Circular No. 17/2019/TT-BXD guiding the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Measuring and Estimating Construction Volumes of Projects

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Pursuant to Decree No. 81/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 17, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Decree No. 68/2019/NĐ-CP dated August 14, 2019 of the Government on the management of construction investment costs;

At the proposal of the Director of the Institute of Construction Economics and the Director General of the Department of Construction Economics;

The Minister of Construction issues this Circular to guide the measurement and estimation of construction volumes of projects.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the measurement and estimation of construction volumes of projects serving as the basis for determining and managing investment costs for projects funded by state budget capital, state capital outside the budget, and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

For projects funded by official development assistance (ODA) funds, they shall be implemented in accordance with international treaties and domestic laws stipulated in the Law on International Treaties.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the determination of construction volumes of projects for the purpose of managing investment costs for projects funded by state budget capital, state capital outside the budget, and PPP projects.

Article 3. Principles for Measuring and Estimating Construction Volumes

1. Measuring and estimating construction volumes involves determining specific quantities based on measuring, counting, calculating, and inspecting according to the dimensions and quantities specified in design drawings, design descriptions, project implementation requirements, construction activities, technical instructions, other relevant documents, and Vietnamese construction standards and regulations.

2. The measurement and estimation of construction volumes must align with the intended use, methods for determining and managing investment costs as prescribed.

3. The measured and estimated volumes should reflect the nature, structure of the project, primary materials used, and construction methods, ensuring sufficient conditions to determine construction costs.

4. For certain parts of the project or construction works that cannot accurately measure and estimate volumes, provisional volumes may be established. Provisional volumes are determined when tasks are included in design documents or project implementation requirements but cannot be precisely measured according to standard procedures. These provisional volumes will be recalculated during final inspection, payment, and settlement or as specified in the construction contract.

5. Determination of volumes in final inspection, payment, and settlement of construction costs shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the contract and the principles for measuring and estimating volumes set forth in this Circular.

Article 4. Requirements for Implementing Measurement and Estimation of Construction Volumes

1. Documentation for measuring and estimating construction volumes includes: Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes, Detailed Table of Construction Work Volumes, and Detailed Statistical Tables (if applicable).

2. Requirements for the Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes

a) The Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes is a compilation of results from measuring and estimating construction work volumes of the project or sub-project, providing information about volumes and other relevant details to serve as a basis for determining construction costs.

b) All construction works/groups of works must be recorded in the Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes. The Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes can be prepared for the entire project or separately for each sub-project, tender package, and according to the project schedule and implementation requirements.

c) The main contents of the Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes include: List of construction works/groups of works, units of measurement, methods for determining volumes, results of volume determination, and descriptions of work (if necessary). The arrangement and presentation of content in the Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes must be simple and concise. The format of the Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes is attached as Appendix 2 to this Circular.

3. The Detailed Table of Construction Work Volumes of the project or sub-project is used to explain in detail the calculation methods and results of volume determination during the measurement process. The format of the Detailed Table of Construction Work Volumes is attached as Appendix 3 to this Circular.

4. The list of works requiring measurement and estimation of volumes must correspond to the design drawings, construction sequence, and fully cover the content of construction works needing volume determination, including the positions of project components and construction works within the project.

5. Units of measurement should be selected according to management and design requirements, consistent with units in the system of norms and measurement units as currently prescribed.

6. Symbols used in the Detailed Table of Construction Work Volumes of the project or sub-project must match those shown in the design drawings. Quantities according to design statistics must be clearly marked with design statistical data and specify the drawing number containing such statistics.

7. Results of measuring and estimating construction work volumes from the Detailed Table of Construction Work Volumes are compiled into the Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes after rounding off values according to the principle. In cases where the calculation result is a decimal, it should be rounded to three digits after the decimal point.

Article 5Using Volumes from Design Software for Measurement and Estimation

1. When using statistical volumes from design software programs or specialized software automatically determining volumes, these volumes must be clearly recorded regarding their determination method in the Summary Table of Construction Work Volumes. Organizations or individuals responsible for determining volumes from software bear responsibility for the accuracy of the data, and must provide explanations to the reviewing and auditing authorities regarding the suitability of the data and the measurement principles of the software used. Volumes statistically derived from design software or specialized software must comply with the determination principles outlined in this Circular.

2. Individuals compiling volumes from the design software or specialized software mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article must understand the content of the data, supplement appropriate descriptive information for cost determination or application of unit prices and norms.

Chapter II
PROVISIONS FOR MEASURING AND ESTIMATING VOLUMES

Article 6. Do stripping based on area, scale of capacity or design service capability

1. Stripping volume based on area, scale of capacity or design service capability shall be carried out as the basis for preliminarily determining the total investment ceiling and the total construction investment cost according to the method of determining based on the unit capital investment of construction projects.

2. Stripping based on the floor area of building structures for civil and industrial works

a) The volume of the floor area of building structures is the total floor area of all floors, including basements, semi-basements, technical floors, penthouses, and attic floors (if any). The floor area of one floor is the floor area of that floor, including enclosing walls (or shared walls belonging to the building) and the floor area of balconies, terraces, staircases, elevator shafts, technical boxes, and chimneys.

b) Information to be described includes: the height of the building (height of each floor or the entire building), number of floors (including above-ground and basement floors), structural characteristics, main materials used, special foundation reinforcement measures, and other relevant information needed to determine costs (if any) must be recorded in the Detailed Quantity Table of Construction Works.

