Agreed Rules of Measurement (ARM)
Introduction
ARM provide a uniform basis for measuring building work and embody the essentials of good practice. ARM documents are primarily aimed towards quantity surveying and construction students studying introductory modules in building measurement or quantity surveying studies.
The ARM Joint Committee of the Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland (SCSI) and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) comprises a chairman, two representatives of the Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland, two representatives of the Construction Industry Federation and two observers from the Government Construction Contract Committee (GCCC).
The current members of the Joint Committee are:
• Michael Mulryan – Chairman.
• John Curtain and Kieran Masterson – Construction Industry Federation (CIF).
• Gerry O’ Sullivan and Neil Murphy – Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland (SCSI).
• Charles Mitchell and Colin Cleary – Observers representing the Government Contracts Committee (GCCC).
The brief of the Joint Committee is to:
1. Produce and publish Agreed Rules of Measurement and Supplements.
2. Answer queries received on the interpretation and application of the Agreed Rules of Measurement and its Supplements.
3. Issue amendments and guidance notes as required.
The implementation date for public works will be announced in due course.
Evolution of the Agreed Rules of Measurement
The purpose of the Agreed Rules of Measurement is to provide a uniform basis for measuring building work and presenting the information in bills of quantities / pricing documents that embody the essentials of good practice, facilitate the understanding of what the work described includes and contribute to the efficient pricing, tender assessment and post contract administration of the construction project that the tender document is issued for.
The Standard Method of Measurement (SMM) was the genesis of the Agreed Rules of Measurement (ARM). SMM 1 was published in 1922 and updated to take account of changes in methods of construction until the publication of the metric edition of SMM 6 in 1979. The SMM publication and review process was administered by a joint committee of the RICS and National Federation of Building Trades Employers and the committee included a representative from the then RICS branch in the Republic of Ireland.
The various editions of the SMMs, up to and including SMM 6, were used for the measurement of construction works in Ireland although an Irish Agreed Method of Measurement, published in 1952, was also in use for a period.
SMM 7 was first published by the RICS in 1988. It was the first tabular format method of measurement but its Rules assumed the use of the UK ‘Common Arrangement’ specification system, which lead to the decision not to adopt it for use in Ireland.
Following this decision, the Society of Chartered Surveyors decided to instead continue to use SMM 6 but by the early 1990s it became clear that printed copies would no longer be available. The Society of Chartered Surveyors decided on the adoption of the Principles of Measurement (International) for Works of Construction (POMI), published by the RICS in 1979.
As the name suggests, POMI contains principles of measurement rather than the detailed rules that the construction industry was used to. As such, it allowed considerable latitude in how the work content in a building could be measured and presented in a Bill of Quantities. The variety of interpretations of how to apply the Principles consequently resulted in inconsistent Bills of Quantities and Pricing Documents. It is to be noted that many QS practices in the Republic of Ireland continued to use SMM 6 in preference to POMI, rather than diminish the standard of the Bills of Quantities they were producing.
After consideration of a number of possible alternatives to the Principles of Measurement without a choice being agreed, a Joint Committee was convened to prepare a new set of measurement rules for use in Ireland. This Committee was chaired by the SCSI and comprised two representatives from the SCSI, two representatives from the CIF and two observers from the Department of Finance and, in turn, it appointed two external consultants to assist in drafting the new document. The document produced was approved for use by the SCSI and CIF and it was also approved by the Department of Finance for use on publicly funded building projects. It was titled the Agreed Rules of Measurement and was published in 1994.
Revisions were made over the years to update ARM to take account of the evolution of construction methodology and in response to industry requests for amendments to specific clauses. ARM 4, the current edition, was published in 2009.
With the advent of the Public Works Conditions of Contract (PWC), ARM 4 Supplement 1 was produced by the Joint Committee to provide for the requirements to be satisfied in Pricing Documents/ Bills of Quantities for use with the PWC. ARM 4 Supplement 1, Issue 2, the current edition, was printed in April 2016 and provides for the amendments adopted in the 2016 revisions to the Public Works Contracts.
ARM 4 Supplement 2, published in 2013, provides an alternative set of Rules for use in the measurement of Mechanical and Electrical Installations where the Design Team, with the agreement of the Employer, have decided that the measurement of Mechanical and Electrical Installations in accordance with ARM 4 is not warranted.
The ARM Joint Committee, following receipt of submissions from the SCSI, CIF and GCCC, are currently engaged in drafting what will become ARM 5. Publication is planned for 2021.
The ARM 5 is a new document presented in A3 landscape tabular PDF format and it includes a revised referencing system to facilitate computerised BQ production, BIM and other applications. ARM 5 will supersede ARM 4 and the two ARM 4 Supplements currently in use. There is yet to be an implementation date for public works.
