a preliminary study on the relevance of quantity … · the shipbuilding industry is diverse and...

A Preliminary Study on The Relevance of Quantity Surveyors in The Shipbuilding Industry Ahmed Mohammed Kamaruddeen, Wahida Wahi, Esther Wong Siaw Wei

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A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE RELEVANCE OF QUANTITY

SURVEYORS IN THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY

1Ahmed Mohammed Kamaruddeen, 2Wahida Wahi, 3Esther Wong Siaw Wei

1, 2 & 3 Quantity Surveying Program, School of Built Environment, University College of Technology

Sarawak, Malaysia

[email protected]

ABSTRACT While the services provided by the quantity surveyors cut across various industries such as construction, oil & gas, and banking industry, their roles in the shipbuilding industry has not received considerable attention. This research, therefore, explores the relevance of quantity surveying services to shipbuilding in Sarawak, Malaysia. The objectives of this study are three. Firstly, to determine the relevance of quantity surveyors to the shipbuilding companies. Secondly, to identify the skills required of a quantity surveyor by the shipbuilding companies. Thirdly, to identify the services quantity surveyors can provide to the shipbuilding companies. This study adopted an exploratory research design, mixed-method, sequential data collection, and the simple random sampling technique to select samples of shipbuilders operating in Sarawak State. The target population for this study consist of the shipbuilding companies operating in Sarawak. The qualitative data was obtained through an interview held with the Executive Director of a big-sized shipbuilding company in Sibu town. A questionnaire survey was also carried out among the shipbuilding companies operating in Sibu town. Descriptive statistics were obtained with the use of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. It was found that quantity surveyors are relevant to the shipbuilding industry. Furthermore, the shipbuilding companies require quantity surveyors to be familiar with shipbuilding design, materials, process, and contract. The essential services that the shipbuilding companies need from the quantity surveyors are estimating, cost planning, and preparation bill of quantities. This study has complemented the existing literature on the shipbuilding industry and provided a direction for the advancement of the quantity surveying profession. Keywords: quantity surveyor, shipbuilding industry, Sarawak, Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION The shipbuilding and ship repair has been characterized as a heavy industry that plays a vital role in Malaysia's economic activities. The current shipbuilding and ship repair companies range from small to medium-sized and spread across Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, and Limbang. Their market products span across China, Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Middle East, and Australia. Out of the 100 shipyards currently in operation across Malaysia, 59 are located in Sarawak. In Sarawak, five shipyards are in Kuching, 40 in Sibu, 1 in Bintulu, 12 in Miri and 1 in Limbang (Hwa and Othman 2016). Compared to other states in Malaysia, most of the shipyards and shipbuilding activities are dominant in Sarawak Sate. Hence the Sarawak State is a significant player in Malaysia's shipbuilding and ship repair industry. The dominance of the shipbuilder in Sarawak State persists because 68 shipyards out of the 99 total shipyards operating in Malaysia are located in the eastern region of Malaysia (Suleiman et al., 2017). The location of Sarawak state on the coastal line is the significant factor that enables the state to be an essential player in Malaysia's Gross National Income (GNI).


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Substantial researches have been conducted on the shipping industry by scholars: innovation in shipping company by Tsekouras, Poulis, and Poulis (2011); cruise ship tourism by Marsh(2012); and cruise ship workers by Dennett et al. (2014). However, the literature search has shown that little attention has been directed towards the role of quantity surveyors as it relates to the shipbuilding industry in Sarawak, Malaysia. In exploring the relevance of quantity surveyors in the ship and repair industry, this research, therefore, seeks to provide answers to the following three research questions: a. What is the relevance of quantity surveyors to the shipbuilding companies? b. What are the services quantity surveyors can provide to the shipbuilding companies? c. What are the skills required of quantity surveyors in the shipbuilding companies?

