Preliminaries in a Bill of Quantities
What prelims cover: site setup, management, temp works, and how they’re priced separately from measured work.
What preliminaries include
Preliminaries capture project-wide costs: site staff, facilities, scaffolding strategy allowances, testing, cleaning, and sometimes duration-related items. They align with how the contractor intends to run the job.
Missing prelims in a bid can wipe margin even when measured work is accurate.
They can also include permits, traffic management, security, waste licences, and temporary utilities—anything that does not sit neatly in one trade BOQ line.
Pricing approach
Some contracts price prelims as lump sums; others allow quantities (e.g. months of site management). Match the form and avoid duplicating costs already in rates.
Link prelim assumptions to programme duration—delays can change prelim exposure.
If a prelim line is time-based, state the start/finish assumptions and what happens if the client accelerates or slows the works.
Avoiding double counting
Check that crane hire is not in both prelims and a trade rate, unless the contract clearly allows split allocation.
When subcontractors submit BOQs, ensure their prelims do not overlap the main contractor’s site management unless the contract says otherwise.