Episode Details
Back to EpisodesTalking with Mark O'Mahony, about Quantity Surveying, Costs and Escalations, the role of the QS and the Construction market
Description
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Welcome back to The Building Talks Podcast. This one gets right into one of the biggest pressure points in construction right now, cost certainty.
In this episode, I sit down with Mark O'Mahony, quantity surveyor and Co-founder of Cohaven, and all-round top bloke! We first recorded this chat around Mark’s career journey, his move from Ireland to Melbourne, and what it takes to build a QS consultancy in the local market. But with construction costs shifting so quickly, we jumped back on to record an updated section on what’s happening in the market right now.
We get into rising construction costs, global supply chain pressure, procurement shifts, and what’s actually increasing versus what the market is absorbing. Mark also shares his take on how quantity surveying has evolved, what good cost advice looks like, and why managing risk, value and certainty has never been more important.
Takeaways:
✅ What’s really driving construction cost movement
✅ How global events are flowing into local projects
✅ The evolving role of quantity surveyors
✅ Why procurement models have shifted over time
✅ Managing cost, risk and value in a changing market
✅ What good QS advice actually looks like
Chapters:
04:24 The Pathway of Quantity Surveying in Ireland
10:41 Transitioning to Australia: Mark’s Journey
16:26 Shifts in Procurement Models in Construction
23:17 Founding A2M Consulting: The Journey Begins
29:06 The Importance of Personal Branding in Business
35:17 Project Aspirations and Business Growth Strategies
41:42 Key Functions and Responsibilities of a Quantity Surveyor
47:45 The Importance of Early Involvement in Design
52:46 The Ripple Effect of COVID on Construction Costs
1:06:17 Keeping Up with Market Changes and Cost Data
1:11:14 Rebranding as 'Cohaven' for Future Growth
Tune in for a timely, practical chat on construction costs, market pressure, and how to make better project decisions in uncertain conditions.
Hope you enjoy the podcast!
#QuantitySurveying #ConstructionCosts #BuildingTalksPodcast #CostManagement #CommercialConstruction #Procurement #Cohaven #BuiltEnvironment #ConstructionLeadership #ProjectDelivery #ConstructionMarket #RiskManagement
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