In the field of time management the construction industry is now in the same position as it was with quantity surveying at the start of the 20th century: we have no standards to work to, no training and no qualifications for those who do it. It should be no surprise, then, that the frequency of delayed major projects has not changed much since the Egan report (16 October, page 12)

The CIOB carried out research in 2007 and 2008 into how the industry went about time management. This seems to be the only research ever done into this area. The report, “Managing the risk of delayed completion in 21st century”, was published in June 2008. Since then, the CIOB has prepared a guide to good practice in the time management of complex projects, on which a group of about 20 experts from the UK, Hong Kong, the US and Australia have worked since September 2008. This will be released for peer review at the end of this month with a view to publication early in 2010. The CIOB will then set up an educational programme with a view to providing accreditation.

This will not change things overnight, but future generations will learn to manage time scientifically.

Keith Pickavance, past president, Chartered Institute of Building

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