Drake and Kannemeyer | Chartered Surveyors

Drake and Kannemeyer LLP is an independent firm of Chartered Surveyors based in Godalming, Surrey.
Our ethos is to provide the highest level of independent professional surveying services to our clients, to understand the client needs and problems and provide the best solutions in the most cost efficient manner.

The practice has been serving the Public and Private Sectors for over 30 years.

We specialise in Condition Surveys of health buildings, education buildings and commercial and public sector clients with multiple buildings.

The condition appraisal survey has been developed beyond standard stock condition surveys to give a sophisticated and highly useful tool for estate professionals.

In summary the appraisal provides a costed, graded and timed assessment of building defects that is prioritised and risk assessed. The survey information is delivered in a user friendly relational database that provides a tool for work scheduling and financial planning that enables budgetary control and forecasting of long term maintenance requirements. The Risk Assessment methodology used is compliant with NHS guidance issued to efm-standards as published by NHS Estates 2004 edition. The database produces standard reports that facilitate the completion of ERIC returns and HESA University/ FE returns.

Surveys to establish non-compliance with UK and European Legislation

The Statutory Non-compliance survey has been developed from our experience in the Health and Higher Education sector over the last 33 years.

This appraisal seeks to identify significant items of work required to bring the buildings of an estate into compliance with the principal items of legislation applicable to these buildings. Operational, managerial and other non-constructional issues are not included. In summary the appraisal provides a costed, graded and timed assessment of Non-compliance that is prioritised and risk assessed. The survey information is delivered in a user friendly relational database that provides a tool for work scheduling and financial planning that enables budgetary control and forecasting of long term maintenance requirements. The Risk Assessment methodology used is compliant with NHS guidance issued to efm-standards as published by NHS Estates 2004 edition. The database produces standard reports that facilitate the completion of ERIC returns and HESA University/ FE returns.

Six Facet NHS Surveys

The firm has undertaken 6 facet NHS Surveys for many Trusts in England

The 6 facets are:

Risk Assessed Condition Appraisal
Function
Space Utilisation
Quality of The Estate
Risk Assessed Legislation Non-Compliance Appraisal
Environmental Management

Functional Suitability Surveys in Higher Education

D&K carry out Functional Suitability Surveys for Higher and Further Education Estates
in accordance with the guidance note D21 as issued by HEFCE (HESA). In summary this guidance requires an assessment of facilities against a set of criteria to which a scoring system is applied to establish an appropriate over-all grade for a facility of functional area.

The areas to be address include the following:-

Legislative Compliance
Energy Performance
Environment
Layout
Location
Flexibility
Servicing
User Perception
External Environment
The results of the appraisal show an overall Functional Suitability rating by department that is compatible with the HESA scoring requirements. Each of the above issues are scored and allocated a grade as defined below:-

1 Excellent - High degree of satisfaction.
2 Good – no major changes necessary.
3 Fair - Below acceptable standard requiring change.
4 Poor - Unacceptable requiring significant improvement.

D&K have carried out Functional Suitability surveys for NHS estates since 1980 and with the firms experience in HE and FE estates it was a natural progression to provide these surveys for the Education Sector. Our system of appraisal takes the best from both systems including analysis at room level utilizing HESA departmental codes augmented by our own additions. This provides analysis by room, department and building. Our system automatically calculates over-all grades suitable for use in annual HESA return.

Architectural Design and Project Services

We provide a full range of Architectural Design and Project Services for our public and private sector clients in addition to our services of maintenance and repair works procurement. Our services include the following:-

Architectural Design for new buildings, extensions, alterations and refurbishment
Listed Building Conservation, restoration and repair projects
Option Appraisals for reuse, remodeling or change of use
Feasibility Studies
Cost Planning and Consultancy
Project Management
Project Coordination
Procurement and Contract Administration
Processing Statutory Applications for Planning and Building Regulations
CDM Coordinator services
Over the past 30 years the range of projects carried out by the firm have been extensive and varied including redevelopment of hospital sites, new teaching blocks for colleges and public schools, conversion and refurbishment of acute and mental illness health facilities, new doctors surgeries, conversion of a castle to country house hotel, Carnaby Street and Shaftsbury Avenue retail/commercial upgrades/conversions and many others.

