Measurement Book: 5 Ultimate Guide to use MB.

Any construction works including maintenance works or material supplied by the contractor or dealer/supplier at the project site must be quantified and recorded for paying the bills and kept recorded for future reference. For this matter, the concerned engineer from the department or client must maintain the measurement book to carry out the record-keeping and pass the bills. In this article, we present a comprehensive overview of measurement books, covering their recorded needs, recording procedures, and, notably, the crucial aspect of making corrections during the recording process.

What is a Measurement Book?

A measurement Book also known as MB is a very important account record book to keep the records of details measurements of work done or materials bought at the project site. It is used to pass the bills to contractors or suppliers on the basis of physical work done at the site or materials supplied in the area by the Assistant Engineer, Executive Engineer or Section officer.

All measurement books are numbered serially while distributed to the concerned division or engineer of the project site. While issuing the book, a record of issuing is mentioned in a register book either in the hard book form or in a computer application. A register maintained at the division level consists of the serial number of each book, the name of the sub-division/section or office to whom issued, and the date of issue and return.

Thus in a similar manner, a register is also mentioned in the sub-division/section level with the record to whom the book is issued, purpose of issue, date of issue and return. Quantified works at the project site are reflected in the MB. The quantity of materials supplied is first recorded in stock larger or register and then it is recorded in MB for making the payment.

The measurement books should contain the “physical measurement table” on every page as shown in the picture below. Nevertheless, the MB can come in any size as in the photograph shown above. Some of the department has also started to use soft MB. This type of MB is either created in the Excel sheet or other software like construction manager software (CMS). All the physical measurement is jotted down in the table provided.

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Measurement book Entry Types

Measurement book can be used for either of the following:

In Case of Work Done:

In the case of work done at the site, the following records shall be filled:

1. Work description
2. Exact measurement
3. Exact quantities
4. Unit of the measurement
5. Rate of the work to be performed
6. The total amount to be paid for the work done

In Case of Material Supply:

In the case of material supplied at the site and office, the following records shall be filled:

1. Item description (including manufacture date, model number, etc.)
2. Exact quantities supplied
3. Unit supplied product
4. Rate of the supplied product
5. The total amount to be paid for the supplied product

Also, read: Retention Money in Construction Contract.

Standard Measurement Book (S.M.B)

A measurement book where the detailed measurements of certain items of works of a building are recorded correctly in ink on the completion of the construction and the accuracy of which is certified by an Assistant Engineer, is known as the Standard Measurement Book (Dutta. p699). The book is maintained as a record, to facilitate the preparation of estimates for periodical repairs and their execution.

In the case of annual whitewashing, colour washing, etc., no detailed measurements need to be taken, the contractor’s bills are prepared and the payments to the contractors are made on the basis of measurements in the Standard Measurement Book. S.M.B. is checked every five years and alternation if any is entered in the S.M.B. which is known as quinquennial checking. The S.M.B. is mainly used for annual repair and maintenance works. It is used and maintained in the same manner as an ordinary measurement book.

Importance point:

The measurement book (MB) should be handled carefully and with care and the following points should be kept in mind.

1. All the records entered should be done with an ink pen. It is not prohibited to use pencils. The use of pencils is only allowed where there is no availability of pens during the time of record entry.
2. Measurement Books should contain pages from 0 to 200. These pages should not be torn out or misplaced from the booklet.
3. The book should not be lost or misplaced otherwise lost due to unavoidable circumstances of the disaster.
4. No blank page or pages should be left in the middle of the book during the entry of records.
5. The book should be kept safely under lock and key. It should hold the records entry for 10 years.
6. The records in the books shall be clear and visible. The record entry should not be damaged by water or the spread of the ink.

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Record of Entities in Measurement Books

The records mentioned in the measurement books are as follows: –

Project Details: –

These lists should be filled on the first page of MB.

1. Name of the project/Works:
2. Name of the Contractor:
3. Cost of the project/works:
4. Duration of the contract or project period:
5. Commencement of project/work:
6. Completion of the project /works:
7. Address of the contractor:
8. Date and validity of performance guarantee:

Record of Advances Payment: –

1. Record of Mobilization advance and date of entry of the data
2. Record of Materials/secured advance and date of entry of the data

Records of Running Accounts Bill(s): –

1. It should contain the nomenclature of the Running Account Bill(s) and the date of entry
2. It should contain detailed measurements of work done to date
3. Should record the cost abstract of RA bill(s)

Records of Final Bill: –

1. It should contain the nomenclature of the Final Bill and date of entry
2. It should contain detailed measurements of work done
3. Should record the most abstract of the final bill

Records of Deduction and Recoveries: –

1. All deductions such as TDS (tax) and retention money shall be deducted in every running account bill and final bill.
2. Mobilization and Secured advances must be completely recovered before the payment of the final bill.
3. An unsettled bill in the previous bill must be deducted or settled in the final bill recorded in MB.

Every amount passed in the MB must be signed by the Contractor, Site engineer/Assistant engineer. The record should be checked by the section or sector Head and verified by the chief or Executive engineer. An accountant is required to sign in the MB during the passing of any bill after being received from the respective engineer.

Making Corrections in the Measurement Book

The correction in the MB is not allowed unless done correctly. The following list is to follow for correction.

1. No crossing over the page with ink or pencil is allowed.
2. The single strike of words, lines, or paragraphs is admissible with the initial near it.
3. A single line strike with the signature nearby on the MB page is allowed if the record entry is found to be a mistake or mismatching the record intended to be entered.

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Probation in Measurement Book

1. MB users are not allowed to tear off the page.
2. Not allowed to use correction fluid for erasing the mistakes.
3. Overwriting is not allowed in any writing or measurement.

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