LITERATURE REVIEW Shipbuilding is a global business that spreads across many countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Brazil, Taiwan, Romania, Vietnam, USA, and Malaysia. This recognition is because of the importance of the services provided by the shipping industry. Shipping is known to play an essential role in the economic development of a country because of its linkages with commercial activities such as transportation of goods and fishing (Benzaquen, 2017). Shipbuilding is one of the significant activities of the shipping industry. The shipyard involves all sizes of ships ranging from large, medium, or small vessels. However, these ships will require either repair or maintenance or both at one time or the other; hence, the shipping industry is also involved in vessel repair and maintenance (Benzaquen, 2017). Literature has shown that there is a link between global maritime traffic or the economic cycle and the demand for shipbuilding (Ferrari et al., 2018). It is logical to state that the global marine traffic can be influenced by the number of goods shipped by a continent. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2014), Asia was ranked 1st with 38 percent of products shipped, America was placed in the second position with 23 percent, Europe was placed in the third position with 18 percent, Oceania had 11 percent, and Africa had 9 percent of the market share. The shipbuilding industry is diverse and can provide numerous challenging job opportunities in many fields such as naval architecture, marine engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, marketing, purchasing, accounting, and finance (Chilton, 1977). Similar to the construction industry, shipbuilding has been characterized as a traditionally labor-intensive industry that requires high levels of skilled and craft workforce. According to Chilton (1977), the craft workforce required in shipbuilding includes platers and shipwrights, welders, caulkers and burners, drillers, riveters, and blacksmiths. Also, the skilled workforce is shopfitters, turners, electricians, pipe workers, sheet metal workers, woodworkers, painters, and riggers.

The quantity surveyor

A Quantity Surveyor (QS) is a person trained primarily to be a cost expert. He is trained to keeps the

project cost within an agreed budget. He ensures that the employer obtains value for his or her

money. A quantity surveyor provides professional services such as preliminary cost advice and cost

planning, preparation of tender documents, advice on the type of contract and method of obtaining

tenders, negotiations with contractors, valuation of work in progress and settlement of the final

account. He might need to collaborate very closely with the architect from sketch to detailed

functioning drawing (Seeley, 1997). This role is why a quantity surveyor is an important member of

the design team. As a building economist, the quantity surveyor advises employers and architects on

the probable costs of alternative designs. The quantity surveyor's advice enables effective control of

design and construction at all stages within predetermined limits of expenditure. A QS can advise the


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client on procedures for arranging a building and engineering contracts. Other services that a QS

provides are the preparation of bills of quantities, negotiation of agreements with contractors and

forecasts of final costs, and valuations for payments to the contractor as work proceeds. Besides, a QS

does measurement and valuation of variations in work during the contract, and for the preparation

and agreement of the contractor's final account (Seeley, 1997).

Historically, the growth of the quantity surveying profession has been thought of between 1950 and

1980. This period witnessed the preference of bills of quantities as the basis for tender documentation

(Cartlidge, 2011). In recent times, the quantity surveying profession has evolved into new areas to

cover all aspects of procurement, contractual, and project cost management. Consequently, a QS is

employed as a consultant, contractor, or subcontractor's QS (Lee et al., 2014). The aspect of quantity

surveying practices that can be applied to the shipbuilding is two. Firstly, the measurement used to

determine the quantities of materials needed for the project. Secondly, the estimation utilized to build

up the rate for calculating the cost. In construction projects, there is always the need to measure a

proposed construction project at various stages from the feasibility stage to the final account. The

measurement and building up of rates for every unit of work enables the establishment of a budget

price, give a pre-tender estimate, provide a contract tender sum or evaluate the amount to be paid to

a contractor (Lee et al., 2014).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research design and method This research utilized the exploratory design and mixed-method. According to Creswell et al. (2003), exploratory models are appropriate when qualitative data are only the initial exploration to identify variables, constructs, taxonomies, or instruments for quantitative studies. This research adopted a mixed method for collecting data. The mixed-method was chosen in this research because it provides more flexible, integrative, and holistic investigative techniques which enabled the researchers to address a range of complex research questions that arise (Powell et al., 2008, p. 306).

