Services
When you work with Cuesko you benefit from our expertise in quantity surveying and construction cost consultancy to drive informed decisions.
Cuesko provides the full range of quantity surveying services, tailored to each client’s needs. Our directors individually and collectively provide a wealth of experience in leading hand-picked teams to deliver optimum service and improved project outcomes. Our people deliver expert pre-contract and post-contract services on some of New Zealand’s most significant construction projects.
Depending on your project and its particular requirements, we tailor both our team and our service to ensure you have accurate, consistent and reliable information – whether that is carefully guiding you through each stage of your project, or simply providing a specific service.
Examples of our quantity surveying services are listed below. With Cuesko you will always have the responsiveness, the detail, and the ‘big picture’ thinking that reliably delivers superior outcomes.
Pre-Contract Services
- Feasibility studies
- Cost estimation
- Peer reviews and parallel estimates
- Target Out-turn Cost validation
- Procurement strategy and contract advice
- Tender documentation
- Tender evaluation / analysis
- Value engineering
- Life-cycle cost analysis
- Pre-condition certification for funders
- Environmental and sustainability cost advice
- Expert cost advice
- Feasibility Modelling & Development Appraisals
Post Contract Services
- Contract administration / Engineer to contract
- Comprehensive financial reporting
- Stakeholder cost allocations
- Payment recommendations
- Cost-to-complete / Out-turn cost forecasts
- Cash-flow forecasting
- Cost audits
- Valuation of variations
- Claims assessment
- Progress certifications for funders
- Commercial and contractual advice
- Expert witness
- Depreciation schedules and asset allocations
With Cuesko you will always have the responsiveness, the detail, and the ‘big picture’ thinking that reliably delivers superior outcomes.
Pre-Contract Services
Feasibility studies
A feasibility study isn’t just about the numbers; it’s about expert understanding of the market – products and materials, planning and consenting, design specifications, tender processes, as well as understanding contractor, supplier and subcontractor appointments.
A feasibility study from Cuesko gives you an accurate foundation on which to build. A robust and independent feasibility study is, in many instances, the only way to secure funding. Equally importantly, feasibility studies identify the opportunities to perform value engineering at an early stage of the project, to maximise value-for-money and improve outcomes.
Early involvement with Cuesko gives you the information and the insight you need. Our focus is to deliver all the information you need, based on our wealth of expertise, to help your team achieve your project’s optimal commercial outcome.
Cost estimation
After the feasibility study, we can produce more in-depth reports, including concept estimates which show the cause and effect of your options for quality, time and cost. Fundamental changes at concept design stage can deliver significant savings. Our ability to provide you with quantified outcomes relating to different decisions gives you the inside track on ensuring successful construction that will deliver the right return.
Concept estimates are tailored to your project’s requirements and can encompass everything from design and site reports through to cost analysis of different specifications, suppliers, subcontractors, and procurement processes.
As design definition increases from ‘concept’ through to ‘detailed’ design, so does cost surety in our estimates. Through our in-depth understanding of construction methodologies, site-specific elements, risks, materials costs, production rates, etc, we always maintain a view on value engineering opportunities. In fixing the pre-tendering budget, we provide an effective benchmark for the tender process.
Peer reviews and parallel estimates
In addition to stand-alone cost estimates, we also provide parallel estimates and can undertake peer reviews of other consultant’s estimates to verify budgets and provide you with the confidence in your budget.
Target Out-turn Cost validation
Target Out-turn Cost (TOC) contracts are becoming increasingly common for infrastructure projects.
TOC validation is a critical element which Cuesko’s infrastructure specialists can provide. Risk and reward-sharing make the overall return on a project even more dependent on the detail that Cuesko can reliably provide.
Our TOC validation and tendering services ensure that you have all the information you need to make informed decisions. We tailor our services to your project and the specific risk profile.
Procurement strategy and contract advice
We provide timely and strategic procurement management services and advice. Understanding the contractual implications of alternative procurement strategies is an essential part of project planning and delivery. Our specialists understand the current market and can help to compile tender lists with the suitable contractors/tenderers.
Our experience and expertise provides you with insight into how strategic procurement can advance your construction goals..
Our procurement management services ensure you pay what you need, when you need to. Ensuring you have the procurement strategy in place to support your build in the best possible way gives both you and your funders peace of mind. Our procurement management services are designed to give you the optimum return on your investment and put you in the driving seat for the duration of your project. This includes establishing the most appropriate form of contract.
