RIBA, CIOB and RICS launch Quality Tracker tool

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have today (9 October 2018) 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The Tracker allows clients to demonstrate their overall commitment to quality and differentiate themselves in the market.
5. 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 and supporting documents are available on our website.

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.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. For further information please contact Elise.Neve@riba.org 020 7307 3761
2. The Quality Tracker and Guide are part of the Building in Quality initiative championed by RIBA with RICS and CIOB. The initiative arose from research by the RIBA’s Client Liaison Group.
3. The Guide explains how to use the Quality Tracker and the rationale for the system. It highlights further needs including research to establish an industry definition of quality, better evidence for how to achieve quality, better methods of measurement, benchmarks, and better ways to account for risk and uncertainty.
4. The RIBA’s Client Liaison Group is led by Nigel Ostime of Hawkins\Brown Architects. It consults closely with the client body, including contractors, to research ways to improve the relationship between clients and architects.
5. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. www.architecture.com. Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA