What is the integration of quantity and price and what is the separation of quantity and price?

the separation of quantity and price is a measure for the reform of the project cost management system. This measure has been put forward for many years and has been well known and accepted by practical and theoretical workers in the field of project cost management. However, what is the separation of quantity and price? Why should quantity and price be separated? How to separate quantity from price? The answers to these questions are not very clear. The author believes that it is necessary to further discuss these issues in order to facilitate the smooth progress of the reform of the project cost management system. This paper intends to talk about some immature views on several issues of the separation of quantity and price for your reference.

I. the meaning of the separation of quantity and price

the concept of the separation of quantity and price is based on the budget quota of the integration of quantity and price implemented in the traditional budget system. For a long time, the budget quota implemented in China is a combination of quantity and price. The budget quota not only stipulates the material consumption standard of the quota quantity machine, but also stipulates the unit price of the quota direct fee. A budget quota is in hand, which can not only find the analysis of standard work materials for physical consumption, but also calculate direct costs by applying the unit price of direct costs. This is the convenience of the integration of quantity and price. However, because the unit price of direct costs is often changed due to the influence of market conditions, even if the standard of physical consumption remains unchanged, the budget quota needs to be revised frequently, and each revision needs to be reprinted, which requires a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources. Buying a new quota has become a burden for the relevant units and individuals. This is the problem of the integration of quantity and price. In the era of planned economy, due to the strict planned price, the unit price of direct cost is relatively stable, and the revision period of budget quota can be longer. This contradiction is not very prominent. After the reform and opening up, with the gradual establishment of the market economy and the gradual liberalization of prices, the unit price of direct costs has changed frequently, and the revision period of budget quota has been shortened accordingly, and the contradiction between quantity and price has become increasingly acute. Based on the relative stability of the physical consumption standard and the constant variability of the unit price of direct cost, the reform scheme of separating quantity from price is put forward in practical work.

the quantity in the separation of quantity and price refers to the physical consumption standard in the budget quota, which is relatively stable. The price in the separation of quantity and price refers to the budgeted price of labor, materials and machinery, and the unit price of fixed direct fee calculated according to the budgeted price and the standard of physical consumption. The budgeted price changes frequently with the market conditions, and so does the unit price of direct fee. In order to solve the contradiction between quantity and price, in practical work, on the one hand, the relatively stable pre-calculated quota physical consumption standard is edited and published in written form, which remains relatively stable for long-term use; On the other hand, the frequently changing unit price of direct fees will be published separately, or edited and published separately in written form, or published online in electronic form. In this way, the formal separation of quantity and price is realized.

now when it comes to the separation of quantity and price, it generally refers to this form of separation of quantity and price. However, the author believes that it is not enough to only implement this formal separation of quantity and price. We should implement a substantial separation of quantity and price. The so-called separation of quantity and price in essence refers to the separation of management authority and determination method between quantity and price, which is a deep separation of quantity and price.

This substantial separation of quantity and price can be expressed in the following situations according to the depth of its reform:

First, the standard of physical consumption is managed by the state in a unified way, and the standard of physical consumption is controlled by compiling a unified national quota of physical consumption, thus controlling the project cost. The unit price of direct fees is determined by the local project cost management institutions, which is the separation of concentration and dispersion of quantity and price in management authority.

secondly, the standard of physical consumption is determined by the state, while the unit price of direct cost is determined by the owner and contractor independently, which means the unification of quantity and price and the independent separation.

thirdly, the standard of physical consumption and the unit price of direct cost are determined by users themselves. Enterprises are allowed to work out their own special consumption quota in kind, and the unit price (or comprehensive unit price) of direct expenses can be determined independently with the market when preparing the budget to determine the project cost. This is the complete separation of quantity and price.

what this paper is going to discuss is these three kinds of substantial separation of quantity and price. In practical work, there is also a reference to the separation of quantity and price, that is, "controlling quantity and releasing price". The "control quantity" in this formulation refers to the control of engineering quantity, which is not the same as the standard of physical consumption discussed in this paper. However, only by implementing the substantial separation of quantity and price can we truly "control quantity and let go of price".

second, the purpose of the separation of quantity and price

as mentioned above, from the formal separation of quantity and price, we can know that the direct purpose of the surface layer of the separation of quantity and price is to solve the contradiction between the relative stability of the standard of physical consumption and the constant variability of the unit price of direct fees. Because of the formal separation of quantity and price, we can manage quantity and price separately, and we can change the price separately without changing the quantity. However, in this way, there will be new problems. When the unit valuation table is published separately in written form and the budget is compiled manually, it is inconvenient to use both the physical quantity quota and the unit valuation table. When the unit valuation table is published online, it can only be pre-calculated by computer, otherwise it will be impossible to obtain and convert the unit price. This new problem in the reform can only be solved in further reform.

the direct purpose of the surface layer of quantity-price separation is related to the formal quantity-price separation. It is not enough to understand the purpose of the separation of quantity and price only in this way. The author believes that the deep indirect purpose of the separation of quantity and price should be understood from the substantive separation of quantity and price.

we put the separation of quantity and price into the background of reform and opening-up, and it is necessary to carry out the separation of quantity and price in essence, which is the need for the reform of basic pricing data, pricing model and project cost management system. The separation of quantity and price is not an end in itself, but a measure to realize the reform goal of project cost management system.

under the long-term planned economy system, China implements the pricing mode of quota plus fee. In line with this, the main basic pricing data adopted in China is the budget quota with quantity and price combined. During the transition from planned economy to market economy, the price of building products must meet the needs of market economy and be in line with international practice. In this context, we must abandon the pricing model of quota plus fees and establish a new pricing model that meets the needs of market economy and is in line with international practices. Accordingly, the budget quota of integrating quantity and price is no longer applicable, and the formal separation of quantity and price can not meet the needs of reform and opening up. We must implement the substantial separation of quantity and price. Only by implementing the substantial separation of quantity and price, especially the complete separation of quantity and price, can the ultimate goal of project cost management system reform be realized.

in a word, the purpose of separating quantity from price is to realize the ultimate goal of the reform of project cost management system.

