The Art of Professional Services Excellence in Quantity Surveying and Construction Project Management

Covenant Construction Solutions Ltd (CCS Ltd) “We strive to minimize the cost of your project by enhancing the value for your money”

OUR KEY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Advice on Cost Planning and Financial viability

  • Review of Project execution plans / Drawings
  • Cost Estimating / Pricing Construction works
  • Financial Feasibility Studies
  • Cost Controlling and reporting during pre-contract period
  • Risk Contingency Management
  • Cash Flow Forecasting
  • Value Engineering

Advice on construction Procurement and Construction Contracts

  • Procurement methods /system
  • Measured /Lump Sum / cost plus Contracts.
  • Contract negotiation and contract administration
  • Standard contract forms (RPPA, FIDIC, AfDB, WB etc.)
  • Project Management
  • Procurement advisory role

Arranging the Tendering, bidding, and Contractual documentation

  • Conditions of Contract
  • Tender /Bidding documents
  • Bills of Quantities / Schedule of Rates, etc.
  • Tender Analysis and Reporting
  • Pre-tender cost estimates

Construction Project Management services

  • Preparation/ monitoring of the Work program
  • Material procurement schedule
  • Contract management
  • Project team coordination

Specialized services

  • Construction Dispute resolutions
  • Expert Witness
  • Arbitration
  • Quality Control
  • Property Valuation
  • Insurance valuation & claims
  • Property Management
  • Life cycle costing
  • Value engineering
  • Auditing construction projects

Supplementary services

  • Architectural services
  • Civil/Structural Engineering services
  • Mechanical & Plumbing Engineering services
  • Electrical Engineering services
  • Material Supplies

BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH CCS Ltd

Construction projects usually contain hidden risks, however, at CCS LTD, we proactively manage the project risks including construction costs, contractual relationships, and inherent risks at every stage of the project life cycle.
CCS Ltd always takes this worry out of the client’s hands and makes sure that the financial position of the construction project is accurately reported and effectively controlled. This helps the developers to make more informed decisions in buying and investing with confidence. This further helps the client to ensure that costs do not spiral out of control during design development and project delivery stages.
  OUR VISION
To become the leading firm in Quantity Surveying, Valuation, Engineering and project management services in Rwanda and beyond.
  OUR MISSION
We strive to minimize the cost of a project and enhance the value of your money, while still achieving the required standards and quality through professionalism and teamwork.
 OUR CORE VALUES
Our Professional & Reliable Services are bound to a code of conduct which includes:
  • Integrity
  • Fairness
  • Reliability
  • Commitment
  • Respect
  • Good Reputation

Our Clients

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS RELATED TO VALUATIONS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Several cases were noted in commercial court of Rwanda regarding the valuation reports for uncompleted construction works or final due payment for completed works. In this scenario, property valuation reports prepared by Valuer were presented as opposed to construction valuation reports prepared by Quantity Surveyors which became difficult to the judges to compare the two reports prepared on the same project. In fact,  the term “Valuer” and “Quantity Surveyor”  tend to be confused by many people in the industry  as they are both  professionals in the field of construction, but they have different roles and responsibilities.

A Quantity Surveyor is responsible for the planning and management of   construction costs and construction contracts. Quantity Surveyors efficiently prepare the Bills of Quantities ( BoQs), tender documents and cost estimates for construction projects. They also monitor the project costs, identify areas where savings can be made and ensure that the project is completed within the budget. They are also involved in contract administration, disputes resolution and project management.

On the other hand, a Valuer is responsible for determining the value of a property usually for the purpose of buying, selling or financing the property. Valuers consider a variety of factors such as location of the property, the existing conditions of the property, the market trends etc. Valuers are also involved in the property management, asset valuation and investment advisory services.

A property valuation is generally done through research and calculation based on a number of methods to arrive at a market valuation of the property (land and building). Additionally, a property valuation is usually based on a completed building or a completed Project or land but not one which is still under construction. A property valuation is generally prepared for the purpose of selling and it does not necessarily take into consideration contractual prices.  

On the other hand, the incomplete building / construction facility to be valued for the purpose of payment should be valued on a basis of a contracted price or fair price rather than a market value. This is a Construction Valuation which involves a site measurement and comparison against the construction drawings and specifications as well as an extensive review of the construction contract as performed (up to a particular point in time) to establish the contract value of work completed under that particular contract.  It is different to a property valuation which is based on market rates and prices. A Construction Valuation can be said to therefore take into account the concerns of the contract being valued to yield a more precise form of valuation than any market valuation would. Therefore, if the if the services needed concern the price of construction activities, it is recommended best practice to have an Independent Expert Construction Valuation done by a Construction Valuer or a Professional Quantity Surveyor (not a Property Valuer) and submitted as part of the documents for your case.

There are many reasons justifying why an independent expert construction valuer should be engaged when there is tendency for disputes related to payment of executed works. Unfortunately, many Contractors or project owners in Rwanda have not been advised on the sensitivity of this and are likely to be unaware of the need for an Independent Expert Construction Valuation. When it comes to disputes resolution on the cost such as adjudication, they instead go it alone with a high probability of failure or facing losses.

