RICS to revamp standards in ‘back to basics’ campaign

The RICS construction faculty is trying to put itself “back at the heart of the industry” through a back to basics-style campaign.

The initiative will focus on measurement methods, with an emphasis on the fundamentals of cost and value.

The faculty is writing a new standard of measurement in collaboration with the Construction Federation.

The last standard method of measurement, written in 1985, is “no longer suitable for the current market”, according to Michael Byng, acting chairman of the construction faculty.

Byng warned that 30% of project costs were spent on “intangibles”, prompting difficult questions from clients. “Clients want to see more pounds in the ground,” he said.

“Measurement over the last 20 years has been pushed further and further away from the client. When costs start to escalate and people try to analyse why, the cost data is so far away that there is a need to pull it all together again. This drive is coming from clients.”

The new standard is due for completion in 12 months and is intended for use in the UK and internationally.

The construction faculty is also working on a standard method of measurement for costs on railway works and a standard approach to PFI procurement and costing.

It is currently consulting a number of government departments and Network Rail, and will hold focus groups on PFI involving government, QSs and contractors in November.

The faculty is also examining education, including a review of the APC (assessment of professional competence). Ed Badke, director of construction and the built environment at the RICS, said companies were paying around £30,000 a year on an average APC candidate. It is understood that about 40% of candidates fail the exam the first time.

According to Badke, the solution is to make the qualification more relevant to the real working experience. He is holding a forum on the subject for larger employers and academics in October.

Byng, meanwhile, is seeking to raise the profile of the construction faculty within the RICS. Byng said “the faculty is at the rim of the RICS, but it must be at the hub.”

Byng took up the interim post last month when chairman Launce Morgan resigned after launching a scathing attack on the RICS.

He said the RICS is “dealing with some of the issues Launce and others have raised”.

Byng also said he hoped to win the chairman’s job in an election scheduled for early September.

It is a two-year post, although both Morgan and his predecessor Simon Cash, failed to complete full terms.