In summary
ℹ The measurer measures and quantifies the works: they produce the measurement, the preliminary measure, and check the quantities in the pricing schedule. The construction economist steers the economic performance of the project as a whole: estimates at every stage, tender analysis, budget monitoring, the operation account. In practice the economist carries out, or supervises, the measurement, but goes well beyond quantification alone.
The measurer: command of quantification
The measurer is a technician specialised in the precise calculation of the quantities of work to be carried out. Their principal task is measurement: reading off the drawings the quantities of each elementary item to establish the quantified schedule.
What the measurer does
- Reading and analysing the architectural drawings and the technical specification
- Breaking the works into elementary items by package
- Calculating the quantities item by item under the measurement conventions: gross against net areas, deductions for openings, overlap rules
- Producing the measurement working papers
- Checking the quantities in the schedules submitted by tendering contractors
- Joint measurement on an existing building, in refurbishment
Measurement is a demanding technical skill requiring perfect knowledge of the measurement conventions and habitual familiarity with construction drawings. A quantity error on an important item can distort a whole estimate or a whole tender.
The construction economist: the global view
The construction economist is the guarantor of a building project's economic performance, from initial financial feasibility through to the final operation account. Their work covers the whole life of the project.
| Feasibility and concept | An outline estimate from ratios per square metre, checking the coherence of budget against brief, comparisons with similar projects. |
|---|---|
| Outline and developed design | An estimate by trade, analysis of design variants for their economic effect, updating costs against the indices. |
| Tender documents | Writing the pricing schedules and bills, defining the elementary items and the extras, coordinating with the engineers on the technical packages. |
| Tendering | Comparative analysis of the contractors' offers, detecting abnormally low bids, checking the coherence of the price build-ups. |
| Construction | Endorsing the interim valuations, pricing the variations, monitoring the budget through a monthly financial dashboard. |
| Handover and account | Drawing up the final account, analysing the gaps between budget and reality, the operation account. |
Training and qualifications
| The two-year higher diploma in construction studies and economics | The reference training after school. Covers both measurement and the foundations of construction economics. Gives access to most measurer-economist posts in practice. |
|---|---|
| The two-year building diploma | A profile more oriented to construction technique. Can lead to construction economics with complementary experience. |
| The vocational degree in construction economics | A specialisation towards global construction economics and the management of complex projects. |
| A civil engineering master's | An engineering profile. Construction economist on large projects, leading a cost consultancy. |
| The measurer-verifier qualification | A recognised professional title awarded by private bodies, valued in certain market segments. |
The shared tools
Whether more measurer or more economist, the professional today uses a common base of tools:
- Measurement software: packages allowing quantification directly on the digital drawing, in two dimensions or from a model.
- Price databases: the national commercial reference, and internal databases updated after each site account.
- Estimating software: dedicated packages or structured spreadsheets, producing estimates, pricing schedules and bills.
- Building information modelling: three-dimensional models allow quantities to be extracted automatically. Model-based quantification is becoming standard on projects above 5 M€ and should generalise to all projects in the coming years.
Who to appoint for your project
| Small project below 500 k€, a house or a shop | A measurer or a generalist construction economist suffices. The boundary is blurred. |
|---|---|
| Medium project, 500 k€ to 5 M€, apartments or offices | A construction economist within the design practice or an independent consultancy. Tender documentation and offer analysis skills are indispensable. |
| Large project above 5 M€ | A dedicated cost consultancy, with a team including measurers, an experienced economist and a specialist in contractors' pricing for the offer analysis. |
| Complex refurbishment | A measurer experienced in joint measurement of existing buildings. Different skills from new build: managing the unforeseen and the latent extras. |
Articles liés : The software construction economists use · Engineering consultancies in construction · The economic parties in construction
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The information on training and qualifications is given for France in 2026 and may change. Check the current national qualification frameworks with the awarding bodies.