Tender documentation & Tender evaluation/ analysis
Tender documentation determines the success or failure of a tender. Effective tendering relies on the quality of the tender documentation, contract conditions and engagement with the most appropriate contractors. We advise on all aspects of the process, and if required, can administer the entire process. Our experience in construction tendering assures you of the best advice and most commercially advantageous outcome.
Our expertise in preparing tender documentation and tender analysis helps you achieve accurate real time costings – where savings can be achieved, and how specific tools and methods will mitigate risks. This puts you in the best position for a successful project from the outset with far fewer unwanted or unwarranted build variations.
Working with Cuesko gives you more ammunition to negotiate and a powerful means to get better value for money.
Value engineering
Value engineering involves assessing the value of design in relation to costs and benefits in both form and function, to ensure the most cost effective, desirable outcome for you. Our experience in construction cost management provides significantly better outcomes across a range of construction projects.
Detailed analyses of costs allows us to understand exactly where savings can be made through innovative design solutions, material and product selection, construction methodologies, sequencing and programming. Furthermore, our ability to accurately measure and forecast means you can see the consequences of multiple approaches and compare them to drive informed decisions.
Building Life-cycle cost analysis
Building life-cycle cost analysis is a growing requirement. As technology delivers improvements, clients need to understand the long-term sustainability of their construction projects. As expert quantity surveyors, we are the people to provide long term sustainability data from which to plan.
We provide clients with detailed building life cycle cost analysis, to ensure the project returns value for money with no hidden surprises. Our analysis allows you to consider initial ‘capex’ costs against future ‘opex’ costs to ensure the best value from your project over time.
Building life cycle analysis incorporates four aspects of sustainability; environmental, economic, social and cultural. This is a morea more complex analysis, but one which is increasingly in demand. As clients look to minimise future costs across all spectrums, robust building life cycle analysis can help get projects more support than they may otherwise garner.
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That is where Cuesko can offer genuine and up-front value; working with Cuesko is an investment in the cost savings of the future. We tailor our services to each client and project ensuring robust and independent assessment every step of the way.
Environmental and sustainability cost advice
Cuesko are aligned with our clients’ commitments to provide sustainable construction projects at all stages of the construction life cycle. We provide design option pricing at all stages of design, including whole life costing and building life cycle cost analysis, as well as contributing to building in-use options and assessments. We are currently tendering, working on and have completed projects which involve Passivhaus, carbon embedment calculations and estimation, Green Star and Homestar, solar energy and water and NABERSNZ. Cuesko are committed to developing our strengths in this field and currently have two staff who are completing Greenstar Accreditation training.
Risk Management
When it comes to risk management, every project faces risks which can have a significant impact on the outcome. The ability to identify, analyse, evaluate, value, eliminate, mitigate and control risk is essential to achieving favourable outcomes.
Our approach to risk assessment is to find solutions before problems become a reality. We regularly participate or instigate workshops, engaging project stakeholders to ensuring risk management is a whole of project process. We provide you with accurate, consistent and reliable information that you need to factor into your decision-making process, preserving the integrity of your project.
We conduct a wide array of risk assessments including; risk analysis to determine effect, risk appraisal to determine likelihood, risk evaluation to determine the potential cost, and the development of a risk mitigation strategy.
With this level of detail, you have the means to identify and manage the factors that most increase your risk. Our expert guidance means once the risks have been analysed and evaluated, we can undertake monte-carlo simulation, using specialist software to calculate appropriate risk allowances, informing your 5th percentile, mean and 95th percentile risk level (or to any user definable level to suit your project.
Feasibility Modelling & Development Appraisals
Cuesko have extensive experience in development feasibilities and appraisals and use the industry leading Estatemaster software to test project viability & optimize the best strategy for a given site. With the assistance of this powerful tool we can evaluate the residual land value, calculate KPI’s including development margin, net present value, and internal rate of return, and manage risk using sensitivity and probability analysis.
Cuesko’s expertise and the enhanced insights gained from Estatemaster reports is instrumental in achieving the best outcomes for your Development.
We tailor both our team and our service to ensure you have accurate, consistent and reliable information.
Post-Contract Services
- Contract administration / Engineer to contract
- Comprehensive financial reporting
- Stakeholder cost allocations
- Payment recommendations
- Cost-to-complete / Out-turn cost forecasts
- Cash-flow forecasting
- Cost audits
- Valuation of variations
- Claims assessment
- Progress certifications for funders
- Commercial and contractual advice
- Expert witness
- Depreciation schedules and asset allocations