The contribution of surveyors in post-disaster situations has helped communities globally. See some examples below.
The BuildAction initiative ensures that more built environment professionals support disaster-related work and that humanitarian agencies know how best to use their skills.
Volcano damage in Montserrat
Following the 2002 Montserrat volcano eruption, the UK Department for International Development (DFID)employed a chartered surveyor as a project manager for the reconstruction effort. Part of his remit was to carry out, and teach local contractors, estimating, tendering and general financial management.
Flood Recovery in Sudan
A chartered quantity surveyor coordinated the Sudanese Ministry of Finance Emergency Flood Reconstruction Programme for the construction of new schools.
He was responsible for the field implementation of the US$ 17m World Bank project.
This included:
preparing tender documents
procurement/logistics of imported and local materials
transportation
overseeing construction work
negotiating/settling claims with building contractors
preparing major claims
controlling materials storage sites
printing textbooks, and training.
Mapping refugee camps in Gaza
A chartered land surveyor worked in the Gaza strip, training and supervising a team of local Palestinian surveyors in the use of modern survey hardware and software, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
He completed the large-scale mapping of refugee camps, helped apply the Peace Implementation Programme’s infrastructure reconstruction projects, working with the UNRWA legal offices in cadastre and land ownership disputes.
Based on these experiences as a surveyor in Gaza, he published ‘Mapping the Camps of the Gaza Strip: The surveyor in a political context’ (RICS Research).
Land Rights in East Africa
A chartered planning surveyor worked for UN Habitat, carrying out a review of tribal and colonial land rights in East Africa and how these affect the planning system.
She also assessed shanty town improvement schemes in Nairobi and Kampala, looking at land rights, services, access; and the work of successful community self-help groups in housing construction.
Public Procurement Reform in Bangladesh
A chartered quantity surveyor provided services for the World Bank/Government of Bangladesh Public Procurement Reform Project.
These included lecturing senior Government engineers on Government Procurement Management for Works, Goods and Services, preparing training materials, advising Government on the Public Procurement Act 2006 and Guide 2007, and drafting 4 Standard Tender Documents for National & International Competitive Tendering.
Road repairs in Sri Lanka
After the 2004 tsunami, a chartered surveyor played a key role in persuading the government agency he worked for to allow resources from the highway project to rebuild (with temporary steel bridges) the existing, damaged concrete road bridges, thus re-establishing the flow of traffic along the coast.
Bills of Quantities in Aceh, Indonesia
In July 2007, an Indonesian chartered surveyor was able to help an international NGO with costing work for a school.
The surveyor advised on materials that were both suitable for the region, and disaster-appropriate.
The surveyor had experience in disaster work, and was involved in housing, school, and clinic construction projects with the British Red Cross and Aussie Aid in Aceh.
Tender assessment in Indonesia
A chartered quantity surveyor helped an NGO assess tenders for a project to evaluate housing in Indonesia.
He brought his understanding of the way built environment professionals and their firms operate to the selection process.
