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Black Book

Black Book

The 'Black Book' is a suite of guidance notes that define good technical standards for quantity surveying and construction professionals.

These standards are essential development tools for younger professionals working through their APC and useful guides to best practice for more experienced professionals.

Certainty and consistency

Clear standards against which professionals can perform their duties eliminate ambiguity and promote best practice; they also help to ensure clients receive objective advice, delivered in a professional manner and with a consistent approach, and allow the benchmarking of services when employing professionals. Further standards are added to the 'Black Book' as times goes on. Once completed, it will provide a legacy of technical information for RICS professionals.

Please be aware that a number of these guidance notes contain material and guidance which are rendered out of date by the recent publication of various documents and as a result of evolving construction contract case law, such that revisions are necessary to the existing text. Please proceed with caution when referring to and citing these guidance notes and take professional advice as necessary if in doubt. The revised editions of these guidance notes will be published as soon as possible.

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Cash Flow Forecasting

This global adaptation defines cash flow forecasting, before giving guidance on producing a useful forecast, explaining how to use it to assess progress on site, and analyse actual expenditure against forecast expenditure.

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Cost Analysis and Benchmarking

This guidance provides a summary of the purpose and process of both cost analysis and construction project benchmarking.

Acceleration

This guidance summarises what is meant by ‘acceleration’ in the construction industry; it also looks at how acceleration can be achieved and how it can be valued.

Capital Allowances and Land Remediation Relief

This guidance note introduces surveyors and other professionals to the subjects of capital allowances and land remediation relief in a UK context.

Commercial Management of Construction

This guidance note outlines the role of commercial management in construction, providing a framework of guidance covering the most common tasks that a commercial manager will perform on a construction project.

Conflict Avoidance and Dispute Resolution in Construction

This guide summarises what is meant by conflict avoidance and dispute resolution, identifying the key issues that all surveyors should understand in respect of these distinct and substantive areas.

Construction Security and Performance Documents

This guide reviews security and performance documents normally associated with a construction project, noting the main types of document, the parties to them, their purpose and general terms.

Cost Reporting

This guide sets out the principles of cost reporting from the perspective of the quantity surveyor to the client during construction.

Defining Completion on Construction Works

This document is intended to assist surveyors who are certifying, or providing services in consequence of or in relation to, completion of construction works.

Employer's Agent: Design and Build

This guide is intended for use in conjunction with the JCT Design and Build Contract where an agent will be appointed by the employer to represent him or her.

E-Tendering

Concerned with the tender process and procedure rather than procurement, this note provides guidance on perceived barriers to the wide-scale adoption of e-tendering within the construction industry.

Extensions of Time

Delays occur on most construction projects, and always have done. This guide covers costs of delays, a background to extension of time clauses and delay analysis methods.

Final Account Procedures

This guidance note summarises what a final account is and how they are used to establish a final adjustment to the contract price.

Fluctuations

The purpose of this guide is to outline the different types of fluctuating price mechanisms available for use within those contracts, selection of the most appropriate mechanism for particular situations, and techniques for calculating adjustments.

Interim Valuations and Payment

This guidance note covers conditions of contract, payment mechanisms, retention, valuation processes and covering letters.

Lender's Independent Monitoring Surveyor

This guidance supports the work of chartered surveyors who assess risks and give technical advice to those who provide third-party finance on real estate developments.

Life Cycle Costing

This guidance summarises what is meant by a life cycle costing and whole life costing service for both new construction works and for the refurbishment of existing assets.

Management of Risk

This guidance note provides a reference point for professionals on the discipline of risk management. It provides details of the general principles of risk management and provides practical applications and considerations for successful implementation.

Retention

This guide examines the general principles of retention, including areas such as law; reasons for introduction within a contract; levels of retention, and how amounts are deducted, certified or released.

Tendering Strategies

This guidance summarises what tendering is and how tendering processes are used to establish a contract price. It also reviews different types of tendering and negotiation strategies and their advantages and disadvantages.

Termination of Contract, Corporate Recovery and Insolvency

This guide reviews termination of contract, corporate recovery and insolvency primarily from the perspective of a chartered surveyor with a commensurate level of specialism.

Value Management and Value Engineering

This guide introduces the concepts of value management and value engineering in relation to construction projects and to the role of the chartered surveyor.

Valuing Change

This guidance summarises what is meant by ‘change’ and how it is valued under JCT, NEC and FIDIC forms of contract.