Monitoring project risks

Surveyors have traditionally been employed by banks and financial institutions to monitor building projects with the primary focus given to costs and the works valuation process.

Many of these institutions now realise the benefit of having a Building Surveyor as their Monitoring Surveyor whose experiences and skills mean the Surveyor is able to look beyond financial issues, for example, by carrying out checks on other non-fiscal project risks such as: 

Whether developments comply with modern industry standards for tenants and institutions  Checking rights of neighbouring land owners  Does the property comply with standards required by most commercial tenants and institutional funds?  Has appropriate surveys, environmental and geotechnical assessments been reported on land earmarked for development?  Is the development fully designed and specified in accordance with all local and national regulations?  Any party wall or rights of light issues?  Have all necessary statutory Planning, Building Regulations and environmental approvals been obtained and are there any onerous condition requirements? 

The Monitoring Surveyor does not have any direct or contractual control over the project design team or contractors, but can be a useful trouble-shooter on a project by pointing out potential problems and suggesting feasible solutions.

By having a Surveyor involved in all development stages from the earliest opportunity is invaluable, as it provides protection against the scheme being designed down to increase developer’s profits at the client’s expense. This is especially important in a market where there is an increasing trend to use design and build contract procurement methods by developers. 

Building Surveyors are able to provide value added services and we believe these are enhanced in the development process as Trevor Dawson Commercial Property Consultants are able to bring in other in-house specialisms such as planning, valuation and agency advice when necessary. Project monitoring is pro-active in that potential problems are foreseen and solutions found that ease their impact, thus helping the potential of the development to be achieved and money to be saved.