CEO Today Magazine September 2019 Edition

MASTER www.ceotodaymagazine.com 54 I N S I D E B U S I N E S S Duncan Hughes-Phillips Base Quantum Duncan Hughes-Phillips is an experienced Quantity Surveyor and the CEO of Base Quantum; a Quantity Surveying and Quantum Expert Witness practice. Duncan accepts instructions as a Quantum Expert with his expertise spanning construction, process and civil engineering. High profile clients include government bodies and leading transport and infrastructure providers. His 25- year career is built on frank, solutions-focused advice, sound experience and knowledge, integrity, passion for work and client respect. Below, CEO Today hears from Duncan on the ins and outs of Quantity Surveying, the origins of Base Quantum, and some of the challenges the business has overcome over the years. Can you tell us more about Quantity Surveying and the benefits of this process? As QSs, we deal with the money involved in the construction process. First, we will review an Employer’s aspirations and assess how much it will cost to build whatever the Employer wants. Then, as a project proceeds, our job is to manage the cost of change and to ensure that the Employer gets the building it wanted for the money it can afford and, if it can’t, then it knows early enough to do something about it. A Quantum Expert’s role is not dissimilar – it involves analysing and valuing the cost of change – but this role is forensic, and usually occurs after a job has finished. At Base, we are quite unusual in that we bring together the skills of QSs and Quantum Experts so that we can apply both a forensic and a contemporaneous lens to any problem. This complete vision can help untangle even the most complex of issues and allows us to provide both a service that resolves problems when they arise and prevents them from happening again. We also bring together our experience from our position as the bookends of the construction process to provide holistic training opportunities for the construction industry. What first brought you to found Base Quantum? I had been at the same firm for almost 20 years prior to founding Base, from trainee to part-owner, but I was not seeing eye to eye on strategy and the future direction of the business. I started an MBA, initially to help me see why I was wrong. However, after several months, I began to understand that my different aspirations made my role untenable. The recession