Some of the main changes to the Work Sections in comparison with ARM 4 are:
- 01 General Rules. The introduction of Rules for Contractor Designed Development Works and changes to a number of the other Rules.
- 02 Preliminaries. Now in tabular format incorporating ARM 4 Rules with amendments and additions.
- 04 Excavation and Earthworks. The Ground and Archaeological Investigations content replaces the ARM 4 Ground Investigation Rules, Rules are included for dealing with noxious weeds, Rules for the measurement of earthwork support are re-introduced, changes are adopted to the working space Rules and Sub-Sections included for Crib Walls, Gabions and Reinforced Earth and Diaphragm Walling .
- 05 Piling: Piles and Piling: Piling Ancillaries. Rules have been revised.
- 11 Structural Steelwork. Rules for the measurement of architectural steelwork and for all fittings on steelwork to be measured separately.
- 13 Facade Systems and Curtain Walling. This is a new Work Section.
- 14 Mechanical Installation. Completely revised.
- 15 Electrical Installation. Completely revised.
- 16 Movement Systems. A new Work Section.
- 17 Builders Work in Connection with Mechanical and Electrical Installation and Movement Systems. A new Work Section.
- 18 Firestopping. A new Work Section.
- 20 Glazing. Revised.
- 25 Off Site Fabrication – Prefabricated Buildings, Pods and Modular System Building Elements. A new Work Section.
- 26 Tests and Samples. A new Work Section.
This list is a summary of the more significant amendments adopted in ARM 5 but the document incorporates extensive changes to the Rules of ARM 4 throughout its Work Sections.
Publications
Publications
- ARM 5
- ARM 4 (product available for purchase)
- ARM 4 Supplement 1, Issue 1 is available for download
- ARM 4 Supplement 2 is available for download
Additional documents, including Supplement 1 and Supplement 2, are free to download below.
Additional documents free to download
Advice Note on ARM 4 Supplement 1, Issue 1 – 7 Dec. 2020
The following documents: Supplement 1, Supplement 2, Advice Notes and amendments have been published and can be downloaded here:
ARM 5 FAQs
The PW-CF1 Conditions of Contract are published by the Office of Government Procurement. The requirements for the use of those Conditions will be determined by the sponsoring body and do not fall within the remit of the ARM Joint Committee.
The inclusion in ARM 5 of the Rules for ‘Contractor Design Development Works’ recognises the established practice in the industry whereby discrete parts of the work inputs needed to complete a construction project (see examples listed in ARM 5, page 6, first paragraph of para 01:11) are not fully designed by the Employer’s Design Team at tender stage and the undertaking of the detailed design falls to the appointed Contractor.
The Rules covering Contractor Design Development Works provide for the description and measurement of such works to facilitate their inclusion in a Bill of Quantities.
The use of the ARM Rules relevant to Contractors Design Development Works is appropriate where the Contractor is required to take responsibility for the design development of discrete parts of the project. The design objectives or criteria that the Contractor is obliged to satisfy in respect of Contractor Design Development Works must be clearly defined in outline drawings and specifications that are referred to within the Bill of Quantities descriptions of relevant items.
OGP have issued guidance on this https://constructionprocurement.gov.ie/mandatory from January 2025 use of ARM-5 and CESMM 4-Revised/
This is a commercial matter and not within the remit of the ARM Standing Committtee.
Work Section 01, in the Definitions para, defines the BoQ as follows:
Bill of Quantities – a list of items providing appropriate descriptions and accurate quantities incorporating the information on the drawings, specifications and other works requirements for the work needed to deliver a project, prepared in compliance with the requirements of this document.
No – not in accordance with the Rules of Work Section 03
ARM 5 provides the Rules that are to be used when preparing a Bill of Quantities regardless of how the Drawings and Specification are provided.
The work required to form an opening is to be measured in accordance with the Rules of Work Section 17 and the work for Firestopping is to be measured in accordance with the Rules of Work Section 18. As per Work Section 01, Para 4 (Application of Tabulated Rules), No more than one requirement from each of the Category 1, 2 and 3 columns can be applied in one description. For Work Sections with a Category 4 column, as many requirements, if any, of the Category 4 column that are applicable to the item of work being measured shall be satisfied in the description.
There consultation with the Mechanical and Electrical Contractors Association and ACEI reps during the ARM 5 drafting process. It is fair to say that the published Rules are a compromise intended to provide a workable solution where relevant parties have different perspectives on what level of design is appropriate prior to work being tendered.
Subject to demand, the Joint Committee will consider publishing a hard copy towards the end of 2025.
