Quantity surveyor · registered building technician
Quantity surveyor for construction projects in Israel: quantity takeoff, bills of quantities and pricing
A quantity surveyor with field experience since 2012: main contractor, tender department, infrastructure and building additions in operating buildings. Quantity takeoff and bills of quantities from drawings or from a Revit model, for developers, contractors and suppliers, anywhere in Israel and remotely for projects abroad.
Certified works manager
Registered building technician
On site since 2012
I know the site from the inside, and I measure every detail like a contractor who has to build it.
What a quantity surveyor does, and why you need one
A quantity surveyor is an engineer or a registered building technician, like Yaakov Avital, who turns the drawings and the model into numbers you can price, compare and check. In Israel the profession has two Hebrew names, kamai and chashav kamuyot; both mean the same, and neither is a real-estate valuer (shamai).
What the quantity surveyor does
Measures the works from the drawings or from a Revit model by the methods of measurement set for the project, arranges them in a bill of quantities by chapters and items, attaches a source and a unit to every quantity, and marks what is missing instead of guessing. On the basis of the BOQ the contractors price the works, and their offers can be compared on the same basis; later he checks accounts and variations against what was actually built.
Why you need one
Offers on the same basis. When every contractor prices the same BOQ, you compare prices, not interpretations.
A budget before commitment. An estimate built on real quantities, not on a general price per m², usually shows where the money really goes.
Fewer surprises on site. An item missing from the BOQ comes back later as a variation, at one contractor's price with no competition. A complete BOQ reduces that.
Accounts you can check. When every item has a quantity with a source, an interim or final account is checked against the BOQ, not against memory.
Quantity takeoff for construction projects, from design to execution on site: from the drawings or from a BIM model, including site overheads and execution specifications.
Detailed bills of quantities by the methods of measurement agreed for the project, for tender and for construction. Delivered as an Excel file. A sample bill of quantities
Tender documents, contractor outreach and comparing bids on the same BOQ. Pricing and estimates are an extra service: verbal feedback on prices together with you, with no commitment. For public bodies, an estimate by a known, published price list. Quantity and variation control through construction.
Part of my work is done in BOQ software that I develop myself, AiN. It reads a Revit model, sorts the elements into chapters and items and produces a bill of quantities in Excel, and every quantity that came from the model stays linked to the elements it was measured from. Two hats, one profession.
The full BOQ next to the model: a quantity from the model, or 'No qty' when there is none
Click a line and see its elements in the model
A source for every quantity: from the model, calculated, or manual and marked
Quantities for tenders and quotes, quantities for subcontractors by trade, and quantities for interim and final accounts, including variations. The BOQ is built in a contractor's structure, so it can go out for pricing without explaining every item. How contractors price per m²
Quantities for quotes and for orders: aluminium, flooring and wall tiling, drywall, waterproofing, concrete and rebar. The quantity to order is not the quantity in the BOQ: it allows for waste, cutting and pack sizes, so it is calculated separately and marked as such. Quantity takeoff for finishes
A bill of quantities for tender, a check of a BOQ a contractor submitted, a cross-check of model quantities against the drawings, and gathering the consultants' BOQs into one set of tender documents. Consultants' bills of quantities · A BOQ for a private house
Field experience
Field experience: from the main contractor to the tender desk
Since 2012 I have worked for a main contractor, in a tender department, in infrastructure and on building additions in operating buildings, and since 2024 as an independent. That is what teaches how a BOQ is read by the one who prices it and by the one who builds it.
2012–2015Main contractor and developer, a large shopping mall in central Israel: concrete and rebar quantities, site execution work and approval of subcontractors' accounts.
2015–2019Municipal infrastructure: design and pricing of infrastructure connections, bills of quantities and cost estimates.
2019–2022Building additions in operating hospitals: quantities, pricing, tenders, and approval of quantities and variations in accounts.
2022–2024Main contractor: pricing and quantities in tenders the company won (190 flats; 156 assisted-living units, about 10,500 m²), and concrete quantities for the final account.
