Field notes
Reading a bill of quantities against the latest drawing issue
When the drawings move faster than the bill, the cost audit starts with a quiet matching exercise — sheet by sheet, trade by trade.
A bill of quantities is only as trustworthy as its link to the drawings it claims to measure. On architecture projects in Taiwan, that link often frays between design issues — a revised façade detail here, a plant-room layout there — while the priced bill still reflects an earlier set.
Start with the issue register
Before opening measurement sheets, we list every drawing revision that sits between the bill’s stated issue and today’s set. The register is dull work. It also prevents hours spent arguing about a quantity that was never meant to describe the current wall build-up.
Pick the trades that move money
Not every discrepancy matters equally. Structure, façade, and mechanical plant usually carry more cost risk than joinery schedules. A cost audit that samples everything thinly can miss the overrun sitting in three high-value packages.
Write the mismatch, not the verdict
When a quantity and a drawing disagree, we record the mismatch as a fact for the design team and the contractor to resolve. The audit’s job is to make the disagreement visible early — not to invent a new bill overnight.