The following are the main reason of why you should engage an independent expert construction Valuer:

  • It is a legal means of claiming for monies owed or due for payment. In fact, simply saying that someone owes you money and then providing your own calculations of that amount is usually seen as lacking in legal substance (evidence) or enforcement of your claim. You are therefore unlikely to succeed with your claim. However, an independent Expert Construction Valuation report would be treated as an acceptable legal means for evidencing or justifying your payment claim. It is to note that the Adjudicator or an appointed person to assess the claim always looks first and foremost at the credibility (believability) of your claim, consequently, if your Construction Valuation is done by someone not connected to you and in a professional manner, then that will normally get the ball rolling in your favour.
  • The commercial courts do not provide any facility for the judges or adjudicators to use Experts to assist them in making sure their decisions are correct. This is a major short-coming of the system of courts or Adjudication in Rwanda that many Contractors and clients still don’t know about. Judges or Adjudicators unfortunately still have no requirement to be trained in Construction Valuation. They only need to have some form of relevant experience in laws or in the Construction industry to practice as a judge or Adjudicator.

Under disputes resolution process as contained in standard construction contract, any decision made by an adjudicator must be used in any subsequent arbitration for issues related to the same project. This means that any errors in the assessment made by the Adjudicator will go uncorrected in subsequent arbitration (regardless of the Adjudicator chosen), unless you can have the decision reviewed. Therefore, where an Independent Expert Construction Valuation has been done for the works at the time of completion of those construction works and which has been provided to the Adjudicator in the case who may have either ignored or not considered it properly, this can be a compelling (reasoned or convincing) argument for a review of your case. Hence, in absence of an Independent Construction Valuation, it is very difficult to see how a Contractor would be able to justify the need to review the adjudicator’s figure. Therefore, In order to greatly increase your chances of success in any Adjudication, it is recommended best practice to have an Independent Expert Construction Valuation done and submitted as part of the documents for your case.

If you have a significant amount owing/disputed under your contract and are considering going to the adjudication, arbitration, litigation then you will need a Construction Valuation report of the executed works and because it is a legal means of claiming for monies owed, you will need to provide evidence of the money owed to you. Simply saying someone owes you money does not make it so.

An independent Expert Construction Valuation is a means for evidencing that you have done the work your claim has been done and that it is worth the amount you say it is.  An Adjudicator looks first and foremost at the credibility of your claim and if that’s done by someone not connected to you and in a professional manner that will be a major plus in your favour. Remember that Lawyers do not provide valuation services so whilst they can help with the lodgement of your claim; it is up to you to get a proper Construction Valuation to support your claim  (CQSM, 2024).

To do this you should have an Expert Construction Valuation done as close as possible to the date of when payment was due and not received . If you are a Contractor or Subcontractor then the usual trigger for when to obtain an Independent Expert Construction Valuation is when you receive a payment schedule from the Owner/Supervisor  /Engineer/Project manager/Builder advising that your progress claim won’t be paid, or will be “paid–less” than the amount requested in the progress claim. Having an Independent Construction Valuation Expert  will be essential supporting documentation for your case in Adjudication or arbitration , and for further claims you may need to make down the track if the matter is not fully resolved by the Adjudicator.

Remember if you are a Contractor or Subcontractor then you may also need a Construction Valuation to justify your  Loss & Expense Claims for Delay, Disruptions, Variations and other items that you may wish to submit for later on in the contract. So it is a good idea to have this done even if your strategy is not to go to Adjudication but instead to hold-off and submit a Loss & Expense Claim under the contract at a later date. In this case the necessary Loss & Expense schedules are :

(a) easily prepared if they can be based on Independent Construction Valuation Expert and

(b) going to be more convincing than just assertions of what you think has caused the Loss & Expense claim.

Therefore, in order to greatly increase your chances of success in any Adjudication or for later Loss & Expense claims, it is recommended best practice to have an Independent Expert Construction Valuation done and submitted as part of the documents for your case.

Like any other valuation, relevant specifications and construction drawings will be required in order to prepare the valuation, but additionally a written contract evidencing the total price agreed for the works will also need to be in place in order for a construction valuation to be done.

Also as the level of accuracy required for a construction valuation is greater than other forms of valuation, it is essential that all (or the large majority) of the subcontract work packages be let prior to carrying out a construction valuation.

A final requirement is to have photographic/video evidence of the stage of the works reached as at the date of submission of the Application for Payment (AFP) which now needs to be verified by a construction valuation.

These photographs/videos should (as standard contract management procedure) be available for all of the items of work submitted for in the Application for Payment  or at a minimum, for those works expected to be disputed by the client/supervisor /engineer/architect which are now in dispute.

Alternatively if such photographs/videos are not available then you should have a construction valuation prepared as close as possible to the date of submission of the Application for Payment  . Then provided that this can be done (and the works have not progressed significantly since the date of the payment application )the valuation report when done by an independent third party should in most cases be sufficient to evidence the same as what photographs/videos would have, had they been available.