3. Stripping based on the area of traffic bridges

a) The volume of the area of traffic bridges is calculated from the outer edge of the guardrail to the end of the abutment.

b) Information to be described includes: type of bridge, type of bridge girder, width of the bridge, span length, type of pile, length of pile foundation, and other relevant information needed to determine costs (if any) must be recorded in the Detailed Quantity Table of Construction Works.

4. Stripping based on the scale of capacity or design service capability of the project

a) For projects included in the list of unit capital investments issued by the competent authority, the units of measurement used for stripping should correspond to those specified in the published unit capital investment list.

b) When stripping volumes based on the scale of capacity, technical specifications, or design service capability, the descriptions must clearly reflect the nature, features, and types of materials used as determined from the basic design and other necessary requirements in the project.

Article 7. Stripping based on groups of construction works, structural units, or parts of the project

1. The selection of groups of construction works, structural units, or parts of the project is based on the primary objectives of the construction process.

2. Units of measurement

a) Determined appropriately according to the main construction work, structural unit, or part of the project, ensuring the most convenient method for measuring on drawings or at the site during construction, and must be consistent with the units of measurement in the published norms (if any).

b) For groups of construction works, structural units, or parts of the project listed in the norms or unit prices issued by the competent authority, the names and units of measurement recorded in the Detailed Quantity Table of Construction Works, the Summary Quantity Table of Construction Works, and the project components must match those in the published norms or unit prices.

3. Stripping volumes based on groups of construction works, structural units, or parts of the project are conducted through measurement, counting, calculation, and verification based on dimensions, quantities, and statistics from the project's design documents, technical guidelines, and required tasks.

Article 8Stripping volumes based on construction works

1. The construction volume of the project must be measured, counted, and calculated in accordance with the technological process and construction sequence. Detailed guidance on stripping volumes of major construction works is provided in Appendix 1 of this Circular.

2. For works listed in the norms or unit prices issued by the competent authority, their names and units of measurement must be recorded in the Detailed Quantity Table of Construction Works, the Summary Quantity Table of Construction Works, and the project components, matching those in the published construction norms or unit prices.

Article 9Determining volumes for acceptance, payment, and final settlement of construction contracts

1. When preparing tender documents, the investor must clearly specify the principles and methods for stripping volumes for acceptance, payment, and final settlement of the contract.

2. If there are no other agreements in the contract, the principles for stripping volumes of major construction works shall follow the guidelines in Appendix 1 and other related regulations.

3. Completed construction volumes are verified, calculated, measured, and confirmed between the investor, the contractor, and the supervising consultant according to the time or construction phases stipulated in the Contract, and must be compared with the approved design volumes to serve as the basis for acceptance, payment, and final settlement. For lump-sum contracts, detailed stripping of completed volumes is not required. Any additional volumes outside the approved design and budget must be approved by the investor or the investment decision-maker as the basis for acceptance, payment, and final settlement of the contract.

Chapter III

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INVESTOR, ORGANIZATIONS, AND INDIVIDUALS IN IMPLEMENTING STRIPPING OF CONSTRUCTION VOLUMES
PROJECTS

Article 10RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INVESTOR

1. The investor has the following rights:

a) In cases where necessary, they may hire qualified and experienced consulting organizations to carry out stripping, review, and control of construction work volumes.

b) They have the right to request clarifications on the results of stripping volumes and to obtain related information and documents concerning the stripping results.

c) Other rights related to quantity management as prescribed by law.

2. The investor has the following responsibilities:

a) Organizing inspections and acceptances of stripped construction volumes when reviewing project establishment documents, designs, budgets, payments, and final settlements of construction contracts, ensuring compliance with formalities and requirements as stipulated.

b) Select organizations or individuals with sufficient qualifications, capacity, and experience as prescribed to review the construction volume according to the requirements of the supervising agency and the organization reviewing the budget estimate and total investment amount.

c) Other responsibilities as prescribed by law.

Article 11Rights and responsibilities of organizations and individuals performing the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes

1. Organizations and individuals when performing the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes have the following rights:

a) Request the project owner or their representative to provide information and documents necessary for the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes.

b) Refuse to record in the measurement results quantities not shown on the design drawings or accompanying technical instructions.

c) Other rights as stipulated in the contract with the project owner or other relevant laws concerning the measurement and stripping, determination of construction project volumes.

2. Organizations and individuals when performing the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes have the following responsibilities:

a) Carry out the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes in accordance with their actual capacity as prescribed.

b) Appoint persons with sufficient qualifications to lead the measurement and stripping work and organize measures to control the quality of the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes.

c) Provide complete documentation and explain, amend the content of the measurement and stripping documentation for review and verification according to the requirements of the project owner.

d) Bear legal responsibility and responsibility to the project owner for the construction work volume measured and stripped by themselves.

đ) Individuals performing the measurement and stripping of construction project volumes must study and thoroughly understand the information in the design drawings and accompanying technical documents when carrying out the work. If necessary, request the designer to clarify issues related to the design that affect the measurement and stripping of construction work volumes.

e) The person leading the measurement and stripping is primarily responsible for the content and quality of the information and data in the measurement and stripping tables. The individual performing the measurement and stripping has the responsibility to cooperate, explain, and clarify matters related to the measurement and stripping results with the leader.

g) Other responsibilities as prescribed by relevant laws.

Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 12. Transitional Provisions

The transitional provisions shall be implemented in accordance with Article 36 of Decree No. 68/2019/NĐ-CP dated August 14, 2019 of the Government on the management of construction investment costs.

Article 13. Effective date

This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2020.