Abstract. This study reviews the importance of green building and identified some popular rating tools available. The importance of green building requirements was also discussed. Significant cost factors in green buildings were described and methods of capturing and controlling the costs of building services by quantity surveyors discussed. The major barrier to effective cost control of green building have been identified as lack of a clear green design goal; midstream attempts to incorporate green; decentralized management of the green building process; lack of experience with green building; and insufficient time and funding. The study concluded that, it is essential for quantity surveyors to develop a cost management framework responsive to both client values and user requirements within the framework of sustainable development.

Cost is an important measure of project success and clients will expect a reliable forecast at the early stage of construction projects to inform their business decision. This study was undertaken to investigate the current practices in managing cost of mechanical and electrical (M&E) services in buildings. The perceptions of practitioners on the benefits of adopting StandardBased Pricing Mechanism for M&E services as used for building fabrics and finishes was ascertained. The methodology adopted for the study was semi -structure interview and questionnaire survey. Inferential statistics technique was used to analyse the data collected. The results revealed that, M&E services tender documents are often based on lump sum contract. Practitioners are of the opinion that the adoption of Standard -Based Pricing Mechanism (SBPM) could enhance the quality of M&E services price forecasts; ensure active post contract cost monitoring and control; encourage collaborative working relationship; enhance efficient whole life cycle cost management; improve risk management and facilitate an efficient tendering process. The study suggested the development of local Standard Method of Measurement for M&E services and proposed strategies to facilitate the adoption of SBPM as basis for forecasting contract price of mechanical and electrical services in buildings.

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This study describes an empirical investigation revealing the critical obstacles to the adoption of a uniform pricing mechanism for building services from the perspective of industry practitioners . A total of 157 questionnaires conducted on quantity surveyors (N=75), mechanical engineers (N=39) and electrical engineers (N=43) were collected and used for the study. T –test statistics was run to identify ten significant factors from a list of fourteen factors identified. Relative importance indices were computed for each factor from the perspectives of the practitioners so as to determine the most critical obstructive factors. The result shows that the five most important obstructive factors in order of significance are: (1) difficulty in the interpretation of the Standard Method of Measurement by design consultants (2) the late involvement of building services design consultants (3) quantity surveyors’ insufficient skill in mechanical and electrical services technology (4) drawings of services are often not ready for billing at the tender stage and (5) the lack of a generally accepted Standard Method of Measurement for mechanical and electrical services

Wind turbines are nowadays the principal source of wind energy production. However, the technical information publicly known about these machines is still very scarce. Indeed, information related to failure modes, unavailability and maintenance costs of these systems remains confidential and only is held by manufacturers. To be able to optimize the efficiency, to guarantee the security and to negotiate better warranty and maintenance contracts, it is necessary to know more information about the operation and maintenance and replacement costs of subsystems of a wind turbine. To this end, this paper presents a short literature review of what has been published so far about this issue, and, based on two years of operation, analyses an active power control system of 21 identical wind turbines, installed in a wind farm in Portugal. The emphasis of this study is on the operation, availability and maintenance, and replacement costs of the active pitch control device, which automatically manages the position and operation of blades according to wind direction and speed, thus maximizing the electrical power gathered from the natural forces. Moreover, the paper provides an estimation for the total maintenance cost of this device, one of the most important components of the wind turbine, thus allowing wind farm companies to carry out financial and economic analysis of maintenance contracts that probably will be the rationale for better contract negotiations with manufactures. The result and the analyses that have been reported may also contribute for further studies on the reliability and maintenance policies of wind turbines.