Population and sample The population of this study consists of 59 shipbuilding companies that are fully registered with the Association of Shipbuilders in Sarawak and the Department of Marine. The Marine department provided only a list containing 40 shipbuilding companies operating in Sibu town. To ensure that the other major towns in Sarawak State are represented, the list of the shipbuilding companies operating in Kuching and Miri town was obtained from the Sarawak Shipbuilding Association. Krejcie and Morgan (1970)'s criteria were used to determine the appropriate sample size for this research and to ascertain the significance of the 95% confidence level. It was found that 52 samples were deemed necessary for the population of 59 shipbuilding companies. Following Sekaran and Bougie's (2013) prescription, simple random sampling was used to select the 52 respondents for this study. The copies of questionnaires were sent by post to the selected companies, accompanied by a cover letter that explained its purpose and also assured the respondents that their responses would be treated with utmost confidentiality throughout the research.


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Research Instrument Reliability Test The reliability of an instrument refers to its ability to produce consistent and stable measurements. Reliability can be viewed from two sides: reliability (the extent of accuracy) and unreliability (the extent of inaccuracy). To test the reliability of this preliminary study, the internal consistency method measured by Cronbach's alpha was used. The reliability is expressed as a coefficient between 0 and 1.00. The higher the coefficient, the more reliable is the test. The most common reliability coefficient is the Cronbach's alpha, which estimates internal consistency by determining how all items on a test related to all other items and the total test - internal coherence of data. Cronbach's alpha implies that there is a positive relationship of one item with another. The acceptable Cronbach's alpha should be greater than 0.7. For this instance, the reliability of the instrument in each dimension in this study is still acceptable if the Cronbach's alpha is greater than 0.7 as can be found in Table 1. Cronbach's alpha for the relevance of the QS variable exceeded 0.7, indicating the high acceptable value (Carmines and Zeller 1979).

Table 1 Reliability of the Data

N of Items Cronbach’s Alpha

Relevance of QS 11 0.770

Data collection Data was collected through a qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitative approach was through an interview, and the quantitative approach was through a questionnaire survey. Following Kirmani and Campbell's (2004) prescription, the sequential data collection approach was adopted. Data were initially collected through the interview and then followed by a questionnaire survey. The data for this study was collected from the shipbuilding companies located and operating in Sarawak State, which is located in the eastern region of Malaysia. Sarawak State was chosen because the majority of the shipbuilding companies are located there (Zhang et al., 2011).

Qualitative Approach Following Leedy and Ormrod's (2001) prescription, a semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct a face-to-face interview with an official of the Sarawak Shipbuilding Association. The interviewee was chosen because of his vast experience in the shipbuilding industry. The interview was held at the respondent's office on 20th March 2019. A total of twenty-one questions were asked, and the response to each question was written down progressively beginning with the first to the last question. At the end of every item, "Other" or ‘any additional information" was allowed to be added by the interviewee. The interview lasted for about 45 minutes. The semi-structured interview guide was modified into a structured questionnaire and was used for the questionnaire survey (Harrison and Reilly, 2011). Before the data collection, the questionnaire was given to a quantity surveyor consultant to check the questionnaire items. The questionnaire was revised based on the suggestion of the consultant.

Quantitative Approach The respondents for the survey were executive directors and business managers who were operating in each of the companies and had acquired satisfactory professional experiences to provide the data needed for this study. A total of 52 copies of questionnaires together with self-addressed envelops were posted to the shipbuilding companies operating in Sibu, Kuching and Miri town all located in Sarawak State. Eight completed copies of the questionnaire that were initially returned were used to analyze the data. So far, the response rate was 15%.


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RESULTS Qualitative study results Table 2 presents the questions and summary of the responses from the interviewee on the 20th of March 2019.

Table 2 Summary of the interview questions and the responses S/N Interview Question Response Remark

1 How many Shipbuilding companies currently operating in Sarawak?

Seventy-two are registered with the Marine Department.

2 What are the types of ownership of the companies?

Sole proprietorship, home-based (Sdn Bhd).

