Measurement book format with a worked example

The standard columns

Whatever the printed register, the measurement book (MB) captures the same fields so that quantities can later be priced at BOQ rates. On CPWD-style government contracts the MB is the legal record of what was executed, verified jointly by the contractor and the department's representative. The columns are:

Worked example. Volume items use L×B×H; area items use L×B; linear items use L only. Quantities total per BOQ item.

How quantity is computed

The rule is simple but the discipline matters: quantity = nos × length × breadth × height, using only the dimensions the item needs. A footing is a volume (L×B×H); wall plaster is an area (L×B); a skirting or edging is linear (L only). Each measured line is summed to a total per BOQ code, and that total is what gets priced into the BOQ abstract and the RA bill. Getting the dimensions and grouping right is what makes the bill defensible when the QS verifies it.

Why digitise the MB

The physical register is slow and fragile: it's re-recorded from site notes, re-totalled by hand, and re-keyed again into the billing spreadsheet — three chances for error and days of delay. A digital measurement book records the same entries on a phone (offline if the site has no signal), computes quantities automatically, draws them down against the BOQ, and feeds abstracts and RA bills directly. The measurement you take on site becomes the bill, with no re-entry — which is also why it shortens the billing cycle.