No guidance has been published to date but it is believed that the presentation of the Rules will facilitate experienced QSs and their technical advisers in developing libraries of codes suitable for their particualr BQ software
This is a matter for those developing their library of descriptions to consider, as appropriate.
Like all other work that may require to be measured for inclusion in a Bill of Quantities, the personnel involved in measuring and describing the work will need the relevant knowledge, competence and experience to ensure the BQ content is correct.
ARM 5 deals with measurement, regardless of the form of Agreement to be signed by the parties. Its status relative to the contractual agreement entered into by the parties commissioning and constructing the project involved will rely on its incorporation into any Agreement and the wider Contract Documentation.
If the tender document was prepared using ARM 4 then the post contract processes will also use ARM 4.
The format used to present a Bill of Quantities – whether in trade, element or operations format – is not prescribed or restricted by ARM 5.
The introduction of Rules that provide for Contractor Design recognises an industry practice that the Rules of ARM 4 did not provide for, notwithstanding Contractor Design being called for in some Specification documents.
It is to be measured in accordance with the Rules of ARM5
The Rules of the Mechanical and the Electrical Work Sections state that pipework and electrical containment are ‘measured over all fittings’
Regardless of whether design is by the Contractor or subcontractors / specialists, the meaurement requirements are set out in detail in the General Rules Work Section – see Para 11 on page 6.
ARM 5 provides for the use of various units of measurement, including ‘Item’.
The Rules of ARM 5 deal with the information to be provided in a Bill of Quantities. A prudent Client who is commissioning a Bill of Quantities for a project will ensure that the relevant Design Team members understand the requirements of them when they are appointed.
‘Builder’s Work in Connection with Mechanical and Electrical Services’ now enjoys a Work Section of its own – Section 17. Trenches are covered on page 72 and Measurement Rule 10 deals specifically with the measurement of ‘Service trenches, chambers and the like’.
The extent of the work required from designer members of the project team is not affected by the use of ARM 5.
Work that is ‘deemed to be included’ had to be called up as required in the Contract Documents under the provisions of ARM 4, which stated “Where there are specific requirements for such work they shall be stated”. The language used in ARM 5 has been amended to identify that it is sufficient for such works to appear on a drawing or in a specification.
No – the presentation of ARM 5 (landscape format) and the multiple changes to the Rules make red-lining impractical and potentially misleading.
At least since the introduction of the ARM Rules, the Bill of Quantities has never been intended to form part of, or an alternative to, the Specification. Where Design Teams chose to make it a Specification document then the Bill and the Contract Documents would typically have made that status clear. The General Rules Work Section, para 2, makes it clear what the status of Bill is with respect to the specification and ordering of materials or goods.
Question 2: The ‘inclement weather’ requirement places an obligation upon the Contractor to protect against a broader range of weather than just ‘adverse weather’. The term ‘adverse weather’ could arguably limit the protection obligation to only those weather events that were either defined in the Contract or otherwise are of a greater risk to the works than just inclement weather.
Question 3 The % unit of measurement for ‘Contractor’s profit’ reflects industry practice and preference.
Additional work is not envisaged arising from the use of ARM 5. It is arguable that the clarity of its Rules and the provision of Rules for types of work not previously provided for may actually reduce the aggregate time commitment to a project – pre and post cotnract – required of the QS consultant.
The use of a coding structure is at the discretion of practitioners but the presentation of the document readily facilitates the adoption of such a structure.
The requirement of the Rules is that as many of the entries in the relevant Category Column 4 that are appropriate to a BQ description may be included in the same description. Coding the description it is at the discretion of the practitioner and may be determined by whatever QS software package is being used.
Descriptions in a Bill of Quantities prepared in accordance with ARM 5 may encompass labour, plant and materials required to deliver the particular work that is to be priced. There may also be some descriptions that rely on the Provisional Sum, Prime Cost or Reserved Sum mechanisms to cover either the supply of materials, the installation of an item or the full provision of a specific piece of required work.
The Carbon QS will need to identify and extract the material content from the ARM5 BoQ description to enable the production of a Bill of Materials.
When used in conjunction with the International Cost Management Standard (ICMS), the ARM 5 Bill of Quantities structure will map to Uniclass and enable carbon ‘hotspots’ to be identified within the structure.
It is understood that practice guidance is under development by the professional bodies.
The requirement is that the Contractor is afforded the opportunity to include within their tender price for the full costs associated with the item that they are to design, including the design work. The particular work would not be subject to remeasure unless the extent or the requirements for the work are varied by the Design Team.
As has always been the case, the manner in which the work required is measured and the Bill of Quantities is measured is at the discretion of the QS except where the Client, or in some cases the Project Design Team, have stated specific requirements – particularly for the presentation of the BQ.