SMM2

Ever since the first edition of the SMM made its appearance in 1960 the building industry has seen
many changes and innovations in methods and modes of construction. This has resulted in demands
for an efficacious communication and cost controlling tool for the benefit of better management and
eflective monitoring of the works. The need for a new SMM is premised on these requirements.
The first Sub-Committee under Mr. Cheah Kow Chye was set up under instruction of the Quantity
Surveying Sectional Committee of The Institution of Surveyors, Maiaysia in 1984 to look into this and
thereafler Mr. Noel Lim took over the chair of the Sub-Committee in 1989 when the decision to adopt
the British SMM6 as a basis for our proposed second edition was made and agreed upon We have
since obtained endorsement from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to enable us to
use the SMM6 for this purpose and would express our gratitude to them.
This Committee is glad that this second edition has come to fruition albeit after taking enough time to
overcome the endless discussions and deliberations on matters technical, social and economics. We
have been able to draw upon the knowledge and experiences of both members of the above
Committees to provide inputs and comments relevant to this exercise. All suggestions, observations
and comments received have been carefUlly considered and weighed in the context of current
practices, and incorporated into this edition where appropriate.
This edition should reflect a reference which is true to tradition and yet flexible for modern use. Due to
the ongoing changes in information technology one shoUld reflect on the changes that have to come
to accommodate on-line BQ production techniques; it would be pertinent to note that a future edition to
accommodate this is inevitable. Perhaps this edition will provide the adequate milestones to move to
the next stage synchronous with developments in new mUIti media technologies.
The Committee would wish to thank those who have spent time in giving points and ideas which have
been adopted and those who are not Committee members but have given assistance to us viz.
Cawangan Ukur Bahan & Kontrak Jabatan Kerja Raya, Kementerian Keria Raya Malaysia, the
InstitUtion of Surveyors, Malaysia, the Department of Quantity Surveying of the Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and the Department of Building of the Tunku
Abdul Rahman (TAR) College; we are gratefUI for your contributions.