CESMM4

CESMM4 is the Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement, Fourth Edition. It is published by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

The first edition of CESMM was published in 1976, following the work of a committee set up by the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1971 to revise the Standard Method of Measurement of Civil Engineering Quantities. The second edition was published in 1985.

CESMM3 was published in Feb 1991 to; reflect changes in working practices and British Standards, to introduce a new class Z for simple building works incidental to civil engineering works, and to enable its use with ICE Conditions of Contract, 6th edition. However, on 1 August 2011, the ICE Conditions of Contract were withdrawn in favour of the New Engineering Contract (NEC). As a result, the ‘contract neutral’ 4th edition, CESMM4 was published in April 2012.

CESMM4 was prepared under the guidance of ICE's CESMM Review Committee. It retains many of the characteristics of CESMM3, but can be used across a range of contract types, including with NEC, FIDIC (Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils) and ICC (Infrastructure Conditions of Contract). Other changes have been introduced to bring it into line with industry practices and to reflect the emergence new technologies. In addition, references to the British Standards have been removed, making the method more applicable to a global audience (the only exceptions being road construction and concrete mixture).

CESMM4 sets out a procedure for the preparation of a Bill of Quantities for civil engineering works, for contracts based on traditional ‘measure & value’ principles. The Bill of quantities enables tenders to be prepared efficiently and can be used to value work completed once the contract has been let.

The work classification system in CESMM4 includes 26 main classes of work commonly undertaken on civil engineering projects and defines; how work is divided into items, the method for describing items, the units to be adopted and the method of measurement.

The contents of CESMM4 are as follows:

Preface
Foreword
Section 1. Definitions
Section 2. General principles
Section 3. Application of the work classification
Section 4. Coding and numbering of items
Section 5. Preparation of the bill of quantities
Section 6. Completion, pricing and use of the Bill of Quantities
Section 7. Method-related charges
Section 8. Work classification

Class A: General items
Class B: Ground investigation
Class C: Geotechnical and other specialist processes
Class D: Demolition and site clearance
Class E: Earthworks
Class F: In situ concrete
Class G: Concrete ancillaries
Class H: Precast concrete
Class I: Pipework - pipes
Class J: Pipework- fittings and valves
Class K: Pipework - manholes and pipework ancillaries
Class L: Pipework - supports and protection, ancillaries to laying and excavation
Class M: Structural metalwork
Class N: Miscellaneous metalwork
Class O: Timber
Class P: Piles
Class Q: Piling ancillaries
Class R: Roads and pavings
Class S: Rail track
Class T: Tunnels
Class U: Brickwork, blockwork and masonry
Class V: Painting
Class W: Waterproofing
Class X: Miscellaneous work
Class Y: Sewer and water main renovation and ancillary works
Class Z: Simple building works incidental to civil engineering works Find out more

In June 2019, ICE published a revised fourth edition of the Civil Engineering Standard Method of Measurement (CESMM4 Revised) which aligns the method with the most recent developments in the industry:

Enabling users to estimate the cost of a project as precisely as possible.
Contract neutral, able to be used with NEC, FIDIC and ICC.
Able to be used internationally.

In September 2020, ICE published CESMM4 Revised: Complete Book Bundle which includes the revised fourth edition of CESMM — CESMM4 Revised, CESMM4 Revised Handbook, and CESMM4 Revised: Examples.