Services
Commercial Management
COVA Group provides quantity surveying and cost management across Australia and Southeast Asia, from first estimate to final account: cost planning, procurement advice and contract administration that keep the project to its number.
COVA's quantity surveying team is RICS certified. We quantify and estimate from BIM using CostX and Cubicost, and negotiate and administer contracts under FIDIC, NEC, AS, SIA and AIA forms.
Contract administration is done on the owner's behalf: firm on the contract, respectful of the contractor, with claims assessed on evidence and the final account closed properly. 103 projects featured on this site carry a quantity surveying or contract management scope.
What's included
Commercial Management services
Commercial Management
Regulated by RICS.
- Cost estimating
- Life cycle costing
- Quantification and estimation from BIM using CostX and Cubicost software
- Value engineering recommendations
- Procurement strategy and contractor pre-qualification
- Contract negotiation and administration (FIDIC, NEC, AS, SIA, AIA)
- Commercial management of construction works
- Final account
- Construction dispute resolution
In detail
What each service covers
From the first schematic estimate to the final account, one COVA commercial team keeps the project to its number - RICS-certified quantity surveying with a dedicated lead surveyor for each discipline, from structure and architecture to facade and MEP, working to the same programme as the designers and project managers.
Cost planning through design
A comprehensive estimate at every design stage - schematic, design development and construction documents - so cost is controlled through each phase of drawing development. The estimating assumptions are drafted as a list, circulated to the designers for comment and updated with their feedback: what the drawings show, what the scope requires but doesn't show yet, and what experience says will very likely be needed.
Measured to outturn prices, not today's
Quantities are measured and market unit rates applied line by line, with rate allowances only where the design is still early. Each works package carries a view on tender-return trends and an inflation factor to its assumed tender date - so the owner sees outturn prices. A scope review meeting walks the design team through every line item before each cost plan is formally issued.
Value engineering and design-change control
Design alternatives, construction systems and equipment selections are proactively costed so the owner can choose the most cost-effective options while the design is still moving. The cost plan is updated with every design change, making the cost impact visible to the designers and the owner immediately - and where early cost plans show over-runs, value engineering solutions are advised to mitigate them.
Bills of quantities
Detailed bills of quantities produced to a consistent practice standard on CostX, against a tender-drawing programme with agreed freeze dates so the tender documents match what is measured. The completed bill is priced out for a pre-tender estimate and fully reconciled, with an audit trail describing each design change and its net cost effect - and bulk-check reviews ensuring everything on the drawings is measured.
Procurement and tendering
Prequalification of contractors on financial capability and - more importantly - their ability to deliver the project; a procurement strategy report advising on tendering methods; comments on the owner's form of contract for compatibility with local legislation; and tender documentation review, tender interviews and final tender reports with clear recommendations. The owner decides; COVA makes the decision an informed one.
Long-lead items flagged early
Early preparation of the procurement schedule identifies long-lead plant - transformers, generator sets, chillers - so orders are placed and deliveries land in time, not on the critical path.
Post-contract cost control
Monthly valuations, cost estimates for potential variations and design changes, a monthly cost report in the format the owner agrees, and the proper closing of final accounts.
Local market knowledge
COVA's quantity surveyors have been present in Asia for more than 25 years, with deep knowledge of local rates and construction practices - and the same discipline runs across the Australian practice. Estimates are grounded in the markets the projects are actually built in.
FAQs