3 What are the types of vessels mostly built by the shipbuilder in Sarawak?

tankers, ferry, passenger boat, tugboat, barge, offshore supply vessel, landing craft, crew boat, fishing boat, container ship, sand dredger

4 Does your company employ or engages a quantity surveyor for a shipbuilding contract?

No, the engineer will do all the job Companies building bigger vessels such as cruise ships and big passenger boats will require an in-house QS.

5 Could you state why the shipbuilding companies in Sarawak are not engaging or employing quantity surveyors?

Shipbuilding companies in Sarawak do engage QS; however, due to the workload may not be as many as big companies.

6 Can you mention a few countries or places where QS are engaged or employed by shipbuilding companies?

Currently, we do not have figures. However, countries like Korea, China, Japan, Germany, Turkey, Holland, where they build cruise ships, they will have in house QS as it is just like creating a township on a ship. Besides the rooms, they have streets, shopping mall, theatre,

7 For how long do shipbuilders employ or engage a quantity surveyor?

Throughout the shipbuilding contract

8 At which stage of shipbuilding contract do shipbuilders require the service of a QS?

Pre-contract and Post contract

9 What is the type or mode of engagement of a quantity surveyor?

Either temporary or throughout the contract

10 What is the basis for the payment to the quantity surveyor?

Base on negotiation Depends on the experience and competency

11 What are the knowledge and skills required of a quantity surveying to be relevant in the shipbuilding and repair industry?

1. Ability to read and interpret or visualize the ship design or drawings 2. Understand the equipment needed for the shipbuilding 3. Understand the contractual aspect of shipbuilding 4. Knowledge of estimating 5. Knowledge of shipbuilding materials

Design stability, floating and partitioning

12 What are the services required from a QS at the pre-contract stage?

1. Approximate estimating 2. Cost planning 3.Preparation of contract document 4. Detailed Bill of quantities

13 What are the services required from a QS at the post-contract stage?

Classification surveyor (International Association of Classification Society) conduct the valuation of work done.

QS might be required to inspect and conduct internal valuation before the IACS comes

14 Which type of procurements method is currently practiced by the shipbuilding companies in Sarawak?

1. Traditional 2. Design & Build

15 Which type of contracts are currently practiced by the shipbuilding companies in Sarawak?

Cost-plus contract

16 Is there any standard form of contract currently used in the Shipbuilding industry? If YES, what is the name?

There are various international standard contracts (BIM CO) available for the Finish-then-Sell lease only.

Also known as Sale + purchase contract


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17 Does the shipbuilding industry practice any form of advance payment?

Yes Deposit and progress payments

18 Does the shipbuilding industry practice any form of progress payments?

Yes

19 Does the shipbuilding industry practice any form of valuation of work done?

Yes The classification surveyor (International Association of Classification Society) conducts the assessment of work done.

The interviewee mentioned that clients also come to inspect the progress of work.

20 What are the management positions available in the shipbuilding companies?

1. Marketing Manager 2. Human Resources Manager 3. Purchasing Manager 4. General Manager 5. Public Relations Manager

21 Willingness to train QS students in the shipbuilding companies and welcome students internship.

Concrete used in building The steel used in ships.

The interviewee mentioned that rusting and leaking is a severe issue in shipbuilding.

22 The software has been developed similar to BIM that calculates the quantities of materials required for a ship.

Any design change will automatically be reflected in the quantities.

23 QS should develop a formula for Calculating the cost of the ship.

Require welding and connections and heat resistance.

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

Background of the respondents Table 2 presents the background of the respondents that participated in this preliminary study. From the total respondents, 25.0 percent were either purchasing manager or executive/managing director. Only one of them (12.5%) was a marketing manager, and the rest (37.5%) work in other positions. They have worked in the current company for less than ten years (12.5%), 10 to 15 years (50.0%) and more than 15 years (37.5%). Most of the respondents were males (62.5%). In terms of the company, 87.5 percent of the companies were private limited companies compared to a sole proprietorship (12.5%) and most were located within Sarawak (75.0%). The companies selected built tankers, passenger ships, boats, and other vessels.

