Cost management and BOQ
Preparing a BOQ to NRM2 vs POMI: what changes in practice
A bill of quantities is a pricing document and a contract document at once. Two contractors pricing the same bill need to read each item the same way, and that depends on the rules of measurement behind it. If the bill says "NRM2", an experienced estimator knows what is included in an item and what is not. If it says nothing, the estimator has to guess, and guesses show up later as variations.
This article compares two methods you may meet on Saudi projects, RICS NRM2 and the older Principles of Measurement (International), known as POMI, and explains what changes when you prepare a bill to one or the other. It does not cover SMM7 or CESMM4 in detail. If your contract names one of those, follow it.
Two different kinds of document
NRM2 is the RICS "New rules of measurement: Detailed measurement for building works". The first edition was published in April 2012. The second edition is dated October 2021 and was effective from 1 December 2021. It is a RICS guidance note, and it contains the measurement rules in tabular form, organised by work section.
POMI was published by RICS in June 1979 as a set of principles of measurement for use internationally. RICS archived it on 7 March 2023. The published description says its purpose is to give a uniform basis of measurement, suitable where existing rules are inappropriate or where no rules exist.
These are not equivalent in scope. NRM2 is a detailed set of rules, with a defined structure of work sections and a rule table for each. POMI is a short set of principles. The archived PDF on the RICS download site is small, around 220 KB. That matters for how much of the bill depends on the preparer's judgement.
Status: which one can you still use?
Archiving means RICS no longer maintains POMI. It does not cancel a contract that names it. If the conditions of contract or the tender documents say "measured in accordance with POMI", the bill has to follow POMI, and the archived document is the reference. Do not switch methods silently because one is newer.
For a new project where you pick the method, NRM2 is the maintained RICS standard. The choice should be written into the tender documents so that pricing parties know the rules.
On many Saudi projects the employer or consultant sets bespoke measurement notes. If so, state the hierarchy: the project's own preambles first, then the named method, then the contractor's allowances. A bill without a stated hierarchy invites disputes.
What NRM2 gives you that a principles document does not
The NRM2 second edition sets out how a bill of quantities is composed. The usual sections are:
- Form of tender
- Summary
- Preliminaries
- Measured works
- Non-measurable works
- Provisional sums
- Contractor-designed works
- Risks
- Credits for materials arising from the works
- Provisional dayworks
- Annexes
It also distinguishes firm bills from approximate bills, and links each bill type to the procurement route. Part 3 of the second edition contains the measurement rules, divided into work sections, starting with Work section 1: Preliminaries and running through to builder's work in connection with mechanical, electrical and transportation installations. The edition also includes guidance on codifying a bill, cost management and cost control.
In practice, this means the preparer does not invent the bill's skeleton. The structure, the work section order and the way preliminaries are split follow the standard.
What changes when you prepare the bill
| Task | Under NRM2 | Under POMI or no detailed rules |
|---|---|---|
| Bill structure | Follow the composition and work sections of the standard | Agree structure with the employer and state it in the preamble |
| Preliminaries | Prepared in the standard's format, with information and requirements, then a pricing schedule | Define in the preamble what is a fixed charge and what is time-related |
| Item descriptions | Written to the work-section rule tables | Written to the principles, with extra description where the rule is silent |
| Provisional sums and risks | Handled in the standard's sections | State definitions and how the sum will be adjusted |
| Non-measurable work | Listed as its own section | Decide how it is described and priced, and say so |
| Bill codes | Standard codification guidance | Project-specific coding agreed at the start |
Under a principles document, the preparer fills more gaps. That is not wrong, but every gap you fill needs a line in the preamble, otherwise the pricing party can read the item two ways.
A practical routine for either method
- Confirm the method in the contract. Read the tender documents, the conditions and the Particular Conditions. If the method is not named, ask the employer to name it before you start.
- Fix the information date. Record the drawing revisions used. A bill without a drawing list cannot be reconciled later.
- Write the preambles first. State the method of measurement, the hierarchy of documents, the definitions of provisional sums, the treatment of contractor-designed portions and the basis of any approximate quantity.
- Keep a measurement log. For every item, note the source drawing, the dimensions or model query used, and any assumption. This is the audit trail when the final account is measured.
- Separate what is measured from what is not. Non-measurable and risk items should be visible. Hiding them in measured rates makes the final account harder.
- Reconcile. Check quantities against a second source: the model, a rough estimate or the last project's ratios. An unusual figure is a prompt to re-measure, not a conclusion.
- Review with the estimator. A short pre-tender review of the bill structure by someone who will price it often finds ambiguity that a measurer has missed.
Remeasurement and the final account
If the contract is measured, the bill is only the starting point. The method of measurement for the final account must match the method for the bill, otherwise you will measure the same work to two sets of rules. Check the contract for the rule that applies to remeasurement, and keep the measurement log so that the same items are measured the same way.
For variations, price the change against bill rates where the contract allows it, and use the same measurement rules as the bill. If the contract states a different method for variations, follow it.
Common mistakes
- Naming a method in the bill title but not applying its rules
- Mixing methods inside one bill without saying so
- Leaving provisional sums undefined
- Putting contractor-designed work into the measured section without a performance specification
- Issuing a bill without drawing revisions listed
If you want a second pair of eyes on a bill before it goes to tender, send us the preambles and the summary page. We can check structure and ambiguities first.