interview mock questions Flashcards
Name prelims for cost of running a site
staff salaries, travel costs i.e. fuel, temp accomadation, site canteen, gas water electricity, office consumables and stationery, hoists/pumps/cranes, scaffolding, insurances
how to measure labour for loss and expense
loss and expense could be associated with becoming familiar with an unexpected or unplanned task or something not envisaged in the planned programme. can be measured by mile approach where you compare the value of work output. produced in a non impacted period to that of an impacted period
is interest charged on loss and expense claims
yes 5% under JCT db per annum above the dealing rate of bank of england
how did you find out what operation and maintenance costs were for the ve elements
on my project I undertook this by asking subcontractors for costs and predictions but that’s the limitation of life cycle costing its based on projections of what these costs could be. Also asking the client if they have previously used the product and its implications.
how did you cost programme savings with VE.
so we looked at typical possession of labour cost materials and we estimated the difference in initial cost (construction costs), including any changes in construction methods and if we needed to work on weekends.
why would a qs use cashflow and what does it mean if interim valuations are ahead/behind cashflow
QS uses cashflow to monitor the progress of the works on site against the agreed programme. if interim valuations are ahead this signifies works are ahead of programme. if behind then works are behind. contractor can use cashflow forecast to support claim of loss and expense, it will show they were on there intended programme up until a relevant event caused them to slip behind
who else would want to view cashflow?
banks. local authority and other guarantors often fund construction. Any errors in the cashflow forecast could leave the client in a situation where they are unable to meet their liabilities for a certain period.
why is it a s curve
represents the lower level of periodic expenditure at the beginning of a contract (due to site set up and relatively inexpensive enabling works) and the lower level of expenditure at the end of a contract (due to vast majority of materials being on site)
how do you produce values of cashflow
based on programme its important to understand the subcontractors trades and how their package value is spread. i.e looing at big critical activies for example installing first fix m&e and drylining.
an accurate cashflow forecast will have to take account of retention
an accurate cashflow forecast will have to take into account retention. it will mean that there will be a long period between pc and the final cert where the cashflow is static with a final jump at the end which signals the return of the final part of retention
reasons for cashflow being behind?
site conditions/adverse weather resequencing of works/ cashflow not being accurate in the first place.
what potential risks are there to a planned cashflow forecast?
effect of changes in design specifications//effect of inflation//effect of interest and exchange rate (where supplied or labour are being sourced from overseas)
typically why would you need to resequencing works.
recover time due to previous slow progress, late procurement of sc’s , site conditions encountered, adverse weather.