Table 3Background of the Respondents Frequency Percentage

Position Executive/Managing Director 2 25.0 Purchasing Manager 2 25.0 Marketing Manager 1 12.5 Others 3 37.5 Working Period Less than 10 Years 1 12.5 10 to 15 4 50.0 More than 50 3 37.5 Gender Male 5 62.5 Female 3 37.5 Ownership Sole proprietorship 1 12.5 Private limited 7 87.5 Location Within Sarawak 6 75.0 Others 2 25.0 Company Age 11-15 1 12.5 21-25 3 37.5 26-30 2 25.0 >31 2 25.0 No of Employee 21-40 1 12.5 41-60 2 25.0


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61-80 1 12.5 81-100 1 12.5 101 above 1 12.5 Type of Vessel Tankers 1 12.5 Passenger ship 2 25.0 Boats 1 12.5 Others 4 50.0

The Relevance of Quantity Surveyors to the Shipbuilding Industry The first objective of this study is to examine the relevance of the Quantity Surveyor (QS) in the shipbuilding industry. Results about the relevance of QS are shown in Table 4 and Figure 1. The majority of the respondents agreed that QS is relevant in the shipbuilding industry (mean = 4.00, sd = 0.53). It was followed by "Shipbuilder require QS to do costing" (mean = 3.88, sd = 0.0.83) and "The contract permits progress payments" (mean = 3.75, sd = 0.89). Most of the respondents were did not agree that "A QS payment is based on negotiation" (mean = 2.63, sd = 1.06) and "A QS is employed temporarily" (mean = 2.13, sd = 1.25).

Table 4Relevance of Quantity Surveyors in Shipbuilding Industry Percentage Mean SD

1 2 3 4 5

The relevance of QS in the Shipbuilding industry - - 12.5 75.0 12.5 4.00 0.53 Shipbuilders in other countries engage QS 12.5 12.5 25.0 37.5 12.5 3.25 1.28 Shipbuilder require QS to do costing - - 37.5 37.5 25.0 3.88 0.83 QS is needed throughout the contract 12.5 - 37.5 25.0 25.0 3.50 1.31 A QS is required during the pre-contract stage 25.0 - 12.5 37.5 25.0 3.38 1.60 A QS is employed temporarily 37.5 - - 37.5 25.0 2.13 1.25 A QS payment is based on negotiation 12.2 37.5 25.0 25.0 - 2.63 1.06 The contract permits advanced payments - 25.0 37.5 25.0 12.5 3.25 1.04 The contract allows interim valuations 12.5 - 50.0 37.5 - 3.13 0.99 The contract permits progress payments - - 50.0 25.0 25.0 3.75 0.89 Shipbuilders have a standard form of contract - - 50.0 25.0 25.0 3.75 0.89

Figure 1 Relevance of QS to the Shipbuilding Industry

Engagement of Quantity Surveyors in the Shipbuilding IndustryThe second objective of this study is to identify the skills required of a quantity surveyor by the shipbuilding companies. Figure 2

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

4

4

3.25

3.883.5 3.38

2.132.63

3.25 3.13

3.75 3.75

RELEVENCE OF QS IN SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY

Mean Score


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and Table 4 show the knowledge and skills required of a QS. The majority of the respondents agreed that a QS must know the shipbuilding process (37.5%) and know the shipbuilding material (37.5%).

Figure 2 Knowledge and Skills required by QS

Half of the respondents agreed that the leading service provided by QS is approximately estimating. The other services are cost planning and preparation of contract documents. The third objective of this study is to identify the services quantity surveyors can provide to the shipbuilding companies. Figure 3 and Table 5 present the list of professional services a quantity surveyor can provide to the shipbuilding companies.

Figure 3 Service Provided by QS

As depicted in Figure 4, among procurement methods applied by QS are design and building (62.5%) and traditional methods (37.5%).

read and interpret ship design

12%

know the shipbuilding

material37%know all the

equipment13%

know the shipbuilding process

38%

Knowledge & Skills

read and interpret ship design know the shipbuilding material

know all the equipment know the shipbuilding process

0

10

20

30

40

50

Approximately estimate Preparation of contractdocument

Cost planning

50

12.5

37.5

SERVICE

Service


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Figure 4 Procurement Methods

Figure 5 shows the contract often used by QS. The contracts were cost-plus contract (50.0%), lump sum (25.0%) and other contract (25.0%).

