The Royal Institute
of British Architects (RIBA), Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have launched a new free-to-download
digital tool – the Quality Tracker – to improve the quality of outcomes in the
construction industry.
The Quality Tracker
has five distinct benefits for the construction industry.Although quality targets may
be discussed at the start of a project, they often get neglected as
deadlines approach and costs rise. The Tracker is a constant reminder of
quality targets:
- Although quality targets may
be discussed at the start of a project, they often get neglected as
deadlines approach and costs rise. The Tracker is a constant reminder of
quality targets.
- The Tracker sets up a formal
‘chain of custody for quality’ aligned to the RIBA Plan of Work, enabling
all prospective and current members of the project team to better
understand their risks. This improves collaboration, increases
transparency, and averts disputes as project teams grow and change.
- Post-completion, when
signed-off, the Quality Tracker gives purchasers, tenants, investors and
asset managers a straightforward account about the quality targets for the
building they are buying into and its development history.
- The Tracker allows clients to
demonstrate their overall commitment to quality and differentiate
themselves in the market.
- Finally, the wider adoptions
of the Quality Tracker will incentivise better quality in buildings which,
in turn, will lead to improved human health, safety and wellbeing, and
boost the construction industry’s reputation.
A Guide to the
Quality Tracker is being launched at the same time. It explains the background
to the tool and how it should be used.
The Quality Tracker
will be piloted over the next six months on real construction projects. For
further information on how to sign up to the pilot, please visit: https://www.architecture.com/working-with-an-architect/building-in-quality-pilot
RIBA President, Ben
Derbyshire, said: “This is a significant cross-industry initiative which will
enable clients and construction industry professionals to achieve better
long-term building quality. The industry needs a shared definition and method
of measuring quality, and better ways to account for risk and uncertainty – and
this tool is an excellent response to those issues. I urge all industry
professionals to pilot and help to shape its development.”
Chair of the RIBA
Client Liaison Group, Nigel Ostime, said: “Following the Grenfell Tower fire,
the Hackitt Review, and the findings of the Edinburgh Schools Inquiry, there is
a clear appetite for improving quality. We hope this toolkit will be a catalyst
for that change. The tracker will provide a core component of what Dame Judith
Hackitt called a ‘golden thread’ that has been missing to date, and we are
convinced that projects that implement the process it sets out from inception
to completion will see a step-change in the results achieved.”
Paul Nash,
Past-President of CIOB and Chair of their Quality Commission, said: “Last year
the CIOB established a Commission to examine the issue of quality in our
industry. We needed to understand what was preventing or promoting the delivery
of quality on construction projects. Our research identified that there was a
need to raise standards across the industry and to improve education and
training on quality. But importantly there was also a recognition that the
industry needed to collaborate if it is to bring about the change that is so
urgently needed. It is for this reason that the Building in Quality initiative
is so important, and I would encourage our members and wider industry to
support this initiative and work together to build a better industry.”
John Hughes,
President of RICS, said: "RICS is pleased to endorse and support this
Building in Quality initiative. Quality in building should be present in every
development and must underpin the whole of the project lifecycle from start to
finish. I commend the use of this Quality Tracker to the whole of the
industry.”