2024 onwardsIndependent. Among the projects: a main-contractor tender for 213 flats (about 35,000 m²) and a commercial building of about 33,000 m² in a lump-sum tender (2025, for a main contractor's tender department), a Pinui-Binui urban renewal project of 22 flats over 3 basements, a hotel, a residential building of 23 flats from a Revit model, private houses and aluminium quantities for tenders.
Send the material. Drawings (PDF or DWG) or a Revit model, and whatever already exists: building permit, specification, soil report.
Questions and a quote. I come back with focused questions and a written quote by size and scope. Illustrative prices by size: What a quantity surveyor costs.
Measuring and building the BOQ. Every quantity with a source, every unit explicit, and whatever is missing is marked as missing, not as zero.
Delivery. An Excel file in a contractor's structure, with the quantity calculation file behind it, and availability for questions during pricing and the tender.
Yaakov Avital, quantity surveyor and registered building technician
I am a building technician and a quantity surveyor. I prepare bills of quantities, cost calculations, budgets and tenders for residential, public, office and retail projects, and I work with contractors, developers and design offices. I also hold qualifications in works management, safety and construction supervision. I work across Israel, and remotely on projects abroad, from drawings and models.
Bills of quantities from the drawings or from the model.
Linking a BIM model to the bill of quantities: matching the 3D model to the quantity and budget data.
Hands-on experience since 2012: main contractor, tender department, additions in hospitals, infrastructure and a commercial mega-project. The list of projects.
Developer of AiN Engine: software that produces and checks bills of quantities and cost estimates from a BIM model.
Supervision and safety qualifications: certified works manager, graduate of the workplace safety officers course and of the work-at-height instructors course. Covered by professional liability insurance.
Graduate of an expert witness course and of a Revit Structure course.
Here you can see Yaakov Avital's certificates and qualifications. Some of them appear as text only. The company profile and the CV have a PDF to download (in Hebrew).
Registered building technician
Listed in Israel's register of certified technicians, Ministry of Labour.
A government course for people with a background in the field, at Habonim College: 484 hours in 2021 to 2022, with the government final exams. Certificate no. 1471330.
Yes. In Israel the profession has two Hebrew names: kamai, the common one, and chashav kamuyot, the professional title. Both describe an engineer or a registered building technician who measures and organises the quantities of a project. In English it is the quantity surveyor.
When should you bring in a quantity surveyor?
In most cases once there are architectural and structural drawings, and before you ask contractors for prices. It can also be earlier, for first quantities for a budget, and during construction, to check accounts and variations.
What do you need to send?
Drawings or a model, the specification if there is one, and the soil report for the works below ground. Whatever does not exist yet is marked in the BOQ as missing and completed when it arrives.
What do you get at the end?
A bill of quantities in Excel by chapters and items, with units and quantities, and a calculation file that shows where every quantity came from. When there is a model, also the link between the items and the model elements.
Glossary
A short glossary: the words of quantity surveying and construction in Israel
79 terms that come up in bills of quantities, in contracts and on site, each in one sentence, with the Hebrew word and a link to the full guide. Two separate guides explain the Hebrew terms themselves: the Hebrew term for quantity surveyor and Hebrew construction terms.