Figure 5 Type of Contracts used by the shipbuilding companies

Lastly, Figure 6 presents the reason for not engaging QS in the Sarawak shipbuilding industry. The main reason given was that the type of vessels being built does not require QS services (50.0%). Another reason was the lack of qualify QS (25.0%), and that the engineer was capable of providing all the services required (25.0%).

Figure 6: Engaging the Quantity Surveyors by Shipbuilding Companies in Sarawak.

Traditional method

37%

Design and Build63%

PROCUREMENT METHOD

Traditional method Design and Build

4

2 2

0

2

4

6

cost plus contract lump sum contract others

Contract

Contract

the engineer is capable of

providing all the service required

25%

the type of vessel build does not required the

service of a QS50%

we do not find the qualify QS having the required skills

25%

Reason

the engineer is capable of providing all the service required

the type of vessel build does not required the service of a QS

we do not find the qualify QS having the required skills


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Table 5 presents the descriptive statistics on the knowledge required of quantity surveyors in the shipbuilding companies, the services needed from quantity surveyors, the procurement and contract types being used by the shipbuilders, and the reasons why most shipbuilding companies in Sarawak do not require the services of quantity surveyors.

Table 5 Engagement of QS in the Shipbuilding Industry Frequency Percentage

Knowledge and skills required by QS Ability to read and interpret ship design 1 12.5 Knowledge of the shipbuilding material 3 37.5 Knowledge of all the equipment 1 12.5 Understanding of the shipbuilding process 3 37.5 Service provided by QS Approximately estimate 50.0 50.0 Preparation of contract document 12.5 16.7 Cost planning 37.5 33.3 Procurement methods practiced in the shipbuilding industry. Traditional methods 3 37.5 Design and build 5 62.5 Type of contract practiced. Cost-plus contract 4 50.0 Lump-sum contract 2 25.0 Others 2 25.0 Reason for not engaging QS

The engineer is capable of providing all the service required 2 25.0 The type of vessel build does not require the services of QS 4 50.0 We do not find the qualify QS having the skills needed 2 25.0

Table 6 summarizes the comparison between the responses obtained through the interview and the data collected through the questionnaire survey. The comparison is aimed to identify the similarities between the two sets of data.

Table 6 Comparison between interview response and results of the questionnaire survey

S/N Interview Questionnaire Survey Remark

1 Number of shipbuilding companies in Sarawak

72 companies Not included 68 SBSR 2017 Industry report

2 Types of vessels mostly built by the shipbuilder in Sarawak

1.Tankers, 2. Ferry, 3. Passenger Boat, 4. Tugboat, 5. Barge, 6. Offshore supply vessel, 7. Landing craft, 8. Crew boat, fishing boat, 9.container ship, 10. Sand dredger

1. Tanker 2. Ferry Passenger Ship 3. Tug Boat 4. Boat 5.Offshore Vessel 6. WorkBoat 7. Landing Craft

3 The relevance of QS in the shipbuilding industry

Yes 1. QS is relevant in the shipbuilding industry 2. Shipbuilding company do engage QS 3. Shipbuilding companies require the QS to do the costing

4 Employment of a quantity surveyor by the interviewee’s shipbuilding company

Does not employ a quantity surveyor, the engineer does all the job


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5 What are the reasons for not engaging or employing a quantity surveyors by the shipbuilding companies in Sarawak?

Shipbuilding companies in Sarawak do engage QS; however, due to the workload, the engagement may not be as big companies.

1. The engineer is capable of providing all the services. 2. The types of vessel build do not need the service of a QS.

The kind of vessels build do not require the services of a QS (50 % of the respondents).

