A quantity surveying expert witness brings the discipline and methodology of professional quantity surveying to bear on the issues in dispute. The fundamentals are familiar to any chartered quantity surveyor: measurement in accordance with the applicable rules, valuation in accordance with the contract, and the careful reconciliation of the contemporaneous records. What distinguishes the expert role is the application of those fundamentals in an independent, impartial and tribunal-facing manner.
On a typical UAE construction dispute, the quantity surveying expert may be asked to address a wide range of issues. These include the valuation of variations issued under the contract, the proper measurement and valuation of the works actually executed, the assessment of interim and final account positions, the treatment of provisional sums and prime cost items, the application of contract rates and the derivation of fair valuation rates where contract rates do not apply, and the verification of the contractor's substantiation of cost.
The expert's starting point is always the contract. FIDIC Red, Yellow and Silver Books each contain detailed provisions on measurement, valuation and payment that govern the quantity surveying issues in dispute. Bespoke amendments to those books are common in the UAE and GCC, and a careful reading of the executed contract is essential before any view is formed on entitlement. An expert who proceeds on the basis of the unamended FIDIC text where significant amendments have been made will rapidly lose credibility.
The expert must also be familiar with the applicable measurement rules. On Middle Eastern projects, measurement is commonly carried out in accordance with POMI, CESMM, NRM2, SMM7 or a bespoke method of measurement set out in the contract. The choice of measurement rules has a direct impact on the quantities to be measured, the items to be priced separately, and the items to be deemed included in the rates. A misunderstanding of the measurement rules can lead to substantial errors in the valuation.
The reconciliation of contemporaneous records is an essential part of any quantity surveying expert exercise. The expert must work from the project records — drawings, instructions, daywork sheets, allocation sheets, payment certificates, correspondence — and verify that the figures relied on in the claim are properly supported by the documents. Where the records are incomplete or inconsistent, the expert must explain how that has been addressed in the analysis, and what assumptions have been made in the absence of full information.
Independence is the cornerstone of the expert role. The expert is not a hired gun. Where the records do not support the claim, the expert must say so. Where the contract does not entitle the party to the relief claimed, the expert must say so. An expert who cannot accept that some part of the opposing case has merit is of limited use to the tribunal and of limited use to the instructing party.
Our quantity surveying experts at Construction Expert Witness are chartered members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors with extensive experience of acting as expert witnesses in arbitration and litigation across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. We provide clear, well-evidenced expert reports and oral testimony that meet the highest professional and procedural standards.