The profession and the BOQ (10)
Quantity surveyor: the person who measures and organises the quantities of a building project.Hebrew: כמאי, kamai
Chashav kamuyot: the professional Hebrew title of the quantity surveyor.Hebrew: חשב כמויות
Quantity takeoff: measuring the works from drawings or from a model.Hebrew: חישוב כמויות, hishuv kamuyot
Bill of quantities (BOQ): the list of works by chapters and items, each with a unit and a quantity.Hebrew: כתב כמויות, ktav kamuyot
Cost estimate: an assessment of cost before commitment.Hebrew: אומדן, umdan
Pricing: setting a price for an item or a project.Hebrew: תמחור, timchur
Methods of measurement: the rules that set the unit, the deductions and what the price includes.Hebrew: אופני מדידה, ofnei medida
Technical specification: the document that defines the materials, the workmanship and the methods of measurement.Hebrew: מפרט טכני, mifrat techni
Construction: written in Hebrew in two accepted ways, with a double yod (בנייה) or a single one (בניה).Hebrew: בנייה, bniya
Building technician: a certified professional in building design and construction.Hebrew: הנדסאי בניין, handasai binyan
Planning, permits and areas (6)
Gramushka: the permit drawing set, folded like an accordion.Hebrew: גרמושקה
Area calculation: calculating the building's areas by the regulations and the applicable plan.Hebrew: חישוב שטחים, hishuv shetachim
Taba (zoning plan): the plan that sets the building rights on a plot.Hebrew: תב״ע, taba
TAMA 38: a national plan for strengthening existing buildings, usually with added floors.Hebrew: תמ״א 38, tama 38
Pinui-Binui: urban renewal by demolishing and rebuilding.Hebrew: פינוי בינוי, pinui binui
Pile: a deep foundation, drilled and cast.Hebrew: כלונס, kalonas
Drilling: a hole in the ground for a pile or for a soil investigation.Hebrew: קידוח, kidu'ach
Excavation: removing soil from its place.Hebrew: חפירה, chafira
Bulking factor: the increase in the volume of soil after excavation, used to count trucks.Hebrew: מקדם התפחה, mekadem hatpacha
Disposal of surplus soil: hauling away the soil that does not go back as fill.Hebrew: סילוק עודפי עפר, siluk odfei afar
Backfill: returning soil around foundations and basements.Hebrew: מילוי חוזר, miluy chozer
Formwork: the moulds into which concrete is cast.Hebrew: טפסנות, tafsanut
Rebar: the steel bars inside the concrete.Hebrew: ברזלנות, barzelanut
Casting: filling the formwork with concrete.Hebrew: יציקה, yetzika
Raft foundation: a continuous concrete foundation under the whole building.Hebrew: רפסודה, rafsoda
Retaining wall: a wall that holds back a difference in ground level.Hebrew: קיר תמך, kir tomech
Concrete frame price: material, labour, equipment, overheads and profit per m³ or per m².Hebrew: מחיר שלד בטון, mechir sheled beton
Cast in place: concrete cast in formwork on site.Hebrew: יציקה באתר, yetzika ba'atar
Hollow-core slabs: prestressed precast slabs with voids, with a topping cast over them.Hebrew: לוחות חלולים, luchot chalulim
Walls and finishes (10)
Shtraba: joining a block wall to a concrete column or to an existing wall with concrete and dowel bars.Hebrew: שטראבה
Sandwich method: laying the blocks tight against the column, with no concrete strip between them.Hebrew: שיטת סנדוויץ', shitat sandvich
Dowel bars: short rebar pieces that connect a new element to an existing one.Hebrew: קוצים, kotzim
Blocks: masonry units for walls and partitions.Hebrew: בלוקים, blokim
Bond beam: a horizontal concrete band that ties a block wall together.Hebrew: חגורה, chagora
Plaster: the coating layer of the wall; the plasterer is the tradesman.Hebrew: טיח, tiach
Skim coat: filling and smoothing the wall before paint.Hebrew: שפכטל, shpachtel
Skirting: the strip at the bottom of the wall, between the floor and the wall.Hebrew: פנלים, panelim
Waterproofing: preventing water from getting in.Hebrew: איטום, itum
Curing: keeping the concrete moist after casting.Hebrew: אשפרה, ashpara
Construction methods (4)
Precast: elements made in a factory and assembled on site.Hebrew: טרומי, tromi
