The BRE surveyed 900 companies, including clients, architects, contractors and QSs. Of the 316 replies received, a quarter said whole-life costing was "often" or "always" included in briefings.
Retail clients use whole-life costing the least – less than 15% request it regularly. Healthcare clients are more convinced, regularly asking for whole-life costing 40% of the time. This, the report said, is because of the influence of the private finance initiative.
The survey was commissioned by the DETR to find out the degree to which whole-life costing is being used by the construction industry and the barriers to more widespread use.
The report says there are significant technical barriers to the adoption of whole-life costing. "There is a lack of data on both costs and performance," the report says.
There is also a lack of motivation in the industry to adopt the method, including a "perceived lack of client interest and trust in the value of whole-life costing exercises".
Reasons given for not carrying it out included absence of client requests, lack of data, a lack of monitoring targets and a lack of long-term interest in the building for many key players.
One respondent said: "Life data is very sketchy on existing materials and a pure gamble on new materials that have not been around for a full life-cycle yet." Another added: "This is a holy grail in which we have long been interested but in which the industry and our clients have little interest. Short termism rules." But the construction industry is keen to use whole-life costing more. More than 74% of questionnaire respondents would consider using it in the future and 72% would take part in and provide feedback in a whole-life costing forum.
The BRE's Centre for Whole Life Performance is using the report to help create a database of whole-life costing data.
It is also setting up a forum for those interested in whole-life costing.
