the GDPR relevant to the construction industry?
Companies should employ a data protection officer, make sure they comply with all the data protection policy and be clear and transparent when talking about data.
What makes a good team member?
- Listening to other people’s ideas
- Discussing with team members and encouraging them to interact
- Respecting others and their ideas
What are the benefits of team working?
- Improved productivity
- Improved quality
- Improved customer focus.
What are the benefits of a diverse workforce?
- Will bring different ideas and new ways of thinking to the table.
- Members of staff that come from a range of backgrounds will have had different experiences
What is the Tuckman model?
- Forming – team not together yet
- Storming – understanding each other
- Norming – overcome issues
- Performing – perform at best
What is protected under the Equality Act 2010?
Under the Equality Act, there are nine protected characteristics: • age. • disability. • gender reassignment. • marriage and civil partnership. • pregnancy and maternity. • race. • religion or belief. • sex.
What are the three pillars of sustainability?
- Environmental – Carbon footprint, waste, water usage
- Social Pillar- Employees, stakeholders, community
- Economic – proper governance and risk management
What can be done onsite to improve sustainability?
- Waste Management, i.e. the segregation of waste for recycling.
- Sourcing local services to reduce carbon footprint.
- Efficiently using onsite machinery.
What renewable technologies do you know off?
- Wind = Wind Farms (Wind Turbines).
- Hydro Electric = Water from dams.
- Solar = Poly voltaic Panels and solar panels.
- Ground = Ground Source heat pumps.
What is TfL doing to help the environment?
Introduce the congestion charge zone and ULEZ.
Cycle super highways to reduce transport usage.
Hydrogen buses
Do you know any international regulation for new buildings?
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), life cycle assessment. Sets best practice for environmental performance of buildings.
Applies to new and refurbished building
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) same as BREEAM ony USA equivalent.
SKA ratings - more for office fit outs, rics environmental assessment method.
How can material resource efficiency be achieved within the supply chain?
Efficiency in procurement
Supply Chain Analysis - Supply chain analysis involves reviewing the upstream and downstream processes in a category’s supply chain in order to better understand the flow of goods, information and money
How have you implemented sustainability?
Implemented responsible procurement within elephant and castle tender
Requirements for tenderer to fulfil below criteria.
• Supplier diversity
• Equality and diversity
• Fair employment
• Ethical sourcing
How can design, technology and construction processes contribute to sustainable buildings?
- Reduce maintenance
- Use less water
- Better insulated
- Less wastage
- Greener materials
- Green technologies
How will brexit affect the industry?
Less EU workers (1/3 of London construction workers)
Supply of materials may be affected by delays, tariffs and taxes
Potential for less foreign investment
What are the contractual provisions under NEC3 regarding Covid-19?
Depends if Covid -19 id considered force mijore event – NEC3 clause 19.1 Prevention – events that could not have been foreseen
What changes have occurred since 2020 regarding PII?
A restriction in availability as a result of a 2018 Lloyds of London review
How do you think procurement routes may change due to Covid-19?
Contract amendments to include risk transfer due to covid 19
What is the main element of the Hackitt review (Grenfell tower)?
- Introduces responsible person role to act as a building manager for fire safety (additional prelims)
- Better change control
- Material and product testing improvement
What dispute resolution is CAP?
Early Neutral Evaluation - independent impartial evaluator is appointed to assess cases - Non binding
What makes up a fee proposal?
Summary of scope clients needs Project Issues Benefits for client Conditions of engagement
What would you consider to select a form of dispute resolution?
the value of the dispute
timescales to resolve
impact on relationships
What is conciliation?
Similar to mediation
independent party
do not make decisions
encourages both parties to reach an agreement
What is the difference between mediation and conciliation?
Similar structure but conciliator is normally a figure of authority and makes suggestions where the mediator encourages parties to find agreement
Difference between arbitration and adjudication?
Both formal dispute resolution
Arbitration - both sides must agree, legally binding, greater legal powers - order costs
Adjudication - one party can enforce on other as its a right under Housing grants contraction and regeneration act. Binding, cant award costs.
Difference between arbitration and litigation?
Arbitration: non court - both parties must agree, similar to litigation in legal process, private process
Litigation: court process - public process, court decides, can be more expensive, judge decision is final
What is the Tech and Construction court?
Handle disputes in construction - challenge arbitrators decisions
What would be included in a construction phase plan or a H&S file or F10?
Project description How the work will be managed How site risks will be managed H&S proposals Any hazards on site Dates of work and people on site
How is data managed at TfL?
Secure storage
Backed up
Secure data sharing
systems such as asite, shared folders, SAP
What regulations cover the construction industrys approach to sustainabiltiy?
Building regulations - Part L
BREAM
Energy Performance Certificate
What is the purpose of the site waste management plans?
Apply from 2008 onwards projects over 300k,
Contractor taking steps to minimize waster
What legislation do you know on sustainability?
Landfill tax
Climate Change Levy - tax on energy used to promote energy efficiency