Industrialised construction: making large parts of the building in a factory.Hebrew: בנייה מתועשת, bniya meto'eshet
Light construction: a light frame and boards instead of blocks and concrete.Hebrew: בנייה קלה, bniya kala
Conventional construction: concrete cast and blocks laid on site.Hebrew: בנייה קונבנציונלית, bniya konventzionalit
Time and resources (5)
Gantt chart: a chart of activities on a time line.Hebrew: גאנט, gant
Construction programme: planning the order and the duration of the works.Hebrew: לוח זמנים, luach zmanim
Output rate: how much work is done in an hour, or how many hours each unit takes.Hebrew: הספק, hespek
Inputs: the resources that go into each unit of work.Hebrew: תשומות, tsumot
Heavy plant: the heavy engineering machinery on site.Hebrew: צמ״ה, tzama
Contract, accounts and percentage add-ons (18)
Construction inputs index: the index to which building contracts are linked.Hebrew: מדד תשומות הבנייה, madad tsumot habniya
Index linkage: updating a price by the change in the index.Hebrew: הצמדה למדד, hatzmada lamadad
VAT: a tax added to the account; 18% today.Hebrew: מע״מ, ma'am
Interim account: a periodic payment for the quantities carried out.Hebrew: חשבון חלקי, cheshbon chelki
Retention: a percentage the client holds back from each account until completion.Hebrew: עיכבון, ikavon
Advance payment: a payment made up front and offset against the accounts.Hebrew: מקדמה, mikdama
Variation: work that was not in the contract, or not in the BOQ quantity.Hebrew: חריג, charig
Lump sum: a fixed price for a scope, without measurement.Hebrew: פאושלי, paushali
Remeasurement: payment by the quantity carried out and measured.Hebrew: למדידה, lamedida
Contractor's profit: the percentage the contractor adds to the cost.Hebrew: רווח קבלני, revach kablani
Site overheads: site costs that have no item in the BOQ.Hebrew: תקורות אתר, tkurot atar
Company overheads: office and company costs spread over the projects.Hebrew: תקורות חברה, tkurot chevra
Price per m²: the pricing unit contractors use.Hebrew: מחיר למ״ר, mechir le'meter meruba
Contingency allowance: a percentage for works and costs that were not foreseen; in contractors' pricing usually about 2%.Hebrew: בצ״מ, batzam
Contractors' works insurance: a policy for damage to the works, third-party liability and employers' liability.Hebrew: ביטוח עבודות קבלניות, bituach avodot kablaniyot
Performance guarantee: a guarantee that covers the client if the work is not completed.Hebrew: ערבות ביצוע, arvut bitzua
Defects-liability guarantee: a guarantee for the defects-liability period after handover.Hebrew: ערבות בדק, arvut bedek
Rule of thirds: a rule of thumb for splitting the price of an item.Hebrew: כלל השלישים, klal hashlishim
Site and safety (5)
Works manager: the person responsible for safe execution on site.Hebrew: מנהל עבודה, menahel avoda
Safety officer: a role that advises on and supervises safety.Hebrew: ממונה בטיחות, memune betichut
Site diary: the daily record of what happened on site.Hebrew: יומן עבודה, yoman avoda
Scaffolding: a temporary structure for work at height.Hebrew: פיגומים, pigumim
Saving in construction: ways to lower the cost without harming quality and safety.Hebrew: חיסכון בבנייה, chisachon babniya
Model, drawing and blog (7)
BIM: a model in which every element carries data.Hebrew: בים
Model enrichment: adding data and order to a model so the BOQ can run on it.Hebrew: טיוב מודל, tiyuv model
Quantities from a model: measuring the elements directly from the model.Hebrew: כמויות ממודל, kamuyot mimodel
Quantities from AutoCAD: measuring from 2D drawings with dedicated tools.Hebrew: כמויות מאוטוקד
Export to Excel: moving quantities from the drawing or the model into a table.Hebrew: ייצוא לאקסל
Link to the model: every quantity leads back to the element it was measured from.Hebrew: קישור למודל, kishur lamodel
Insights blog: a short entry for each publication, with a number you can check.Hebrew: בלוג תובנות
Professional guides
Guides and information on quantity surveying
What a quantity surveyor does, what it costs, how a bill of quantities is built and what to prepare before you start.