6 List a few countries where QS are engaged or employed by the shipbuilding companies.

1. China, 2. Germany, 3. Japan 4. Korea 5. Holland, 6. Turkey

1. Australia 2. Europe 3. Germany 4. Indonesia 5. Korea 6. Japan 7. Malaysia 8. Singapore 9. United Kingdom

7 Period of employing or engaging a quantity surveyor by the shipbuilding companies

QS is needed throughout the shipbuilding contract period

QS is required throughout the shipbuilding contract period

Mean score: 3.5

8 Which stage of the shipbuilding contract requires the service of a QS?

QS is needed at the Pre-contract stage

QS is required at the pre-contract stage

Mean Score: 3.38

9 What is the type or mode of engagement of a quantity surveyor?

Either temporary or throughout the contract

QS is employed temporarily Mean Score: 2.13

10 What is the basis for the payment given to the quantity surveyor?

Payments to QS is based on negotiation

Amount to QS is based on negotiation

11 The knowledge and skills required of a quantity surveyor in the shipbuilding Industry.

1. Ability to read and interpret or visualize the ship design or drawings 2. Understand the equipment needed for the shipbuilding 3. Understand the contractual aspect of shipbuilding 4. Knowledge of estimating 5. Knowledge of shipbuilding materials

1. Able to read and interpret ship design. 2. Has the experience of the shipbuilding material. 3. Know all the equipment. 4. Know the shipbuilding process.

1. Knowledge of shipbuilding materials (37.5% of the respondents) 2. Understanding of shipbuilding process (37.5% of the respondents)

12 What are the services required from a QS at the pre-contract stage?

1. Approximate estimating 2. Cost planning 3.Preparation of contract document 4. Detailed bill of quantities

1. Approximately estimate 2. Development of contract document 3. Cost planning

1. Approximate estimating (50 % of the respondents ) 2. Cost planning (37.5% of the respondents)

13 What are the services required from a QS at the post-contract stage?

Classification surveyor (International Association of Classification Society) conduct the valuation of work done.

Not included QS might be required to inspect conduct internal valuation before the IACS comes

14 The type of procurement method practiced by the Shipbuilding companies in Sarawak.

1. Traditional 2. Design & Build

1. Traditional methods 2. Design and build

1. Design & Build (62.5% of respondents ) 2. Traditional (37.5% of the respondents)

15 The type of contract currently practiced by the Shipbuilding companies in Sarawak.

Cost-plus contract 1. Cost-plus contract 2. lump sum contract

Cost-plus contract (50 % of the respondents)

16 Advance payment in the shipbuilding industry

Yes Advance payment Mean Score: 3.2

17 Valuation of work done in the shipbuilding industry.

The shipbuilding contract permits Valuation and is made by a classification surveyor from the International Association of Classification Society.

The shipBuilding contract permits the valuation of work done.

Mean Score: 3.13

18 Willingness to train QS students in the shipbuilding companies and welcome students internship.

Concrete used in building the steel used in ships.

Additional information by the interviewee

19 The software has been developed similar to BIM that calculates the quantities of materials required for a ship.

Any design change will automatically be reflected in the amounts.

Additional information provided by the interviewee


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20 QS should develop a formula for estimating the cost of the ship.

Require welding and connections and heat resistance.

