{"id":11891,"date":"2019-03-18T22:10:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T22:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/examchum.uk\/?p=11891"},"modified":"2019-03-18T22:52:52","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T22:52:52","slug":"the-role-of-clerk-of-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/examchum.uk\/landscape-architecture\/the-role-of-clerk-of-works\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the role of a Clerk of Works?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The\u00a0ICWCI\u00a0defines the role of the Clerk of Works<\/strong> as: \u201cA person whose duty is to superintend the construction and maintenance of buildings, or other works for the purpose of ensuring proper use of labour and materials\u201d.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Clerk of Works\u00a0(or\u00a0Clerk of the Works), often abbreviated CoW, is employed by an\u00a0architect\u00a0or a client on a\u00a0construction site. The role is primarily to represent the interests of the client in regard to ensuring that the quality of both materials and workmanship are in accordance with the design information such as\u00a0specification<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0engineering drawings, in addition to recognised quality standards. The role is defined in\u00a0standard forms of contract\u00a0such as those published by the\u00a0Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT). “Clerks of works” are also the most highly qualified\u00a0non-commissioned\u00a0tradesmen in the\u00a0Royal Engineers. The qualification can be held in three specialisms: electrical, mechanical and construction.<\/p>\n

The role, to this day, is based on the impartiality of the clerk of works in ensuring that value for money for the client – rather than the contractor – is achieved through rigorous and detailed inspection of materials and workmanship throughout the building process. In many cases, the traditional title has been discarded to comply with modern trends, such as site inspector, architectural inspector and quality inspector, but the requirement for the role remains unchanged since the origins of the title.<\/p>\n

The clerk of works is a very isolated profession on site. He\/she is the person that must ensure quality of both materials and workmanship and, to this end, must be absolutely impartial and independent in decisions and judgments. He\/she cannot normally, by virtue of the quality role, be employed by the contractor – only the client, normally by the architect on behalf of the client. His\/her role is not to judge, but simply to report all occurrences that are relevant to the role.<\/p>\n

Clerks of Works are either on site all the time or make regular visits. They must be vigilant in their inspections of a large range of technical aspects of the work. This involves:<\/p>\n