Building Surveying and Professional Services

We provide a wide range of Professional Building Surveying and other Services to both public and private sector clients including:-

Building Surveys
Defect Surveys and Analysis
Building Pathology
Schedules of Condition
Schedules of Dilapidation
Boundary Disputes
Party Wall Awards
Measured Building Surveys – as built drawings
Fire Damage Reinstatement
Building Damage rectification
Insurance Loss and negotiations
For more information on these specific services contact one of our Partners.

Access Audits

Our approach to DDA is based on a thorough understanding of the nature of disability, both physical and mental, and the difficulties that disabled people confront whilst using buildings.

Compliance with the Approved Document; Part M of Building Regulations does not equate to compliance with The Equality Act 2010 and associated ACOPs. The Act is concerned with equality and inclusivity within an organisation, not just physical alterations to buildings.

The Act requires the service provider to make reasonable steps to overcome physical features, which make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use a service by reasonable alternative methods. The Disability Rights Commission has published a Code of Practice for Guidance in defining what reasonable steps means. Without intending to be exhaustive, the following are some of the factors, which may be taken into account when considering what is reasonable:

• Whether taking any particular steps would be effective in overcoming the difficulty that disabled people face in accessing the services in question;
• The extent to which it is practicable for the service provider to take the steps;
• The financial and other costs of making the adjustment;
• The extent of any disruption which taking the steps would cause;
• The extent of the service provider's financial and other resources;
• The amount of any resources already spent on making adjustments;
• The availability of financial or other assistance.

Estate Management Software

Drake and Kannemeyer have developed and used estate management software since 1980 for surveys on Health, Education, Government Research, Central and Local Government and Private/Commercial and Charity Estates.

Our systems were originally developed for use in the NHS estate and comprised software for the analysis of Condition Surveys, Functional Suitability, Space Utilisation and Energy Appraisals. The systems have developed in house and currently include the following:-

Estate Terrier
Condition Survey
Statutory Compliance Survey
Function, Space and Quality Surveys
Energy
Access Audit
Typically the above software is provided free of charge under a user license agreement with no further annual charges to all clients who commission our surveys.
We also developed bespoke software for clients which have included for example:-

Asbestos Management
PPM Monitoring
Disaster Management
Life Cycle Cost
Our survey IT systems and methodologies are fully compatible with requirements for HESA reporting in Higher Education Estates and with DH requirements for ERIC returns, PAM Metrics and Risk Assessed Condition Surveys and Statutory Compliance Surveys.

Typical Reports

The key objective in developing software for appraisal systems was to ensure ease of operation by client users to enable quick retrieval of information together with analytical reporting and simple data maintenance facility. Complex analysis is possible across different survey facets enabling great flexibility in reporting. The system enables data to be analysed as follows;

Report by whole Estate or Site Grouping
Report by range of Buildings (Blocks)
Report by Residential Buildings (Blocks)
Report by External Works
Individual Building (Block) Reports
Block Reports by Risk Categories
Block Reports by Grade
Main Element Analysis
Sub Element Analysis
Reports by Grade and Year
10-Year Plans
Priority Reports by Block and 10-Year Plans
Combined or separate Legislation and Condition Reports by Grade or Year
Report on Risk/Priority/Grades rankings for costed deficiencies.
Estates information for HESA Returns

Maintenance Advice, Planning, Records and Surveys

The firm has extensive experience of all aspects of maintenance both at operational and strategic level. We are able to provide advice on specific maintenance issues and problems or advice on Estate wide maintenance strategy and planning.

Some typical areas of work and services provided include:

Estate Records
Measured Building Surveys
Asset Surveys
Annual and Long Term Maintenance Plans
Pre Planned Maintenance
Service Contracts
Maintenance Policies and Service Level Agreement
Maintenance Works procurement, design and project services
Bespoke software for maintenance management
Previous commissions have included the provision of caretaker Estate Management to a Health Trust, Asset surveys and registers including asset tagging in Health and Education Estates, procurement of significant maintenance works including reroofing works, renewal of windows, fire alarm and emergency lighting systems, etc. Measured building surveys of existing estates including area and heated volume calculations.
We have also provided bespoke software for maintenance schedules and database analysis including Asbestos Management database, maintenance operation log books and service records which are supplementary to or standalone from our Condition and Statutory Compliance Survey Software and database.

Trading Since

1980