Additional information provided by the interviewee

FINDINGS The research seeks to achieve three objectives: firstly, investigate the relevance of quantity surveyors to the shipbuilding companies; Secondly, identify the services quantity surveyors can provide to the shipbuilding companies; Thirdly, identify the skills required of quantity surveyors in the shipbuilding companies. The findings from the interview revealed that though quantity surveying is relevant in the shipbuilding industry, only big-sized shipbuilding companies that build big passenger and cruise ships will require the service of a quantity surveyor. Furthermore, this research found the reasons why most shipbuilding companies in Sarawak do not need the services of a quantity surveyor. The first reason was due to the type of vessels mostly built by the companies. The second reason was that the engineer employed by the shipbuilding companies could provide all the services required to complete the ship without engaging any quantity surveyor. However, as shown by both qualitative and quantitative studies, Australia, Japan, Germany, Korea, Singapore, and the United Kingdom are some of the countries where quantity surveyors are employed in the shipbuilding companies. Regarding the second objective, both qualitative and quantitative studies revealed that the quantity surveyors should be able to interpret ship designs, be familiar with the shipbuilding materials, types of equipment, and the shipbuilding process. Besides, this research found that most of the shipbuilding companies in Sarawak were willing to accept Quantity Surveying students for their industrial training. This research found that there is software used by the shipbuilding companies for calculating the quantities of materials needed for a vessel. Regarding the third objective of this research, findings from the qualitative study revealed that approximate estimating, cost planning, preparation of contract documents, and preparation of bill of quantities are the services that quantity surveyors can provide to the shipbuilding companies. However, the quantitative result showed that approximate estimating and cost planning are the vital services the shipbuilding companies required of the Quantity surveyors. This research suggests that the quantity surveyors are needed at the pre-contract stage. The essential services quantity surveyors can provide to the shipbuilding companies are approximate estimating, cost planning, and preparing the bill of quantities. The post-contract services are provided by the ship surveyors from the International Association of Classification. However, some shipbuilding companies may have their in-house quantity surveyors that perform a preliminary assessment before the ship surveyors arrive to perform the actual interim valuation.

DISCUSSION Despite the diverse professionals and craft men involved in shipbuilding, the role of quantity surveyors in the procurement and building of a ship has not been widely discussed in the literature. In the literature, the quantity surveyors have not been recognized as professionals that are relevant to the shipbuilding industry. However, they can provide professional services similar to the building and infrastructural projects. Such services include preparation of preliminary estimates, preparation bill of quantities, valuation of the ship for progressive payment to the constructor, assessment of variations due to changes in design or specifications by the client, etc. This study finds that quantity surveying is relevant to the shipbuilding industry; the services required from quantity surveyors by the shipbuilding, though at the pre-contract stage, are similar to the services provided during construction projects. However, past and recent publications on the quantity surveying practices have not been relating the practices of quantity surveyors to the shipbuilding industry (Jennings and Betts,1996;


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Seeley, 1997; Pheng and Ming, 1997;Matipa et al., 2009;Cartlidge, 2011;Towey, 2012; Lee et al., 2014; Olanrewaju, 2016; Ogunsina et al., 2016; Yogeshwaran et al., 2018). The findings of this research imply that the scope of services that quantity surveyors provide is not limited to the construction industry. The services can also be applied to the shipbuilding industry. Hence, approximate estimating and cost planning are also needed in the shipbuilding industry. A quantity surveyor must be able to interpret ship design, be familiar with the shipbuilding materials, equipment, and process if he or she desires to work in the shipbuilding industry. CONCLUSION This research, though at its preliminary stage, has advanced our understanding of the relevance of quantity surveyors in shipbuilding and the knowledge required of quantity surveyors by shipbuilding companies. This research has also extended our understanding of the professional services that quantity surveyors can provide to the shipbuilding companies at the pre-contract stage. The findings of this research are most beneficial to the quantity surveyors and professional institutions such as Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia (BQSM, and Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM). This research has shown that there are job opportunities for quantity surveyors in the shipbuilding industry. Therefore, the scope of quantity surveying professional services should not be limited to the construction industry. A significant limitation of this is that the findings of this research are based on the eight responses that were initially received. Though data collection is still on, a 15% response rate formed the basis of these preliminary findings.

RECOMMENDATION

This study has established that quantity surveyors are relevant to the shipbuilding companies, but most of the companies in Sarawak do not require the expertise of quantity surveyors. The Board of Quantity Surveyor Malaysia and the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia should ensure therefore that they liaise with the Malaysian Shipbuilding Association, particularly Sarawak chapter, on how quantity surveying can play a significant role in the shipbuilding process. For this objective to be achieved, the quantity surveying student should be exposed to the process, equipment, materials, and interpretation related to shipping designs.

Acknowledgment This research was supported by the University College of Technology Sarawak research grant (UCTS/RESEARCH/1/2019/01).

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