Third, the separation of quantity and price

In my opinion, in order to achieve the separation of quantity and price, we should pay attention to the following points:

(1) Step-by-step implementation

In order to truly achieve the separation of quantity and price, we can adopt a step-by-step approach.

1. the first step is to implement formal separation of quantity and price. The standard of physical consumption and the unit price of direct cost are published separately, but the management authority and determination method of the two are temporarily unchanged. This is only a transitional step. In the meantime, other reform measures of the project cost management system should be stepped up.

2. the second step is to implement substantial separation of quantity and price. This step should also be implemented step by step with the reform.

at the beginning, it is possible to implement the method that the physical consumption standard is managed by the state in a unified way and the unit valuation table is managed by the local authorities, which involves the management authority of the basic valuation data and the separation of the unity and dispersion of quantity and price in the management authority.

afterwards, the unit valuation table can be released, and the unified statutory unit valuation table can be changed into guiding price information for the reference of the owner and the contractor, allowing the contractor to quote independently under the control of the unified physical consumption quota; This involves the way to determine the basic information of valuation, and involves the unity and independent separation of quantity and price in the way to determine.

Thirdly, the statutory nature of the unified quota can be abolished (note: it is not the abolition of the quota, but the abolition of the statutory nature of the quota), and the unified budget quota with statutory nature can be changed into a guiding physical quantity consumption standard for the reference of the owner and contractor, allowing the contractor to independently determine the physical quantity consumption standard, the basic price and the unit price of each sub-project according to his own situation under the premise of three unifications. At this point, the complete separation of quantity and price has been implemented, and the project cost has been calculated and determined according to the needs of market economy gradually.

(II) Supporting implementation

In order to separate quantity from price step by step, it is necessary to coordinate with other reform measures of the project cost management system, implement the three unification, implement the bill of quantities valuation, and implement the contractor's independent quotation. The implementation of these reform measures is a profound revolution in the field of engineering cost management. Only in the process of implementing these reform measures can we really implement the substantial separation of quantity and price. Without the separation of quantity and price in essence, it is impossible to implement the three unification, the bill of quantities valuation and the real contractor's independent quotation. Therefore, various reform measures must be implemented in a coordinated way.

for example, if we want to realize the three unification, if the budget quota is still compiled by each region, there may be inconsistencies in the project division, measurement unit and engineering quantity calculation rules, and the three unification cannot be realized.

for example, if we want to realize the principles of controlling quantity, guiding price and competition fee, we must implement different management requirements for quantity and price. If we don't separate quantity from price, we can't do this.

for example, if we want to realize the valuation by bill of quantities, the core of this measure is not the bill of quantities itself, but the implementation of the pricing model that meets the needs of the market economy. This measure requires that contractors be allowed to bid independently. If the budget quota and unit valuation table are still uniformly compiled by the competent department of project cost and have the nature of law, the contractor cannot really quote independently.

for example, we should use the physical quantity method to prepare the project budget. The prerequisite for adopting this method is to cancel the budget quota of the integration of quantity and price, because the budget quota of the integration of quantity and price itself is linked with the unit price method. If we don't break the unified statutory budget quota and unit valuation table, and if we don't allow contractors to determine their respective quotations according to market conditions, the physical quantity method can't be adopted.

in short, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of the reform of project cost management system, we have to implement many reform measures. These reform measures must be coordinated with the separation of quantity and price before they can be really implemented.

there is a necessary condition in this process, that is, the calculation rules of engineering quantity should be separated from the quota of physical consumption. For many years, China's engineering quantity calculation rules have always been an integral part of budget quota. The separation of the two makes the engineering quantity calculation rules independent and no longer dependent on the budget quota, which lays the foundation for weakening the legality and unity of the budget quota. Only in this way can we really implement the substantial separation of quantity and price.

(3) The task of promoting

the reform of project cost management system by administration has been put forward for a long time, but the process of its real implementation is relatively slow. Including the separation of quantity and price. The author believes that to speed up the process of reform, we must emphasize administrative promotion. In other words, the reform measures should not only be discussed orally or in writing, but also be put into practice. To implement the substantial separation of quantity and price, it is necessary to raise awareness and have a sense of urgency, which requires administrative impetus. Without the strong support and promotion of construction administrative departments at all levels, the separation of quantity and price can only be a slogan, which cannot be really implemented.

(IV) Legal Protection

Any reform, including the separation of quantity and price, will be in contradiction with the old legal system. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the reform, while emphasizing the administrative promotion, we must ensure the legal protection. We should pay close attention to the construction of laws and regulations, and the administrative department in charge of construction should clean up the old laws and regulations, and at the same time summarize and sort out various reform measures to form new laws and regulations, which will be enforced throughout the country. Without the protection of laws and regulations, it is impossible to implement various reform measures.

in this respect, we can refer to the practice of accounting system reform. The accounting system reform started later than the project cost reform, but due to correct understanding, decisive decision-making, relying on administrative promotion, a legal system was formed, which was quickly popularized throughout the country and achieved good results. This successful experience should be used for reference in our construction field.