Possibilities of use of NRM2 in the Sri Lankan construction industry

Abstract

Life Cycle Cost management is of utmost importance in facing the challenges that will confront the construction sector in future. Though the Bill of Quantities (BQ) is an important document for managing the cost, BQs are still produced without a Standard Method of Measurement (SMM) for the whole life cycle of a project. New Rules of Measurement 2 (NRM2) is the recently introduced version of SMM. The purpose of this research is to explore the possibilities of use of NRM2 for the Sri Lankan Construction Industry. The methodology of this research consists of desk study, semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey. Accordingly, four experts who often deal with BQs were interviewed and fifty industrial practitioners who are well educated and often practise BQ preparation were involved in the questionnaire survey. Both experts and industrial practitioners confirmed thatNRM2 is simple and easy to use even though it carries more composite items. Further to respondents, it provides a consistent approach from preliminary estimation to maintenance management reducing the possibilities of rework. Furthermore, it forms the foundation for conversion to Building Information System (BIM). Moreover, the findings drawn from the experts and industrial practitioners confirm that the most practicable way to adopt NRM2 is through implementing pilot projects. The study identified a number of challenges that have to be faced when adopting NRM2 in the industry such as prevailing schedules of rates do not follow the NRM2 formats, lack of knowledge about the NRM2, significant deviation from Sri Lankan Standards (SLS) 573 and low awareness of the procedure that have to be followed when using NRM2. Moreover, the solutions to overcome those challenges such as providing continuous training programs for QSs and other professionals, conduct Continuous Professional Development (CPD) events for professionals, teach the QSs about the practical applications of NRM2 and implementing usage of NRM2 by taking the assistance from the professionals who are well educated about NRM2 were recognized. Furthermore, the study concludes that the respondents have positive attitudes towards the adoption of NRM2 in the Sri Lankan construction industry and there is a high possibility of using NRM2 in the Sri Lankan Construction after providing proper education and training.